It's no longer a gem. You obviously haven't been there in a long time. Every renovation since 2016 has been a flop. The party decks in left and right field are awful. There are far too many drink rails and standing room. The new blue seats are hideous.
I doubt this is a 12-15 year plan. I think the attendance issues are based on 2 things now. One is cheap ownership. The Dolans are the Cleveland version of Bob Nutting. The other has been scheduling. Most of the games are 6:10 p.m. now. Wednesday games are 12:10 p.m. now. Most people are either at work, or putting down dinner since they get out at 5 p.m.. The scheduling isn't helping the attendance. They get 30K plus on weekends. If it was only the issues with the stadium, then PNC Park would be filled to capacity every game. We know that's not the case there.
Several things about the current narrative on baseball anger me. 1. Why is ever stadium needing replacement if it's not absolutely perfect? 2. Why are brand new stadiums needed after 20 - 25 years?
The biggest reason for the attendance issues is that the city officials have done a horrendous job at attracting growth opportunities to the city. Compared to the 90s the city has less people and less money to go around. Add in the fact that the team hasn’t been consistently as good as they were in the 90s and it’s no surprise the attendance hasn’t been as great. But I will say that scheduling and a failure by the MLB to attract the next generation of fans to the sport. They put advertising dollars today over attracting future fans to the parks. It has handicapped smalller market teams bc it benefits the leagues bottom dollar today to promote teams like the Yankees, dodgers, cubs etc while letting teams like Cleveland fall further n further behind. On any given weekend I can watch the Yankees or dodgers play from anywhere in the country prime time but if I’m out of market it’s like pulling teeth to figure out how to watch the games and when I’m in market BALLY Sports streaming service doesn’t work half the time.
@ryand5725 You make good points. Smaller markets get the shaft in comparison to the Yanks and Dodgers. Cleveland's exodus is slowing in terms of population now because of all of the high-rise apartments going up. They legitimately need to clean up the area around downtown though. You can't attract new people to that City with all of the blight around. Team ownership is terrible in both Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Bob Nutting spends and wins nothing yearly. The Dolans ruined the Guardians/Indians. It's funny when these Billionaires come in, and buy the teams then want to go as cheap as they can with the roster. A stadium isn't bad when it hits 30 years old if they maintain it. Whenever you see teams starting the stadium talk, it's because a big market owner built a wet dream stadium, then the rest want to follow. Then they end up pricing average folks out of going to games.
Potential Video Topic: stadiums that won't be replaced and the reasons why. Idea came to me seeing this video and remembering how this, Camden, Coors, Arlington, and San Fran all had ballparks people loved. I feel like Camden is going to be around a long time. Same with San Fran. Would love to know your thoughts on what parks you think might be in it for the long haul.
I said this yesterday at the gaurds/mets game. Yes, they took out seating and put in standing room, but if you actually look at the games the standing rails are ALWAYS full. The Tuesday game drew 20k and the 1pm Wednesday game drew 22k, so attendance is not an issue currently. I've been to two games this year and the place looks great.
According to this guy, that'll hold them 10 years, tops. That's b.s.! Every ballpark will soon hold 5,000 people and have bars instead of seats. The cops will make a killing on D.U.I. arrests. I like The Depressed Ginger, but this is getting ridiculous!
Wait and see if the Guardians keep up their early-season winning ways. Cleveland has a way of supporting winners in a big way. Winning can change a lot
They have to win a championship to prove it though, which has evaded them for 76 years now. Should’ve won in 1997 and / or 2016 though the latter of which I can forgive because I felt the Cubs deserved it more as they had the longer drought
You do know there is a bunch of exposed structural steel at Progressive Field right. Exposed steel is an architectural feature. You would know that if you knew construction or architecture.
20 more years for the stadium at least... Guards gained control of Gateway East Garage (as you mentioned in one of your videos) for a possible Ballpark district with more bars/shops to improve cash flow.... I could see if Blitzer cant redevelop around the stadium, he may pull a Haslam... He could look at Independence, Ohio for a ballpark district/shops/hotels etc... Ultimately though there isnt much space or other decent areas in Downtown... The Guardians need Downtown and Downtown needs the Guardians... New Stadium talks "Shouldn't" (quotes) happen till 2040...
Or, they could put one on whichever site the Browns don't use. i.e. If they renovate the lakefront stadium, they can buy the Brookpark site. Or, if Brookpark goes forward, the team can return to the lakefront.
The Cleveland Guardians owner and Major League Baseball commissioner will construct a new baseball stadium in Cleveland’s Brooks Park that is next door to the airport
I don't see the guardians getting a new stadium for another 15-20 years. Overall the stadium is still fine imo but the dolans were extremely slow in the construction of the renovation, and the fact there are no actual attractions in the right field upper deck is a little concerning.
Used to be "Indians' Park" between the Indians' physical move out of Municipal Stadium at the end of the 1993 season and Jan 1994, before the Jacobs Group ponied up for naming rights.
It’s a great ballpark, they shouldn’t get rid of it. History is worth something and I’m tired of all these jackasses running their mouth about how this and that needs torn down. They should keep it and make it into one of the great classic American ballparks
This stadium is in no hurry to be replaced. It’s a great stadium for fan experience and in a city that doesn’t have a lot of extra funds it provides options for all budgets. The stadium has some of the most luxury boxes, the standing room areas are great for people that want bar access and to stand while watching the games, tons of great food options, the giant scoreboard is awesome for the viewing experience, the “behind the scenes” areas of the park are all being renovated… as far as the upper deck renovations go, what’s expected? It’s an area that doesn’t fill up they aren’t going to spend a ton of money on it. So they added a bathroom and areas for food and drinks which means they improved the ballparks fan experience… once everything is complete and colors are uniform it’ll be back to being a great looking park. Also, it’s crazy that someone would want less amenities and big sections of empty seats so that the stadium can look a little prettier…
Yeah, he's consistently ignored the great attendance numbers of lake to keep saying the place is bad. Been to 2 games this year and the upgrades are great.
How many more times are you going to leave this exact same comment? 7? 8 more times? I have an over/under bet going and I was hoping for a little inside information ...maybe even go for the gold and leave this exact same annoying comment 10 more times?!
I disagree. I think Progressive Field will not be replaced in 15 years. You cannot compare Progressive Field to The Ballpark in Arlington or Turner Field. Turner Field had issues with sight lines and a few other things. The Ballpark in Arlington had more than just issues with no roof. The ballpark itself was incapable of being updated in terms of technology. How I know this, I’ve had conversations with team executives about it and that’s what they told me. It also had sewage and utility line problems. The way David M. Schwartz designed The Ballpark in Arlington worked for the 1990’s. But with how advanced the technology has gotten nowadays, the ballpark really couldn’t be touched without destroying the structural integrity of the building. And it was a closed design with the office building in centerfield. Progressive Field is an open design. There is no office building that encloses it. Therefore, the Indians/Guardians/whatever you want to call them; have that flexibility.
The number of people who claim to "no longer care about the team" because they changed the name but still actively watch new videos about the team and express their "disinterest" in the comments 3+ years after the change is bizarre to me lol. If you don't care then why are you here? The negativity of this video is a bit disappointing. I've been to about half of all MLB parks and Progressive is a very very solid ballpark. Absolute best? No, but it's certainly not the dying, cobbled together mess that this video makes it out to be. It is a spacious ballpark with great views of the field all around. Removing seats (that weren't being filled) for something like drink rails is simply following the desire of the consumer for a more social environment within the ballpark. Those that want a seat still have 30,000 options for them but the younger consumer seems to seek out areas like the corner bar and the new upper deck areas. You can hate the look all you want but chastising the team for following consumer trends is an odd choice. The shipping containers were a 10 year embarrassment so they could have done just about anything up there and it would have been a massive improvement but the willingness to continue to upgrade the ballpark is appreciated. I feel like Progressive Field still has a solid 20 years left, if not more.
Because the channel isn't exclusively about Cleveland baseball. Duh. He just happens to be talking about something that I loved in my city that was destroyed. Don't worry, the only other thing I check about Cleveland baseball is the attendance figures. I want to see them down by Oakland and Tampa so they move out. Getting there!
giving how cheap the Dolans are. if they will not spend on the payroll they will more than likely be cheap on the upkeep of the stadium which will not help it age well. my guess is that the browns get the new dome stadium either brook park or some other suburb their current stadium will get demolished & the guardians & the city will build a new baseball stadium on the site of the browns current stadium
When a team hasn’t won a championship in 76 years now, that’s definitely on the ownership. Albeit they should’ve and could’ve won in 1997 and / or 2016.
Atlanta doesn't mess around as a Sports City that's one thing that I like about Atlanta moving from Turner Field to Truist Park within a 20 year time frame is better for the City and their fans unlike Montreal who had such a horrible Ballpark being Olympic Stadium and cheap ownership who won't build a new Ballpark in Montreal I hope Montreal gets a team back someday Montreal fans deserved better
Did you honestly just say that it's better for a city to build a brand new stadium, and in less than 20 years move out of that perfectly good stadium into another brand new, billion dollar + stadium when that billion + dollars could have been spent on MUCH more important and pressing issues in the city of Atlanta than replacing a perfectly good/fine MLB stadium that is only 20 years old and waste over a billion dollars on a not even needed new stadium?
These bars and dining rooms are fine as long as the needed cash flow comes with it. I hope this is not a second misperception of the marketplace in the makings. A residing Casino might be more futuristic and viable given the similarities in activities and customers. Politicians aside, money rules.
What is your obsession with constantly dogging this stadium? Yes the shipping containers sucked, but they're gone! This stadium isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Such a dumb video lol. Every actual fan of the team still love it!
Right? I absolutely love Jacobs/Progressive Stadium and would be absolutely heartbroken if the Guardians moved out of that stadium and into a new one, even if the new stadium is a state of the art billion dollar + stadium in Cleveland I wouldn't want them leaving Progressive Field! To many iconic moments in that stadium and it still looks beautiful! I hope the Guardians just keep doing minor upgrades every couple of years, if they do that it will start moving closer and closer to being viewed how people view Fenway-a historic landmark of the city and a stadium that has become iconic! Hopefully the Guardians remain in that stadium for the next 100+ years!
My money is on Progressive Field outliving all of us. The idea of it being replaced anytime soon is absurd imo. The Braves and the Rangers moved from their relatively new stadiums for specific reasons. If I was the Guardians, I would remove the RF upper deck before moving the scoreboard over there. Whatever bars to be added can replace any upper deck seating. Moving the scoreboard would open up that beautiful view of the skyline, and give the ballpark a completely different feel.
As someone who has been there multiple times this year, the renovations are going to be great once finished. It's just a work in progress. You are so dramatic
The problem with the Jake is never going to be fixed by a reno or rebuild... the problem there is that Cleveland after the 90's/early 2000's have turned into an also ran and they're not spending near the top. Add in the raises in ticket prices, the economy and it's just getting worse and don't expect changes in stadium status will fix it. Does not matter how "Bad" a stadium is.. you field a winner in anyplace except Tampa and you WILL DRAW... As miami proved... a new park only helps attendance for 1-2 years only.. once it's no longer new.. it's back to the play on the field... The Indians will be better served to spend money on players.. oh wait, that's not public funds... so lets blame the stadium... it's not.. it's the team on the field.
I won’t be taking my family to any games. It’s over an hour away. Probably $100 in tickets, not including parking. Plus the outrageous food and beer prices. It’s a scam all around.
@@Tank4Life it sure is on me. Where I live is much better than the disgusting city! I noticed you only addressed the tickets and my distance from the park. What about the other issues?
Relocate the team out of Cleveland. Our Indians and Chief Wahoo are gone. It hurts that the media still talks about them like this whole thing was OK. It isn't.
Hey Depressed Ginger - 1. A story that NO ONE will dig in and report on: what is the REAL impact from gate receipts and viewership of the name change? 2. They have this set of monthly SRO tickets where you can come into every game. Are they counting these tickets in attendance as being there for every game in the month? Or is it the actual turn of the turnstyle? If it is the former, the attendance numbers are inflated and the team isn't 9th lowest. It's LOWER.