About 120 tons of man-made snow will coat the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field every day from now until January.

Thousands of people will speed down a 60 ft. hill stretching from the highest bleacher to right field, skate around a quarter mile ice rink or take the kids through a snow maze.

'Snow Days' at Progressive Field

“Snow Days,” which opened in late November, transformed the summertime hot-spot into a winter wonderland for the first time in American ball park history, said Curtis Danburg, the communications director.

“We know how to create memories for our fans,” Danburg said. “What better way for the winter time than to open Progressive Field.”

More than 6,000 people have toured the park so far. “The Batterhorn,” or the snow tubing hill, is the largest attraction, with 10 lanes that plunge riders downhill at speeds of about 30 mph. The skating rink, called “The Frozen Mile” circles the entire park. Designated areas for children to lob snowballs and make snow angels are set up, along with a rookie rink for skaters to test their skills before they hit the big track, Danburg said.

There will also be a fire pit and concessions in case guests get too cold.

Transforming the field was a “pretty cumbersome process” that started in October and took about six weeks to finish, Danburg said.

“The best thing now is seeing this come to reality, seeing the fans’ excitement,” he said. “How many times you hear the word ‘Awesome!’ and the smiles on faces – it’s really created a destination for families to come down and create memories.”

Tamera Brown, the vice president of marketing for Positively Cleveland, said the event alone probably won’t bring a large crowd to Cleveland, but that “Snow Days” will be a major draw for people coming to visit family for the holidays.

“This helps us to celebrate winter,” Brown said. “So many times people grumble about the snow but this is a way to get out and enjoy it.”

Snow tubing costs $20 for two hours and unlimited skating costs $10. Purchasing a combo ticket costs $25, Danburg said. Guests pay $5 to enter the park if they don’t want to slide or skate and children 2 and under are free, he added.

Check out the schedule at cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/fan_forum/snowdays.jsp.

Tags: Batterhorn, Cleveland, Family Fun, Progressive Field

This entry was posted on Monday, December 6th, 2010 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Family Fun.
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