CLEVELAND — For nearly 30 years now, when Progressive Field was closed for off days, pregame or even the long winter break, the team shop off of Ontario Street was open. When fans were looking to be close to the action celebrating, say, a playoff-clinching win on a Sunday, this is where you'd find them on Monday. And it's where parents take their kids for an air-conditioned mid-game break on a hot summer day to pick up a well-deserved souvenir. Soon though, shopping here in person won't be an option for a while.
"Well, we just announced that at the conclusion of the season this year, the team store will be closing due to the front office renovations that are going to be taking place in the offseason," said Brian Tillinger, Guardians assistant director of retail operations.
As part of the ballpark's renovations, a fifth floor will be added to the team administrative offices above the ground-level store, making it unsafe to reopen until the project's overall completion in 2025. The team is exploring other options to sell merchandise in and around the ballpark, but a physical store won't be one of them for a while.
"Not physical, unfortunately, this year. We'll have to do everything digitally. But we're still going to make it work so that we can still help our fans," Tillinger said. "So next season, we are exploring more options, more to come on that in the future, we don't have anything to announce at this point, but we are working on options so that next year does look a little bit better than this winter for our fans."
In January, we first showed you the ambitious plans to transform the ballpark, especially the underutilized upper decks. There will be a beer garden with open-air gathering spaces along the left field line above the re-imagined Terrace Club with ticketed seating on the 2-and-300 level and a 400 level open to all. In right field, they will remove the old shipping container-like standing-room-only spaces to create another area for large gatherings.
"Fans actually want to have spaces and places where they can engage socially with other fans and not necessarily be confined to a specific seat," said Brian Barren, Guardians president of business operations.
While the bulk of the work will get underway once the season ends, it's already started along East 9th Street.
"We started in July," said Guardians V.P of Communications Curtis Danburg. "Fans coming down or been down; you've seen one lane has been closed off to start to build this brand new building that's going to really hold our commissary and new kitchen to satisfy the needs of all of our fans."
It will take two offseasons to get it all done, with the project's overall completion coinciding with the reopening of the team shop in 2025.
