CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians announced on Monday they will remove the personalized bricks fans purchased in 1993 to fund the construction of the iconic Bob Feller statue outside Progressive Field.
The organization says the bricks, now in Gateway Plaza outside the left field entrance to the stadium, are decaying and already about 20 years past their expected lifespan.
"They're breaking down," Curtis Danburg, vice president of communications for the Guardians, told 3News.
In 1993, 6,000 bricks were sold to fund the statue of Feller, widely regarded as the greatest player in team history. Originally, the bricks were placed near the statue outside the right field entrance to what was then Jacobs Field when it opened in 1994, but following renovations in 2015, they were moved to Gateway Plaza.
"We tried to preserve as many as possible," Danburg said. "Ten years after, you can see they're tarnished, they're decaying, and they're breaking down and becoming a safety hazard."
According to Danburg, crews plan to pour cement in Gateway Plaza in the near future. As for the bricks, which all feature personal names and messages, the Guardians have taken pictures of each one and will display them in a virtual gallery so fans can keep their memories intact.
Since purchase records for the original bricks don't exist, the team is asking anyone associated with the program to email their information to fanservices@cleguardians.com. Additionally, the club stresses this does not affect the similar bricks located in Heritage Park, which are newer and were funded by a separate project in 2007.