Progressive Field

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)

14 miles/20 minutes to Progressive Field

WHERE TO STAY?  All options below are within 1 mile of Progressive Field

Unlimited Budget

The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland

Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade

Moderate Budget

Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center

Holiday Inn Express Cleveland Downtown

Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Downtown

Radisson Hotel Cleveland Gateway

Residence Inn Cleveland Downtown

Chaser Budget Traveler

As of now, there are no recommended Chaser Budget motels in the downtown Cleveland area. We highly suggest spending a few extra dollars and getting a great moderate budget hotel by Progressive Field.

WHERE TO PARK?

The downtown Cleveland area offers a vast amount of paid lots, garages, street and metered parking. Parking prices can range from $5 to $25 depending on the day of the week, location of the parking spot, and the opposing team. This is one stadium to circle the park a few times to find the best deal.

Ballpark Chasers Tip: Leaving the ballpark after an Indians game can be a nightmare. Ballpark Chasers recommends avoiding the lots within 2 blocks of Progressive Field to prevent getting stuck in bottlenecked traffic. 

WHERE TO EAT?

The selection of restaurants and sports bars outside of Progressive Field ranks in the top 5 of Major League Baseball cities. With such a wide assortment, Ballpark Chasers of all ages find the hardest part just choosing which one to try. The closest to the park (within walking distance) include Panini’s Bar and Grille, Winking Lizard Tavern, Flannery’s Pub, Fat Fish Blue and The Clevelander Bar and Grille. Our intentions were to rate them and give you a recommendation, but they are all so good. Try hitting up one before and after the game and let us know your favorite! A little further out is the Great Lakes Brewing Company, one of the "greenest" breweries in North America. No worries about finding a cab as Great Lakes shuttles their patrons to and from Indians games in their “eco-friendly Fatty-Wagon”! A round-trip ride on their vegetable oil-powered shuttle is only $1. Don’t leave without getting the Ballpark Chasers meal: the sausage sampler, Brewhouse Burger and a Dortmunder Gold Lager.

Once inside Progressive Field, the action is in center field. The Market Pavilion offers numerous concession choices ranging from I-shaped soft pretzels served with Bertman’s mustard, super nachos, wings and slider burgers from “Cleats”. For those budget chasers, try a value meal for $5. The value meal consists of a hot dog, bag of peanuts and fountain drink. If for some reason you want to go to the ballpark and eat healthy, look for the “Go Foods” near Gate A (Section 162). Go foods offers menu items with no trans fat, less than 4 grams per serving of saturated fats and sugars and 100% whole grains. Back to the fun stuff – for dessert, it is required to try Strickland’s homemade ice cream! They serve up vanilla on a daily basis as well as 2 specialty flavors that rotate throughout the season. It’s by far one of the best ice cream stands in baseball.

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS?

On an average night at Progressive Field during the 2008 season, the stands were only 51% full. With that being said, Indians games rarely sell out unless the Red Sox or Yankees are in town. Tickets can be easily purchased before the game at the Indians box office or from the local scalpers working the streets.

Ballpark Chasers Tip: Have you ever wanted to stand on the field and watch batting practice? Well, the Indians give you that opportunity. Purchase a “Batting Practice XTRA” ticket and stand at the warning track directly behind home plate for Indians pre-game batting practice. Although the ticket does not include a seat for the game, it does come with a t-shirt and disposable camera.

WHEN TO GO?

Summers in Cleveland are usually hot and humid, with occasional rain showers. Mid to upper 80 degrees and even temperatures into the 90s are common from mid June through August. On average, July is the warmest and rainiest month in Cleveland. Ballpark Chasers find the best months to travel to Progressive Field are June, August and early September. 

WHAT ELSE TO SEE?

If you only have time for one attraction in Cleveland, make sure it is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Celebrating rock musicians, bands, songwriters, producers and legends, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does a tremendous job preserving the greats. Some of our favorite artifacts found inside the museum are: John Lennon’s jacket, Madonna’s bustier, Jimi Hendrix hand written lyrics to “Purple Haze”, Muddy Watters electric guitar and Jim Morison’s Cub Scout shirt! But if Rock N’ Roll isn’t your thing, you can always visit Cleveland’s Polka Hall of Fame!

Enjoy the outdoors by taking a day trip to Lake Erie. Whether you want to swim, fish, parasail, canoe, scuba dive, Jet Ski, shop or simply lay on the beach, Lake Erie has it all! Expect a 2 hour round-trip drive from Cleveland to Lake Erie.

Did you know that Northeast Ohio has over 300 golf courses? Our favorite courses are part of Cleveland Metropark, which consists of 7 courses in the Cleveland surrounding area. Depending on your level of play and your expectations for a round of golf, there is a great course waiting for you. Check out their handy golf quiz to determine your best match. Not to worry as you can easily rent a set of clubs at any course. 

BALLPARK CHASERS VACATION?

Progressive Field is part of “The Rust Belt” Ballpark Chasers vacation. This trip includes seeing the Pirates at PNC Park and the Tigers at Comerica Park. Those Ballpark Chasers looking for a longer vacation also include Cincinnati to see the Reds play at Great American Ball Park. On average, the drive from Progressive Field to PNC Park takes 2 ½ hours. The longest leg of the trip is from PNC Park to Comerica, roughly a 5 hour drive.  If you need to return to Cleveland, plan on a 3 hour drive from Detroit. To prevent the last leg of the trip, try booking 2 one-way tickets. This way you can fly into Detroit and out of Pittsburgh, or vice versa. If you want to squeeze in Cincinnati, plan for a 4 hour drive from Progressive Field.

If you are looking to stay in or around Cleveland, check out some Minor League Baseball. In addition, if you are an Indians fan, you can’t miss this chance to see three of your Minor League teams. The closest from Progressive Field (about 20 minutes) is the Lake County Captains. The Captains are a Single A affiliate of the Indians and play at the beautiful Classic Park. If you stop here make sure to try the funnel cakes! 40 minutes south of Cleveland is Akron, Ohio, home of the Double-A Affiliate of the Indians. The Akron Aeros and Canal Park offer special promotions all season including: $1 dogs on Mondays, buy 1 ticket get 1 free on Tuesdays, $1 drafts and sodas on Thursdays, and a free fireworks show on Fridays! The furthest park is Eastwood Field, home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. This short-season, Class A affiliate of the Indians, play from mid June through early September.

All Pro Freight Stadium, home of the Lake Erie Crushers, is a beautiful $12 million Frontier League ballpark that opened in April of 2009. Already All Pro Freight Stadium is quickly being considered as a top Minor League park. If you make the 30 minute drive from Cleveland, make sure to say hello to their Director of Sales and fellow Ballpark Chaser, Randy!