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4/28/08
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In an effort to improve the overall Dodgers game experience and to create a year-round source of revenue from the club’s iconic stadium property, the Los Angeles Dodgers last week announced plans for a multi-faceted improvement plan for the stadium. These will add a host of modern amenities to the property, while preserving the tradition of the historic venue, first opened in 1962. The improvements, anticipated to be completed by Opening Day of the 2012 season, are designed to ensure Dodger Stadium’s place as the home of Los Angeles baseball for the next 50 years (right around the time when Tommy Lasorda’s contract comes up for renewal).
Dodger Stadium is the second-oldest facility in the National League, and when Yankee Stadium is torn down after the 2008 season, the Dodgers will have the third-oldest venue in all of baseball. Because it was designed for a very different era, Dodger Stadium is currently bursting at the seams and unable to deliver many of the modern amenities and experiences that fans have come to enjoy and expect at other ballparks around the country. The modern-day space requirements for technology, concessions, storage, and office space could not have been envisioned by architects five decades ago.
“We’re creating a new stadium without tearing down the old,” said Dodger owner Frank McCourt. “That may take more effort and more resources, but we’re talking about Dodger Stadium. This stadium sits in the heart of Los Angeles and in the hearts of Angelenos. The Dodgers are a world class organization, a world class brand and a franchise with a history of courage and vision. What we’re announcing today honors that history by protecting and modernizing Dodger Stadium and making sure that it lives on and thrives for the next 50 years.”
Of course, this news pretty much darkens any hopes that some have held that Dodger Stadium gets moved to Downtown LA, where it would be near Staples Center and all the accessible mass transit stops.
The renowned architecture and planning firms of Johnson Fain and HKS lead an accomplished team of designers on this ambitious project that features the following components:
• Dodger Way – A dramatic, new tree-lined entrance will lead to a beautifully landscaped grand plaza where fans can gather beyond center field. The plaza will connect to a modern, bustling promenade that features restaurants, shops and the Dodger Experience museum showcasing the history of the Dodgers in an interactive setting.
• Green Necklace – The vibrant street setting of Dodger Way will link to a beautiful perimeter around Dodger Stadium, enabling fans to walk around the park, outdoors yet still inside the stadium gates. This Green Necklace will transform acres of parking lots into a landscaped outdoor walkway connecting the plaza and promenade to the rest of the ballpark.
• Top of the Park – The Green Necklace will connect to a large scale outdoor plaza featuring breathtaking 360 degree views spanning the downtown skyline and Santa Monica Bay, the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, and the Dodger Stadium diamond.
This renewal plan comes on the heels of extensive stadium improvements since Frank and Jamie McCourt became stewards of the Dodgers in 2004. Past improvements include replacing nearly all of the seats in the stadium bowl; planting a new playing field and upgrading the warning track; renovating the concourses with updated concessions and other amenities; and reconfiguring stadium parking.
As a result of all of these improvements, the stadium will become a destination for fans all year long and a place where, especially on game days, families can go early and stay late. Dodger Stadium will be a place to visit year-round to shop, dine and play.
As part of the ambitious stadium project, the Dodgers will “Think Blue and Act Green.” According to team representatives, the stadium will become as environmentally responsible a baseball stadium as there is in America, with the new plans reflecting the environmentally sensitive practices supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council in their “Team Greening Program,” a collaboration with Major League Baseball. The new facilities will be designed to meet silver “LEED” sustainability standards.
The renovations call for planting trees around the stadium and a focus on conserving water as well as promoting recycling and other environmental initiatives. The Dodgers will use the latest technologies to save millions of gallons of water each year. Recycling measures include post consumer waste recycling, and recycling materials that will be removed throughout the building process.
The Dodgers will use native or drought-resistant plants for landscaping and, where possible, energy efficient bulbs in all stadium and scoreboard lighting. Other environmental practices will include installing energy efficient appliances in all kitchen and concession facilities, and purchasing building materials and items used in concession kiosks that are made from recycled or quality, durable products.
The ambitious stadium improvement plan also addresses the need for operational enhancements including completing the concourse transformations, started this year with the Field Level Concourse, to include new restrooms, concession facilities and improved kitchen areas so food for fans and guests can be prepared in a fast and convenient manner. In addition to the new Dodger Experience museum, new buildings will include the ultimate Dodger retail store and a central ticketing facility for fans. Above these uses, there will be room for Dodger-related office space and work areas for onsite security personnel, Dodger operational staff and the Dodgers Dream Foundation. Parking improvements include two terraced parking structures on either side of the stadium that will replace existing surface parking, along with below-grade parking under the two new plazas.
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