CLASSIC TRIP - East Coast Odyssey - Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland was sort of an accident really. We had planned to stop at Erie, PA or Ashtabula, OH for the night on our way to our next stop but were making such good time we pressed on to Cleveland.

Our first Cleveland moment was seeing the new Brown's stadium with its message board flashing "CLEVELAND ROCKS" at us in larger than life letters. It was a fitting welcome because the city truly does rock.

Priority number one, however, was finding a place to lay our head this evening. We had no reservations for this night having left it open for wherever we might land. Mostly, it was planned strictly as an overnighter on the way.

Consulting the AAA Tour Book, we first made our way to the Cross Country Inn on the west side of town. They had a handicapped room available with two dinky full size beds for $59 a night. Thinking we might do better, we came upon a Radisson hotel nearby. They offered a very large, semi-accessible (no roll-in shower) room with a king size bed and a full size sofabed with a full breakfast for $79. I willingly paid the extra $20 for a more comfortable room and food.

I did not regret my decision. The Radisson was an excellent hotel with a very comfortable and quiet room.

We awoke to a fresh day with very little driving to do so we decided to spend it seeing what this city has to offer before moving on.

My son and I would have loved to see the Indians play at Jacobs Progressive Field but they were out of town this week. We settled on taking a tour of the stadium.

Inside the Press box at Jacobs Progressive Field

It was a wonderful tour. Starting out in the press box, we got to sit in the reporter's seats and do some pretend play-by-play. Onward, we were allowed to spend a few minutes in a luxury suite before seeing the club-level private restaurant. Next, it's down to field level where we went inside the batting cages under the stands and roamed the network of tunnels below street level. The tour finished off on the field and into the Indians dugout where we could sit on the players bench and take photos. We had a great time here.

The Indians' New Bench Warmers

Afterward, it's just a short hop on an accessible trolley over to the East Flats area where numerous restaurants offer great food and drink along with riverfront views of freighters coming in from Lake Erie. We had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack which had good food and slow service.

The Warsaw Tavern Really Exists!! (Except it's Really Called the Memphis Lounge)

Those summer rain storms came in again so we left the rockin' Cleveland. On the way out, we saw the tavern whose exteriors were used as shots of the Warsaw on the Drew Carey Show. Now it's on to Part Four...Cedar Point.

-Darryl
Copyright 2001 - Darryl Musick

FIELDS OF DREAMS - Progressive Park, Cleveland, Ohio

Fomerly know as "The Jake" - Jacobs Field - this stadium is home to the Indians.  The team has been in business for over 110 years and took the World Series in 1920 and 1948.  Since then, they've mostly been known as a hard-luck team, even a joke sometimes (see the great baseball comedy Major League for a good example). 

They did have a good run in the mid 1990's when they had players like a young Manny Ramirez on the team.  In 1995, they were the American League representative to the World Series but lost to the Braves. 

They returned in 1997 to face the Marlins and were two outs away from taking it, but closer Jose Mesa blew the save and the Indians lost game seven in the 11th inning.  This was a great series that we got to watch from a beachside bar in Puerto Vallarta...ahh, good times (see below)!  We had fun with you, Marlin Bob.

As of this update...June, 2013...the Indians are again in the hunt, only a game or two behind the Tigers in the Central Division.

Progressive Field replaced Cleveland Stadium, which had been literally falling apart, in 1994.  It was initially named after the team's owner, Rich Jacobs.  In the midst of one of the team's greatest eras, the stadium sold out 455 consecutive games over a five year period.  Here are the stats:

Opened: 1994
Surface: Kentucky Bluegrass
Construction cost: $175 million
Capacity: 45,199
Field dimensions: Left field - 325 feet; left center - 370 feet; Center field - 405 feet; right center - 375 feet; Right field - 325 feet
Home team: Cleveland Indians (American League, MLB) 1994 - present
Events attended: None, but took a tour.

In 2000, lawyer Larry Dolan bought the team.  With the Jacobs regime gone, there was no need to keep the name.  Naming rights were sold to Progressive Insurance in 2008.

Wheelchair locations abound throughout the stadium.  Also available are swivel seats to transfer into and aisle chairs with swing-away armrests.  Wheelchair and companion seats are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.  Ticket prices are dynamic...meaning whatever the market will bear putting the team in a position of scalper.  As of this writing, that means around $10 - $96.

Public transportation is available from the RTA which runs buses and trolleys to the stadium with a covered walkway available on game days from the nearest trolley station.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see a game there when we were in Cleveland.  The Indians were in Anaheim at the time, taking on our home team, the Angels, so we can't speak to the game experience here but it sure looks like a nice place to see a baseball game.

Darryl
Copyright 2011 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved