CLEVELAND, Ohio – These seats witnessed history.
Since the opening of the ballpark at Carnegie and Ontario, they held families of fans as they watched Cleveland finish first in their division year after year in the 1990s. As the team battled through the World Series in 1997 and lost in a heartbreaker to the Cubs in 2016.
The worn, green plastic seats stood guard over the upper deck of Jacobs — then Progressive — Field as we watched the greats: Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, CC Sabathia, Francisco Lindor, José Ramírez, Shane Bieber and so many more.
Northeast Ohio watched the game in those seats together through a 455-game sell-out that began in 1995. They sat in them through the historic 22-game win streak of 2017. (Go WWWWWWWWWWWIndians!)
Now some fans have a chance to buy them, in the last batch of original 1994 stadium seats to be sold. The Guardians said the sale is for private groups only.
Cost is $300 for a pair and $250 for a single seat. Fans are limited to purchasing two pairs or four single seats maximum.
The seats might feature a batter logo on the left or right-side stanchion. Seating location (section, row, number) cannot be selected. All seats are redirected, meaning they are slightly angled and not perfectly forward-facing.
The seats have been exposed to Cleveland’s weather for 30-plus years. They wear the city’s history, as we grew from Indians to Guardians. And they bear the wear of sun, sleet and lake effect snow.
Now they’ve been replaced with blue seats, during $435 million in stadium renovations that included more social space and the revamping of the Terrace Club to the Terrace Hub.
When the lower bowl seats were replaced after the 2023 season, the Guardians were unable to sell them because they belonged to the Gateway Corporation. Now an agreement has been struck in which the proceeds would go to Gateway and Cleveland Guardians Charities.
A single seat weighs 35 pounds and measures 24 inches long. A pair is 48 inches long. Both singles and pairs are 31 inches high and 16 inches deep.
Pickup is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at Progressive Field.
Purchasers must pick up the seats. The team says buyers should bring a suitable vehicle and at least two people to load, and have proper vehicle coverage.