Indians Senior Dir of Communications Curtis Danburg said that this season at Progressive Field will "feature the transformation" of the club seat bar area. In Akron, Craig Webb notes the indoor space on the second level behind home plate is now "dubbed the Discount Drug Mart Club." The $6M transformation includes "moving the bar closer to the windows, 30 TVs, a new sound system and a drink rail so fans can stand and watch the game" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 4/1).
IN WITH THE NEW? In Buffalo, Tan & Gaughan in a front-page piece wrote while a new Bills stadium is "not out of the question, there are examples of existing stadium overhauls that could serve as a blueprint." Bills co-Owners Terry and Kim Pegula have invested $36M of their own money to improve New Era Field and the practice facility "since buying the team." Erie County Exec Mark Poloncarz said, "I find it hard to believe the Pegulas would invest $36 million of their own money in a stadium they plan on leaving in a few years" (BUFFALO NEWS, 3/31).
PLAN B: MLS expansion club Inter Miami CF will play its inaugural season at Lockhart Stadium and eventually build a new home in Miami, but Managing Owner Jorge Mas said that he still has a plan for the Overtown site as Miami-Dade "tries to rebuild a public-housing project that sits across the street." Sitting between the two "clusters of county-owned town homes is a six-acre vacant lot" David Beckham's group purchased in '16 when it was pursuing an MLS stadium in Overtown. Mas said, "Our parcel is dead center. And I think there’s something innovative there that we can do" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 3/30).
