While collaborating with lead design architect Manica on the renovation of Cleveland’s Progressive Field, Moody Nolan partner Troy Sherrard couldn’t help but be struck by the stadium’s massive scale. But then, that’s exactly what designers hoped to address with their changes to the 30-year-old home of MLB’s Guardians. By removing the last four upper deck sections down both the left- and right-field lines, the architectural team created visually iconic social gathering spaces in place of large banks of typically empty seats. This past offseason, on-field cranes removed the stacked, precast concrete tread-and-riser sections, exposing angled steel beams designed to support the seating rake. These were cut short of their original downward reach, repainted and repurposed to support four prefabricated steel canopy frames that were inserted in place of each previous seating section, but at an upward angle. The frames were then outfitted onsite with translucent sun and rain screens. Below, a newly poured concrete slab stretches from under the former upper deck toward the field, terminating at a drink rail before rows of existing seats resume. Given their elevated location in the stadium, the canopies are substantial enough to weather Cleveland’s high wind loads, while providing the ’90s-era ballpark with new pedestrian scale and fresh character — particularly when illuminated during night games. “Our goal was to reinvent premium opportunities in an older ballpark,” says Sherrard, pointing out that this work represents the first phase of a five-phase renovation. “These upper deck corner seats weren’t as popular, so this took the less popular and made it more useful — a destination for patrons to choose how they want to experience the game. It’s a nice place to just hang between innings or during the game. Once you go there, you can see out over the whole city of Cleveland. It’s been super successful.”
