Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)

14 miles/20 minutes to Progressive Field

WHERE TO STAY?  

Hotels Near Progressive Field (All within 1 mile of the ballpark)

Unlimited Budget

The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland

Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade

Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center

Moderate Budget

Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Downtown

Residence Inn Cleveland Downtown

Holiday Inn Express Cleveland Downtown

Chaser Budget Traveler

Travelodge Cleveland Lakewood - 4.4 miles from Progressive Field

Holiday Inn Cleveland Clinic - 3 miles from Progressive Field

Hotel Cleveland Gateway

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 $20 depending on the day of the week, the location of the parking spot, and the opposing team. This is one ballpark 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 two 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 five of Major League Baseball cities. With such a wide assortment, Ballpark Chasers find the hardest part just choosing which one to try. The closest to the park (within walking distance) include Panini’s Bar and Grill, Winking Lizard Tavern, Flannery’s Pub, Fat Fish Blue and The Clevelander Bar and Grill. 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 fare on their vegetable oil-powered shuttle is only $1. The shuttle continuously runs 45 minutes before and after the game, except on Sunday's. Don’t leave without getting the Ballpark Chasers meal: the sausage sampler, Brewhouse Burger and a Dortmunder Gold Lager.

Ballpark Chasers Favorite Bar- Great Lakes Brewing Co. 

Progressive Field now features a dozen local restaurants from different Cleveland neighborhoods! All 12 restaurants offer diverse menu options and highlight Cleveland's best food. You can find these restaurants in the Right Field District and Infield District of Progressive Field. Our favorite stands are Barrio and Melt.  Barrio is a local favorite known for its food trucks and serves build-your-own tacos. Melt is a grilled cheese heaven that offers five different winning grilled cheese sandwiches. 

For healthier ballparks options, look for the “Field of Greens” behind home plate. The menu offers vegetarian options along with fresh fruit and salad. 

New Food at Progressive Field

Cleveland Kraut: high quality hot dogs and brats along with six different krauts. 

Fat Rooster: hand-breaded spicy chicken in C182.

Pierre's Ice Cream portables: available around the ballpark.

Pasta Al Dante: build your own pasta dishes (Left Field District).

WHERE TO BUY TICKETS?

On an average night during the 2019 season, Progressive Field was just over half-full.  With that being said, Indians games rarely sell out unless the Reds, Red Sox, or Yankees are in town. Tickets can easily be purchased before the game at the Indians box office or from the local scalpers working the streets. For the best deal, Ballpark Chasers recommends pre-purchasing your tickets through the Indians ticket office. 

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?

One of our favorite stops in Cleveland is the Heritage Museum, located in the former ticket office at Historic League Park, 6601 Lexington Avenue. The Heritage Museum is open Saturdays 10-4, Wednesdays 1-4 and by appointment. Visit to experience stories, photographs, letters, programs, uniforms and other game-used treasured memorabilia detailing the important contributions from the Latin and Caribbean leagues, the Industrial and Barnstormer leagues, and the Negro and Women’s leagues that helped shape the history of the great American pastime. 

After a few hours at the Heritage Museum, head over to 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 handwritten 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 two-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 eight 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.  Not to worry as you can easily rent a set of clubs at any course. 

Located in the center field area of Progressive Field, Heritage Park hosts the Indians Hall of Fame, paying tribute to the greatest players in franchise history. One level is dedicated to players that are also inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, with the other dedicated to other Indians icons and exhibits. 

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 the following Minor League ballparks.  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 RubberDucks 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 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.