LA Memorial Coliseum & LA's Wrigley Field - Ebbets Field - Vin Scully - Nancy Bea Hefley - Dodger Stadium Article
2006 Renovations
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Los Angeles, California
Also known as Chavez Ravine
Groundbreaking: September 17, 1959
1st National League Game: April 10, 1962 (Cin 6, LA 3)
1st American League Game: April 17, 1962 (KC 5, LA 3)
Last American League Game: September 22, 1965 (LA 2, Bos 0)
Surface: Natural Grass
Builder: Vinell Construction Company
Cost: $23 million
Owner: Los Angeles Dodgers
Seating capacity: 56,000
Playing Field Dimensions:
Foul lines: 330 ft.
Power Alleys: 385 ft. (1962); 375 ft. (1969)
Center field: 410 ft. (1962); 395 ft. (1969)
Height of Fences:
Foul poles to bullpens: 3'6'' (1962); 4' (1995)
Bullpen to bullpen: 10' (1962); 8' (1973)
Hosted All-Star Game: 1980
Hosted Olympic Games: 1984
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley had been trying since the end of WWII to get the city of New York to either renovate Ebbets Field (which had a seating capacity of 32,000 and only 700 parking spaces), or build a new multi-purpose domed stadium in Brooklyn. By the mid '50s after 10 years of negotiations O'Malley had had enough and set his sights elsewhere. During his negotiations with New York officials, O’Malley also met with Los Angeles representatives after the 1956 World Series. On a May 2, 1957 helicopter tour, O’Malley was shown the land in Chavez Ravine, one mile north of downtown and potential freeway access from all directions. Los Angeles agreed in September '57 to exchange 300 acres of land in Chavez Ravine to the Dodgers in return for the Dodgers’ commitment to build a 50,000-seat stadium. The Dodgers also exchanged the deed to Wrigley Field to the city and agreed to pay a property tax estimated at $345,000. The contract also included a commitment from the city to spend $2 million on grading for the area and $2.74 million from the county for the construction of access roads.
In '58 the ballclub headed west and decided to play their first two seasons in the 92,000 seat L.A. Coliseum. Their other choices were 21,000 seat Wrigley Field in south-central L.A., or the 100,000 seat Rose Bowl 20 miles to the north-east in Pasadena. Legal delays and strikes squashed Dodger Stadium's planned opening in 1960 and the club wound up playing 4 full seasons in the oddly configured Coliseum. The Dodgers in the mean time, lined up thier first tenant: the American league's new L.A. Angels who would join the Dodgers in their new home in '62.
The 56,000 seat ballpark officially opened for business on April 10, 1962, as the Dodgers lost to the Reds 6-3, before 52,564. The new park was an immediate hit. Fans marveled at the terraced lots adjacent to the same elevations as the different seating levels, at the World's largest (at that time) message board above the left field pavilion, at the clean lines of the 4 cantilevered tiers in shades of yellow, orange, turquoise and sky-blue, and at the picturesque view of the rolling,tree-lined hills beyond centerfield. The ballclub drew 2,755,184 in their first season in Chavez Ravine, and in 1978 the Dodgers became the first team ever to draw 3 million fans in a single season.
Dodger Stadium was so well planned (location, design, easily expandable for luxury suites and clubs) and is so well maintained that even after 42 years it's still one of the jewels of baseball. Interesting fact: Since Dodger Stadium was opened, 11 M.L. stadiums have been designed, built, used and then demolished or abandoned.
Iconic moments: August 28, 1966 The Beatles last American tour. "Nowhere Man", "Yesterday", and "Paperback Writer" Echo through sold out Chavez Ravine as John, Paul, George and Ringo bring down the curtain on one of the greatest live acts of the 20th century. The following night, August 29th at Candlestick Park, they would play their last ever concert.
October 15, 1988. World Series Game 1. With the Dodgers trailing 4-3 to the mighty Oakland A's, Injured MVP Kirk Gibson hobbles to the plate with 2 out and Mike Davis on first in the bottom of the 9th. After working and 0-2 count full against Dennis Eckersley, Gibson on an off-balance swing somehow smacks a fastball into the right field pavilion, and sends 55,983 fans into a state of delirium.
The Good: The stadium's original light pastel color scheme was restored in 2006, including the familiar light-blue outfield wall. The Rolling hills of Elysian Park and San Gabriel Mountains still provide one of baseball's most wonderful outfield views.
The Bad: Beacause of the stadium's design, each level has its own entrance gate - meaning it's very difficult to explore the other parts of the park once you've entered your level.
The Ugly: The once clean look of the stadium is now awash in cluttered-looking advertising, including the longest advertising screen in MLB.
Los Angeles Dodgers
1000 Elysian Park Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-224-1HIT
Field Box INF $65-75
Field Box OF $30-50
Loge Box INF $40-50
Loge Box OF $20-30
Club Level Box $50
Reserved Level INF $20
Reserved Level OF $15
Upper Reserved Level $12
Top Deck $6
Pavilions $8
Seating Chart
Purchase Tickets
TV: KCAL-9, Prime Ticket
In-park dining choices: Panda Express, Domino's Pizza, Carl's Jr., Jody Maroni's, Gordon Biersch, Subway, Krispy Kreme, Wetzel's Pretzels.
Signature concession items include Farmer John Dodger Dogs, Carnation chocolate malts, and if you sit in the Loge level: Roger Owens' famous thrown peanuts.
Pre-game dining - Best Bets
Directions & Parking
Ballpark Tours & Vacation Packages
NOTES, FACTS AND FEATURES
After the 2004 season, the original 1962 dugouts were demolished and rebuilt 15 ft. closer to the diamond. 1,600 new seats were installed behind the new dugouts and along the foul-lines at the same depth as the current Dugout Club seats. More on the 2005-06 renovations here.
4 little-known hidden treasures:
On the facade of the left field pavilion is a bronze plaque honoring Hank Aaron's final home run at Dodger Stadium (#676) in 1973.
At the edge of parking lot #37 in center field is a Japanese garden featuring a 6-foot tall Japanese lantern. The lantern was a gift from Japanese Sportswriter Sotaro Suzuki, who was instrumental in planning the Dodgers 1956 goodwill tour of Japan. Suzuki and his wife were guests of Walter O'Malley at the stadium's opening in 1962 and were so taken with the new park that he commissioned the lantern as a gift to the stadium.
Next to the gift shop at the top of the park is Dodger Stadium's dedication plaque. Behind that plaque - buried in the brick wall is a time capsule placed on April 9, 1962 containing among other things: Programs from the 1959 All-Star Game and World Series from the Coliseum, Yearbooks from the Dodgers first 4 seasons in Los Angeles and a program from the first game at Dodger Stadium.
The infamous LF screen from the L.A. Coliseum was covered with black fabric, brought to Dodger Stadium and used as the CF batters-eye screen.
In the mid 1940's, Walter O'Malley had begun consulting with architect Captain Emil Praeger about different ideas for a new ballpark for the Dodgers. One design was a translucent domed multi-purpose stadium in Brooklyn (17 years before the Astrodome opened). O'Malley, hated though he still is by broken-hearted Brooklyn fans, has to be regarded as one of true visionaries. Several of his ideas for Dodger Stadium (both used and unused) were later implimented in the renisants ballparks of the 1990's. While visiting Japan following the 1956 World Series, O’Malley was inspired by the dugout-level seats at Korakuen Stadium and would incorporate these “Dugout” seats in his Dodger Stadium plans. Other innovations included Closed circuit TV sets in restaurants and near concession stands; A field-view Club/restaurant with large picture windows and terraced levels for tables, and extensive park-like landscaping including Royal Palms and flora. Some other ideas O'Malley planned for Dodger Stadium included a large cascading fountain in center field with multi-colored spotlights triggered after a Dodger home run; Didneyland-style trams to transport fans from the parking lots to their seating levels; A radiant-directed heating system in the grandstand seats for cool nights; A 200-feet high tower-sculpture of a baseball and crossed bats in a tripod able to be seen from several miles.
Chavez Ravine was a difficult site because of a network of washes, gullies and gulches that were interlaced with hills and twisting roads. Elevations in the ravine ranged from 400 feet to 700 feet above sea level. In order to compensate for this rough terrain, more than 8 million cubic yards of earth was moved to reshape the area. The steeply terraced bowl of the towering hillside site became an integral part of the main grandstand structure and located the stands on a slope in the shelter of the U-shaped hill. The Northern face of the rock and sandstone hill was cut down and shaped into a rough amphitheater and benches were cut into the sloping floor to support the stadium foundations and pedestals. To control erosion, a two inch-thick concrete was sprayed over the area. The 124-foot-high grandstand has three major cantilever tiers built on 78 precast bents.
Dodger Stadium's architect Emil Praeger, a distinguished Navy captain who developed the original design of the concrete floating breakwater during World War II, was in charge of all engineering projects for the Department of Parks in New York City, and also played major roles designing the renovation of the White House and the Los Angeles Public Library.
Before opening, Dodger Stadium employees were taken to Disneyland to study their customer service quality.
Hands down, the best view of the downtown L.A. skyline from anywhere in the city is from the Top Deck concourse at Dodger Stadium, especially at night.
“If baseball is dying, as so many Cassandras have lamented, somebody forgot to tell Walter O’Malley,” wrote New York sports columnist Bob Considine. “The arena he has built with the cooperation of the City of Los Angeles is a temple, indeed a shrine, to the old game. No rich doting patron of the past, including (former Yankees owner) Jake Ruppert, ever made a contribution of such scope and imagination.”
In 1962, tokens instaed of tickets were sold for admission to the pavilions.
9 no-hitters thrown at dodger stadium: Bo Belinsky 1962, Sandy Koufax 1962, 1963, 1965(perfect game), Bill Singer 1970,Fernando Valenzuela 1990, Dennis Martinez 1991(perfect game), Kevin Gross 1992, Ramon Martinez 1995.
Designed to be expandable to 85,000 seats.
Parking for 16,000 cars
Dodger Stadium unveiled baseball's first ever Diamond-Vision color video scoreboard in 1980.
For the 2000 season, two rows of field level seats down the foul lines beyond the dugouts and new dugout-club seats with an adjacent club area was added. Also, 70% of the Club level box seats were taken out and transformed into modern luxury suites. were also upgraded to provides the same amenities that ones in newer ballparks provide.
After the 2002 season, the Dodgers installed a bigger video board in left field, a state-of-the-art matrix board replacing the old one in right field, and 2 out-of-town scoreboards in the left and right field walls.
The Dodger Stadium field was named the best in baseball by Sports Illustrated in 2003 in a poll of Major League players. Of the responses, 23.2 percent of players rated Dodger Stadium as the best-quality playing field, more than twice as many as any other stadium.
The Dodgers topped 3 million in attendance in '78, '80, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '90, '91, '93, '96, '97, '98, '99, '00, '01, '02, and '03. Eight of the top 25 NL single-season attendance marks have been recorded at Dodger Stadium.
During the 20th century, the only privately-financed ballparks in Major League Baseball were Yankee Stadium (built in 1923) and Dodger Stadium.
The stadium hosted the first Olympic baseball competition in 1984.
Dodger Stadium has been the site of several non-baseball major events, as Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 16, 1987. Entertainers from around the world have performed there as well, such as KISS, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Genesis, Eric Clapton, U2, the Dave Matthews Band and in August, 2003, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Dodger Stadium also staged one of the world's greatest entertainment events of 1994 when internationally renowned tenors Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti reunited for a spectacular concert performance "Encore - The Three Tenors" with conductor Zubin Mehta.
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Click on titles for more info
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