I once spoke to Bill DeLury, the Dodgers’ longtime traveling secretary, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium. DeLury had seen it all; he’d been with the team since he was hired to work in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ mailroom in 1950. When we spoke, the team had just been sold to a new consortium of owners. The future of the stadium was uncertain.
“A decision will have to be made someday on this stadium,” DeLury said. “It’s 50 years old. It’s got a lot of mileage on it.”
DeLury passed away in 2015. If he were still around to see the stadium on Wednesday, he’d feel like he was in heaven.
This time a year ago, Dodger Stadium was expected to unveil the finishing touches on its $100 million renovation project. Where once parking spaces and dumpster bins sat beyond the center-field wall was a brand-new pavilion with a statue, food stands, and historic artifacts from the franchise’s past. Inside, two new rows of seats lie just beyond the outfield fence, and a walkway connects the bleacher seats to the rest of the stadium. All of it had been closed to the public while the COVID-19 pandemic ran its course.
On Wednesday, Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten and architect Janet Marie Smith stood at a lectern inside the pavilion, flanked by the relocated sculpture of Jackie Robinson sliding into home plate. A new statue featuring Sandy Koufax was scheduled to be there too, but its construction was delayed due to the pandemic. For a handful of reporters, it was the first look at the future of Dodger Stadium.
It looks a lot like the past. The same company that provided concrete blocks when Dodger Stadium opened in 1962 was contracted to make the newest blocks. The retired numbers that had been on display until the mid-1980s were hauled out from storage and installed on the second level. Tommy Lasorda donated a number of photographs from his personal collection before his death. The club-level seats were re-painted in their original red-yellow-blue color scheme.
Not everything will be accessible to fans who attend Friday’s home opener against the Nationals. The state of California requires concourse concession stands remain closed at outdoor venues until the tiered re-opening plan for businesses is lifted. On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced June 15 as a target date for a full re-opening.
“Sometime between May 1 and June 15, I’m thinking, I’m hoping we can reach 100 percent,” Kasten said.
In a way, then, Wednesday’s unveiling was not quite a preview of what to expect from Dodger Stadium right away. It was something more – an affirmation that, after a brief period of uncertainty, the stadium isn’t going anywhere for a long, long time. If it can survive the COVID-19 pandemic, after all, what can’t it survive?
The season without fans was not a blessing in disguise for completing the latest renovations. The project needed to be done in time for last year’s Opening Day, originally scheduled for April. Anything still unfinished faced a hard deadline of the All-Star Game in July, which had been awarded to Dodger Stadium. (When that game was canceled, the Dodgers were given the 2022 game instead.) Most of what will look new Friday is actually one year old.
As much as the home opener is expected to be a celebration – a champion’s homecoming, a re-opened stadium – it will come with its share of pitfalls. It’s the first actual game in more than a year for most of the stadium’s game-day staff. Closing the concession stands means fans will have to order food and beverages from their seats. When Angel Stadium opened to fans last week, those who were able to place an order often crowded the concourse, defeating the purpose of social distancing. Some weren’t able to order food or beverages at all.
To avoid the pitfalls that made this an uncomfortable experience elsewhere, the Dodgers are directing fans to their website (dodgers.com/food) to place their orders. If one concession stand is particularly crowded, the website can direct fans to pick up their order at a different stand. The Dodgers are also allowing fans to bring in their own food (as long as it fits in a 12-by-6-by-6-inch bag) and beverage (as long as it’s inside a factory-sealed container).
Friday’s crowd is expected to number close to 15,000, Kasten said. It might have been larger, were it not for the pandemic-imposed restrictions on physical distancing. Smith said the Dodgers set aside 2,000 tickets for the original 2020 opener for the painters, steel workers, and other construction professionals who contributed to the project to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Now that those tickets aren’t able to be distributed, Smith said she wrote letters of appreciation to each of their employers instead.
Time will be a better judge of the renovations than Day 1. If the 59-year-old Dodger Stadium can survive the pandemic looking better than it did before the world shut down, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.
On Wednesday, a reporter pointed out to Kasten that he had accomplished three of the major goals set when Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the team in 2012. The Dodgers’ farm system had been rebuilt – literally, in the case of their Dominican Republic facility. The major league team was a champion again. Now, the stadium is a modern facility with vintage touches, not the other way around. What’s next, the reporter asked?
“There’s always something,” Kasten said.
Walking around Dodger Stadium, that something isn’t as apparent today as it was nine years ago. The home opener crowd won’t get the full experience, but they might once they’re allowed to absorb the flavors of a secret Mid-Century Modern speakeasy. (It’s under the bleachers in right field, where a ceiling-high window opens to the visitors’ bullpen.)
Related Articles
Dodgers head home, anticipating ‘pretty special day’ in home opener
Dodgers strand 14 runners, lose to A’s in 10 innings
Whicker: MLB moving the All-Star Game is a typically empty gesture
Clayton Kershaw’s slider regains its bite, Dodgers extend win streak to 5
Different Max Muncy returns to Oakland with Dodgers
For years, the lack of a “front door” to Dodger Stadium was seen as a feature, not a bug: the experience of entering the building was similar regardless of where you parked and walked in. Now that’s changed. The expanded outfield structures and additional features are so logical, you wonder how the stadium ever functioned without them – especially the three new elevator banks.
The decision to double down on Dodger Stadium’s existing structure was never formally announced. It revealed itself in phases.
The first, in 2013, added a video board, upgraded the restrooms and the WiFi, and revamped the clubhouses, weight rooms, and batting cages.
The second, in 2014, focused on food services, electrical infrastructure, the visitors’ clubhouse and exterior landscaping.
Now that the latest round of renovations is complete, there’s a sense of finality to the place – or at least the parts the average fan will see.
The decision has been made. Dodger Stadium is ready for more mileage.
I’ll write a newsletter about this (and the rest of the outfield expansion) but here’s a photo to whet your whistle https://t.co/KkpdjFmmc9 pic.twitter.com/IJfpZhlGiW
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) April 8, 2021
#LosAngelesDodgers #Sports #MLB
