'Crown jewel of Cleveland': Guardians complete Progressive Field Reimagined renovations

Yahoo

28-05-2025

CLEVELAND — Progressive Field Reimagined, the project started a few years ago aimed at renovating and updating the 31-year-old ballpark, is complete.
When the team extended its lease with the city and Progressive Field through at least 2036 four years ago, that announcement came with an agreement of $435 million to be put toward renovations, repairs, upgrades and maintenance. Of that total, $202.5 million was set aside specifically for new renovations projects, and the club just concluded the final phase of those within the original set of plans.
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With that $202.5 million, the Guardians renovated the upper deck areas in left field and right field, completely redid and expanded both clubhouse areas and added multiple seating/lounge areas, including one in left field and one behind home plate, among other projects. Additional improvements, like new, blue seats being installed, fell under the umbrella of capital repairs and maintenance, meaning they weren't included in that budget.
On Thursday, May 22, the club officially unveiled the brand new clubhouse areas and the Carnegie Club, three renovations that took up a significant chunk of the budget.
A major emphasis for the team with these renovations was not only improving the fan experience, but the player experience. The team used this opportunity to bring the clubhouse, meeting rooms, dining areas and workout/recuperation areas into 2025, rather than 1994. Of course, some improvements had been made along the way, but the space wasn't available to really do what they needed in terms of creating some state-of-the-art options.
"I think we've got a bright future ahead of us as the crown jewel of Cleveland," said Christy Corfias, Guardians vice president of business strategy and analytics, in a statement.
Guardians unveil new home, away clubhouses at Progressive Field
Last year, the renovation projects primarily centered around the upper deck areas in left field and right field. For 2025, the Guardians went to work maximizing the space available on the ballpark's lower level. The new home clubhouse area — including offices, meeting rooms, a much larger dining area, a hydrotherapy room, recuperation areas, batting cages and more — is roughly triple the size of the old setup.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
Technically, the clubhouse itself is slightly smaller than the original, but that's because the room was used for several things, which have now been moved into their own compartmental areas — like the game room that features the well-known, old-school Mario Kart setup. There's also now a top-shot basketball game, on which Steven Kwan holds the record.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
The team has said the player-led response to the new areas have been "over the top" positive.
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The opposing team clubhouse, along with the surrounding areas, is roughly four times bigger than it was before, the result of the modern age of baseball in which traveling parties with clubs has doubled or tripled when you include more coaches, assistants, data-driven groups, translators, mental-health teams and a few other categories.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
The Guardians have heard from some opposing players, who will remain anonymous, that they wish their own home clubhouse was a nice as what Cleveland has for its visiting players.
"We knew when we started building this clubhouse, and then heard that, that we did this right," said Willie Jenks, Guardians visiting clubhouse manager, during a walk-through for local media.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
Of note, the Guardians have again placed a ping pong table in the visiting clubhouse. That hasn't been the case for roughly the last 15 years because, well, as Jenks said, "Some things tended to happen to it. That's all I'll say."
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The visitors also have a game room, which includes a Golden Tee arcade golf setup, on which Justin Verlander holds the top score.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
Guardians batting cages include Trajekt system
The Guardians' home batting cages and weight room is three to four times bigger than the old setup, along with being updated.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
They actually went from four batting cages to three, but all four weren't necessarily needed, and the three new cages are loaded with technology and data-retrieving abilities. For example, the pitching mounds and batter's boxes have pressure plates underneath them that collect data on placement and force.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
The room also includes a Trajekt pitching system, which can replicate virtually any pitcher's pitches — velocity, movement, revolutions, break, etc. — in the league. The slot where the pitches are "thrown" even changes to match each pitcher's arm angle. That isn't entirely new to the team, as many MLB teams have bought into the technology, but the room as a whole is now up to date in how teams can collect and implement data.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
Guardians unveil Lexus Carnegie Club
The Carnegie Club is now the team's most premium ticket offering.
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With this club — which was designed to invoke Cleveland's history of design and architecture and has a real "Great Gatsby" feel — the Guardians are aiming to create a "luxurious, members-only" space located right behind (and sort of below) home plate.
The Cleveland Guardians unveil the new clubhouses, batting cages and the Carnegie Club at Progressive Field on May 22, 2025.
The all-inclusive space features a bar, "elevated" food menu and some grab-and-go options. Tickets also include premium parking and extra-wide and padded seats in the first five rows of the lower bowl.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians unveil clubhouses, Carnegie Club at Progressive Field