CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians open their season Thursday, but in just a few short days Progressive Field will make its season debut with fans flocking in to fill the seats. When the gates to the ballpark open, fans will be greeted with a range of new options from food to merchandise and experiences.
Here's what to expect this season at Progressive Field.
New food
Progressive Field Executive Chef Vishwatej Nath has designed a new menu at the ballpark, focusing on trendy bites, fusion flavors and options for Lent with Good Friday falling on the home opener.
"I think it's important to kind of keep everything fresh. I think that pushes our envelope to kind of be more creative with the other end. It kind of makes our job more exciting at the same time," Nath said. "I think innovation is always important. Who knows, maybe midseason we might change some things up. I think that's how we're kind of pushing for and 'what is the new trend that's going on?' You definitely want to include those as well."
Those new options include:
Pepper Jack Bites
Crusted pepper jack cheese served with ranch dressing. FatHead’s (Right Field District)
Melt Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese Bowl
Signature creamy macaroni and cheese topped with buffalo chicken. Available at Melt Bar and Grill (Right Field District)
Pimento Cheese & Bacon Burger
1/3-pound certified angus all-beef patty topped with pimento cheese, bacon and shredded lettuce on a freshly baked brioche bun. Available at Build a Burger (left field)
Hot Honey Chicken Tenders
Signature tenders, crispy fries and a hot honey glaze from the local establishment Akron Honey. Available at Fat Rooster (under the left field bleachers)
Crab Rangoon Nachos
Tostitos chips topped with white cheddar cheese sauce, sweet chili sauce, shredded crab, sesame seeds and green onion. Available at Loaded Nacho Stands (right field)
Mac & Cheese Brisket
Creamy mac and cheese topped with Montgomery Inn BBQ Brisket, with pickled & crunchy onions and a drizzle of barbecue sauce. Available at Throwin’ Smoke BBQ (Third Baseline Concourse)
The Wild Thing
Field Roast Dog (Vegan), House-made vegetable chili, shredded cheddar, diced onion, Flamin Hot Cheetos. Available at Happy Dog (Third Baseline Concourse)
Noodle Bowl
Ramen Noodles, Asian Sauce, Red Pepper, Carrot, Napa Cabbage, Sesame Seeds, optional ginger chicken addition. Available at Down The Line Bowls (Third Baseline Concourse)
New merchandise
In the second year of the new name "Guardians," a continued effort to expand the gear fans can proudly wear to support their team.
"We want to build a brand for another 100 years just like we had in with the Indians, so it takes time, but I think having the most walk-off wins in history last year and having 92 wins really catapulted the brand in a way and we're looking to build upon that this year," said Curtis Danburg, Guardians VP of communications and community impact.
As part of that effort, new apparel will be featured in the Progressive Field Team Store. From on-field collections from Nike to Opening Day-specific items, fans will be able to fill their closets with new pieces. New brands like WEAR by Erin Andrews will also be offered this year.
On April 8, in a collaboration with Homage, the Guardians Chess Club tee will go on sale, benefiting Cleveland Metropolitan School District Chess Clubs.
Cashless payment
This season, half of the ballpark's concession stands will be cashless and will only accept credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Signage will indicate whether or not each stand is cashless or not.
New this year, the majority of the in-seat vendors offering snacks and beverages will move to cashless payments. Cashless in-seat vendors will wear yellow shirts and vendors that still accept cash will wear green.
Along the third base line, fans looking to purchase food and drinks quickly can go to the Grab and Go feature, which scans your credit card upon entry and after entering the turnstile, allows customers to pick out items and leave with the charge appearing automatically on the card.
The cashless and quick payment options this season come with the new rule changes across MLB in order to speed up the pace of play, including a pitch clock.
"We want to get people back to their seats as quick as possible, especially the new time clock, the pitch timer. Games are going to speed up hopefully a lot quicker. Average time is down almost 25 minutes from last year through spring training games," Danburg said. "We don't want them to miss too much. But there's no question that food and beverage is a very important part of the baseball experience."
Promotions and Special Gamedays
One of the staples of a baseball game is leaving the ballpark with a souvenir—preferably one that came free of charge. This season at Progressive Field there is a long list of games that feature promotional items or special ticket packages with unique items.
For the special ticket offers, fans who buy those specific tickets will receive a limited-edition promotional item. Here is the schedule so far this season:
- April 23 – St. Ignatius High School Cap *SOLD OUT*
- May 5 – Youngstown State University Cap
- May 6 – Kent State University Cap
- June 6 – Peanuts “Lucy” Bobblehead
- June 8 – Educator’s Night Corduroy Cap
- June 9 – Pride Cap
- June 9 – Baldwin Wallace University Cap
- June 10 – University of Findlay Cap
- June 24 – Ohio University Cap
- July 7 – Tiffin University Cap
- August 5 – John Carroll University Cap
- August 17 – Healthcare Night Scrub Top
- August 22 – Peanuts “Linus” Bobblehead
- September 15 – Hispanic Heritage Night Flag
- September 18 – Baldwin Wallace University Cap
On promotional item nights, fans at the ballpark early enough can get their free promotional item, and there are plenty of options all season long. Here are the recently announced giveaways:
- May 13 – Mystery Gold Glove (10,000 fans)
- May 27 – Josh Naylor Jersey courtesy of Bally Sports (12,500 fans)
- June 10 – Triston McKenzie Jersey courtesy of Sugardale (12,500 fans)
- June 24 – Andrés Giménez Bobblehead courtesy of Discount Drug Mart (12,500 fans)
- July 8 – José Ramírez Reversible Bucket Hat courtesy of Progressive (15,000 fans)
- July 22 – Steven Kwan Bobblehead courtesy of Sherwin Williams (12,500 fans)
- September 2 – Emmanuel Clase Bobblehead courtesy of Bally Sports (12,500 fans)
Additionally, every home game that lands on a Friday this summer starting in May will feature a new T-shirt that will be offered to the first 12,500 fans at Progressive Field.
Baseball is back, and the Guardians are on a mission to make this season better than ever. For the organization, that means on the field—and off it with fans top of mind throughout Progressive Field.
"We have to evolve. We did that in '15 and '16 with our modifications and adding a kids-only area and an area for our longtime season ticket holders and the Corner Bar for more of that younger crowd," Danburg said. "We have 81 dates to test things out. So it's important to bring out new things and you test and learn from our fans what they want, what they don't want, to make sure we're providing the best value and the best experience."
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