Progressive Field commemorative bricks will disappear, but they won’t be forgotten

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Six thousand pavers will disappear from Gateway Plaza this year, bricks that helped build the Bob Feller statue in right field in the early 90s.

”I think the first thing is appreciation,” said Curtis Danburg, Vice President of Communications and Community Impact for the Cleveland Guardians. “Appreciation for the investment these fans and this community made to build the Bob Feller statue.”

But while the Bob Feller statue still greets fans off East 9th Street, time has not been a friend to the pavers.

“They’ve decayed and they’re breaking down. They’ve really become a tripping hazard,” said Danburg.

Records don’t exist for who paid for each individual paver, $50 for fans and $100 for companies, but Mike Stein, a fan and librarian, has offered to help.

“We could find a way to catalog all these, archive them, maybe try to find the people whose names are on there,” Stein said.

“We knew this was going to be tough news,” said Danburg. “This was, in some cases, a memorial of a loved one or honoring their love of the organization.”

But Danbug says preserving the pavers isn’t an option since many were damaged in the move from right field to the plaza almost ten years ago during the 2014-15 renovation and the bricks are even more fragile today.

But they will still have a special place for Guardians fans.

“We’ve taken a picture of all 6,000 bricks and are going to create a virtual gallery to maintain that for years to come,” Danburg said.

Danburg says the real legacy of the pavers is the Bob Feller statue, which will greet fans for years to come.

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