Baseball Is Back in The Land: Know Before You Go to Progressive Field

Courtesy of Cleveland.com

The Guardians will be underway at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario next week!

If you’re a Guards fan looking to try something new at the ballpark, or a baseball fan making the trip to Cleveland this summer, here is my guide on food to try, places to visit, and more at Progressive Field!

Food/Drinks

Photo from Alyssa Klauminzer

There’s nothing better than ballpark food, whether it’s a hotdog or pretzel and accompanied by a soda or beer bat.

If you’re like me, you can’t wait for ballpark beer and hotdogs! From the last weekend of May through August, every Friday night is Dollar Dog Night and there is $2 beer (Miller Lite or Coors Light) every Friday and Saturday.

For the basics, which you can never go wrong with, Progressive Field has multiple stations for chicken tenders (The Fat Rooster), burgers (Rally Burger), and pizza (Dante’s Inferno). There are also Ballpark Classics locations throughout the stadiums for your hotdogs, nachos, and pretzels, and if you get a hotdog in Cleveland, our Ball Park Mustard is a must! For more niche options, consider our infamous Slider Dog (a hotdog topped with mac and cheese, bacon, and Froot Loops), the Crab Rangoon Nachos, and build-your-own tacos at Barrio. 

Have you ever been at an afternoon baseball game or gone right from work to a game and thought about how much you could go for an iced coffee? Café Arnone behind first base on the main concourse is a must! Their Cold Brew Float with gelato comes highly recommended!

For my tips and tricks for food and drinks at Progressive Field: you can bring in outside food as long as everything is sealed. So if you have your own bags of peanuts and Cracker Jack, bring them in! You can also buy a souvenir cup that will get you free refills all season long.

Sections

Photo from Alyssa Klauminzer

If you love seeing sunsets at the stadium (tag me in your baseball skies pics please!), I recommend sitting down the right field side at Progressive. Especially in the Upper Deck, this gives you a good view of the sunset, the four towers in Downtown Cleveland including a lit up Terminal Tower, and sets you right across from the giant video board.

If you want to be closer to the action, the third base side is the place to be. The Guards dugout is on this side and the place to hangout at before a game if you want the chance to get autographs from or pictures with your favorite players. And if you’re in town to see your favorite team take on the Guardians, firstly welcome to Cleveland, and secondly find a spot on the first base side because I’m sure your favorite players will love to interact with fans on the road (shoutout to Ernie Clement and Isiah Kiner-Falefa)!

Do you want to go home with a souvenir? Bring your baseball glove with you to the bleachers or Homerun Porch! The bleacher seats in the outfield always have great deals and give you the chance to catch a ball from an outfielder between innings or even a home run ball. The Homerun Porch right behind left field puts you in a great position to catch a home run ball and see Steven Kwan make Gold Glove plays up close!

There are lots of great places to stand at Progressive Field too. In addition to the Homerun Porch, there’s a section next to it in left field, a new standing section on the upper left field side with a beer garden in the Terrace District, and of course the right field standing section where you will always be surrounded by the loudest and most enthusiastic fans. The Guardians offer amazing deals for the standing room areas, with the Ballpark Pass getting you access to every home game for $54 a month, and a $20 single game ticket that includes your first beer.

You can also watch half an inning from the old bullpen; head over to the stairs at section 113, and an usher will lead you down.

Whether you’re right behind the net, in the Upper Deck, or in a place you found to stand, there truly is no bad view at Progressive Field!

Promotions

Courtesy of the Cleveland Guardians

The Guards have many fun promotions throughout the season. And as a random man once said to me without me asking: make sure to get to the game early to ensure you get the promotional items!

Every Friday at Progressive Field is City Connect night and the Guardians will wear their beautiful City Connect uniforms that incorporate elements of the Guardians of Traffic statues on Hope Memorial Bridge. On eight of those Fridays: May 30, June 6, June 27, July 4, July 18, August 1, August 15, and August 29, the first 10,000 fans will be given a free shirt. I definitely don’t have 16 shirts from the past two seasons!

If you collect bobbleheads, you can add three more to your collection! Tanner Bibee City Connect bobbleheads will be given out to the first 15,000 fans on May 31 and the first 20,000 fans on July 19 will get bobbleheads for manager Stephen Vogt. On Larry Doby Day on July 5, the first 20,000 fans will receive a Doby bobblehead. And hey MLB, if you see this, could we please make Doby Day a league wide event and let the Guardians wear 14 on July 5?

Fans can also head half an hour east to the Lake County Captains, the Guardians’ High-A affiliate, for fun promotions and giveaways all season long, including bobbleheads for the first 1,000 fans for Sandy Alomar on June 14, Jhonkensy “Big Christmas” Noel on July 19, 2024 first overall draft pick Travis Bazzana on July 26, Jim Thome on August 16, and Carlos Baerga on September 6.

The Guardians are debuting four new jerseys this season, and fans have the chance to get the new home white and red ones. On May 26, the first 15,000 fans will get one of the white jerseys for Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, or Cade Smith, in a mystery jersey giveaway. The fourth of the four horsemen of relievers, closer Emmanuel Clase, has a jersey night on June 7, where the first 15,000 fans will get his red jersey. The first 20,000 fans will get a red jersey for our GOAT José Ramírez on August 2.

There are fun hat giveaways this season too. The first 15,000 fans on May 10 will get a Steven Kwan City Connect cap, and the first 15,000 on June 28 will get a Cleveland Buckeyes cap, paying homage to Cleveland’s Negro American League team. If I had to pick one promo item that I’m most excited about, it’s definitely the City Connect reversible bucket hat that the first 20,000 fans will get on August 30!

Other promotional items this season include the 2025 schedule and car magnet for every fan on the April 8 home opener, a City Connect Hawaiian shirt for the first 15,000 fans on July 6, a Tom Hamilton commemorative item for the first 20,000 fans on August 16, and a City Connect lightweight hoodie for the first 15,000 fans on September 13.

The Guardians also have theme nights such as Star Wars Night, Bark in the Park, Pride Night, Women in Sports Night, Ohio colleges nights (Aww Jackets!), and more! Fans can get special ticket packages for these nights to receive exclusive items for these themes.

Around the Stadium

Gateway Plaza between Progressive Field and Rocket Arena, courtesy of Destination Cleveland

If you’re looking to get food and drinks before or after a game, checkout Barrio, City Tap Cleveland, the Clevelander Bar & Grill, and the Thirsty Parrot, all within walking distance from Progressive Field.

The Guardians have really amazing neighbors in the Cleveland Cavaliers. If you’re going to the Guardians home opener at 4:10 against the Chicago White Sox on April 8, I highly recommend you join us next door after as we take on the Chicago Bulls at 7! With the Cavs going into the playoffs, I’m hoping for some more Cleveland doubleheaders!

Cleveland, it’s time for some Guards Ball!

Edited by Giana Robertaccio