Sounds like a job for landscape architects.

Sign Mrs. D4P up!

Looks great. The Green Necklace seems a bit much. They haven't cleared most of the political hurdles, so I suspect the project might be scaled down.

And yes, if you're holding any bill smaller than a Franklin, you won't get anywhere near this park.

Oh my. I absolutely loathe city walk. I also cant wait for the ticket price increase this will entail.

It definitely wont alter my routine of parking outside the stadium to drink cheap beer and save money on parking.

"transform acres of parking lots into a landscaped outdoor walkway "

So how are they proposing that they will replace all this parking? or is it implied that we have excess parking? This (all of this) seems like a very bad idea.

The A's new ballpark renderings make the exact same mistake as this one: a spectacular view of the ballpark entering from centerfield...exactly where the wall for the batter's eye needs to be.

Where'd al the parking go? Looks like it will be a LONG walk after a $25 parking fee. Beautiful-- just seems unnecessary.

4 "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."

There are so many factors that lead me to believe that this project will be scaled down. The ticket increase would be crazy for sure. it looks beautiful, but A mall adjacent to Dodger Stadium would break my heart.

I already hate the new energy efficient lighting -its way too bright - they're almost blinding. I wish the old lights were still being used.

Obviously it's a money grab, but it's a better kind of money grab than insisting on a new publicly-funded stadium, which is what every other team outside of the Red Sox would do.

The video looks beautiful.

How about some sort of link to the Metro rail down in China Town so you can beat the traffic into and out of the place?

"The Dodgers are at the beginning of what will be a year-long environmental and public review process for the plan. The process will formally begin when the City issues a notice of preparation (NOP) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The NOP is expected to be released in late spring 2008. The NOP will summarize the Next 50 improvements and the proposed areas of study for the environmental impact report (EIR). For 30 days after the NOP's release, public comments will be provided on the proposed scope of analysis. Thereafter, the City will prepare and release a draft environmental impact report (EIR) for public review and comment. The draft EIR is expected to be released in the fall of 2008. Public comments will be incorporated and addressed in the final EIR which is expected to be released sometime in late 2008/early 2009. Following that process, approvals for the plan will be considered in public hearings by the City of Los Angeles. "

5 - It'll make it a pitcher's park again.

In all honesty, this seems more like a design appropriate for a down town stadium rather than Dodger Stadium. And considering that I come from Orange County and have to get out of work early for a 735 game, this redesign wouldn't get me to the Stadium any earlier. Maybe for a weekend game... maybe.

12
Sounds like a job for Jacob L!

10 L.A has repeatedly shown that it will not go for publicly funded stadiums. This is a creative alternative that will still hurt the average fan.

Bob:

"Preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles"

One of the renderings shows a place called the "Dodgerdog Cafe."

7

Ah well at least they addressed the issue, still looks like a massive waste of money that no doubt will be past along to the fans. I miss being able to afford field level (since McCourt bought the club) now looks like it won't be long before I will have to decide between Top Deck and my couch at home.

By the way, if Jim Hitchock's around, a girl from elementary school contacted me out of the blue yesterday too. Weird coincidence.

0 It's interesting that the video implies that a case needs to be made for these improvements and for faith in the McCourt ownership.

The McCourts are from out of town and messing with one of the most beloved stadiums in the country. Of course they need to make a case for these improvements.

I've now learned that it will be dramatic, new, beautifully landscaped, modern, bustling, vibrant, beautiful, and breathtaking.

19 Hah! Initials M.F.?

I actually like the idea of the improvements, and I must admit, I really do not like the current parking arrangements. For me, almost anything would be an improvement over how things are now.I used to go to 12-15 games a season, but last season I went to 5 and this season I will probably go to fewer than that. I love Dodger Stadium and really enjoy watching the game there. My son is 3 and he loved going last year and wants to go this year. I hate admitting it, but the parking situation is a big deterrent for me.

To answer Jon's question directly, my son will be about 8 when these proposed improvements are finished and I would absolutely go to games a few hours before first pitch if there were restaurants and parks and even just a place to hang out.

The renovations are being planned because there are only so many ways the McCourts can get more money out of the park. As I mentioned in the older thread, the area is not zoned for housing, the deed to the property prohibits housing, and the conditional use permit prohibits housing.

The average person coming to Dodger Stadium just drives in, walks up to the gate, and then goes and finds a seat. That is very unlike the experience in most parks now. Fenway and Wrigley are the closest to that in terms of what is INSIDE the park, but they are in neighborhoods where most of the activities for people near the park are more or less part and parcel of the neighborhood.

It would be very difficult for the McCourts to sell the property because it really can't be used for anything other than playing baseball. I suppose it could be switched over to a football stadium, but it's best not to go down that road.

When Walter O'Malley and Emil Prager and others were designing Dodger Stadium, they were still thinking of an era when people went to baseball games because they wanted to watch a baseball game. People didn't want a lot of other stuff around.

But tastes change over time. I think the McCourts have at least some business sense to realize that they need to find some way to get some more revenue out of the stadium. After all, the McCourts didn't buy the Dodgers to be a civic enterprise. They bought it as a going business concern. So I'm not going to begrudge them wanting to make more money off of the team.

If there weren't owners wanting to make more money, then there wouldn't be a Los Angeles Dodgers.

BP runs an O'Malley article.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7398

I think this is a long overdue plan. This is more practical than building a new stadium downtown. Some people will like it and others won't. Change is difficult for some people. I go to a game about once every three or four years, so it won't effect me. My two biggest concerns would be the raising of ticket prices to help pay for it and the after game parking nightmares. Now there is an even greater reason to have some form of public transportation in and out of the stadium area. As always, as long as the home games are televised and parking in my driveway is free, I will sign off on any Chavez Ravine revitilization projects.
And feel free to quote me on that. :)
vr, Xei

21 Isn't it presumptious of them to say that it will be "bustling"? Are they going to build that in? Is that included in landscaping? :)

14 I believe this announcement is timed to steal the thunder for the release of the NOP for my Regional Comprehensive Plan.

But seriously, I suspect the "green" elements of the project are there to win the support of the local council people, especially Garcetti. It doesn't hurt in the EIR process, either. You know what would help a lot more? Reducing vehicle trips to the Stadium by incorporating a viable public transit option. That's something that even CityWalk has.

20 - I don't think most diehard Dodger fans are against improvements. Most would say the stadium needs the work that has been done to this point, for example. All the worry about the McCourts and the stadium involved leaving it.

The issue, of course, is the how the cost of the improvements will be passed on to the customers. But, not surprisingly, that's not being addressed. When that cost does become apparent, that's when the case that it's all worth it will really need to be made. The parking cost increase last year was a microcosm of this.

27 The Dodgers have attracted more fans than any other sports franchise in the history of the world... is there good reason to expect the fans to disappear?

From the website:

Protecting and Enhancing the Environment
Preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles
A welcoming environment for public transportation
Secure spaces provided for bicycles

From the perspective of someone who now attends maybe a few games a year, at best, since I live in another state, I like the changes. I particularly like the greenery around the stadium, and the ability to go early to explore the stadium. This is much better than the current design, where there is one place for you to enter, based on your section, and you just grab a seat.

I don't like the comparison to City Walk -- but I would enjoy some good restaurants where I could eat beforehand, I would likely try them if they weren't over-priced.

I'm worried about parking garages being a nightmare to exit, and I echo the concerns about public transportation. This really is a downtown ballpark, and the renovations could improve its urban character. Public transportation into the stadium area would complete the picture.

1 D4P, this project is a long way off. I could use your wife on my front and back yards this summer.

Tell you what, four years ago when McCourt bought the team, a lot of people (me included) thought they were going to raze Dodger Stadium and put up condos, then re-build downtown. As far as I'm concerned, as spotty as McCourt's on-field results have been, his stadium results have been pretty great. It's easy to forget just how crappy Dodger Stadium was becoming under Fox.

And yes, when my kids are a little older, I'll definitely get to games a little earlier for a picnic and a stroll and whatnot. I love that place. Nothing in these plans looks worse, everything looks like a lateral move or an improvement. I'll take it...

Does anyone have a direct link to the gallery? I keep trying to get there, but the page loads for an instant and then redirects me to MLB's "404 - NULL" page. Very frustrating. (Safari, OSX)

28 I totally forgot that I could have used the subway when visiting Universal Studios. We'll have to give it a try next time.

24
If there weren't owners wanting to make more money, then there wouldn't be a St. Louis Rams.

Only kidding, Bob. I'm a capitalist, too. I just don't think MLB or the NFL or the NCAA, for that matter, is exactly what Adam Smith had in mind.

33
She's love a free trip to Utah...

29 et al. The idea, at least, is that the improvements themselves would be revenue generating, such that they shouldn't necessarily need a ticket or parking price increase to make them work. I know that type of logic hasn't been reflected in McCourt projects to date.

One concern I'd have is that whatever stuff they have in this new retail/entertainment thingamajigger will be either the same stuff you'd find at any mall or more of the same from the stadium. It'd be nice to think that the Dodgers would lease the retail properties to individual businesses to get a little bit of price and quality competition going.

30 I was only joking.. I have no doubt that they will attract fans and I never said the fans will disappear. I just think, in my opinion, that it reads awkward that something that will be built years from now will be bustling. I didn't mean anything by it.

I don't know this for sure, but I am willing to bet that your statement about more fans than any other sports franchise in the history of the world is wildly incorrect. Wildly.

29 Unfortunately (and here is the cynical part of me), people pay it. Sure there are some who will find ways not to pay the higher costs but I expect tomorrow night at Joe Torre Bobblehead Night that people will pay the parking, the concessions and all the other stuff in the ballpark.

Now I have an idea, offer some type of rebate or discount if you go to a restaurant or a shop. People are going to spend money anyway, why not let them think they are getting something extra.

24 - well said, which is why I've been figuring that the Dodgers wouldn't be playing at the Dodger Stadium that we all know and love long after the O'Malley's sold.

Part of me figures that this will be the first step towards getting a new stadium. Likely a land swap deal where the current land is given to the city and rezoned for housing while a chunk of land is given to the Dodgers downtown to build a new park with all the amenities fans have come to expect.

You know, I like what I see, but as everyone else says, if they took some of this money they were going to spend and add some little tram to get people from Sunset blvd to the front gate, we'd be looking and a TRULY awesome design!!

It could be a tram, or some other convenient transport vehicle like..... dare I say, MONORAIL?

29 The rising prices will certainly hurt the average fan, but if modern (since 1992) baseball has taught us anything, it's that no team can remain viable without hurting the average fan. In fact, baseball doesn't want the average fan. No team wants the family of four who's going to spend a total of $120 between them. They want the executive and his wife or client or mistress who are going to drop $4-500 a night. The sport is popular enough that it can afford to discourage middle-class business and market itself mostly to the upper class and upper-middle-class. That's capitalism.

The Dodgers are actually one of the last teams to hop on this bandwagon, mostly because they can't build a new stadium.

The average fan won't be able to afford tickets to enter the stadium, but look! You can come pay $25 for parking and hang out around the stadium during the game!

43 Great idea! If they added a monorail, we could make lame Simpsons references as often as we complain about Juan Pierre! I bet Jon in particular would enjoy that.

On a related point... this renovation will obviously drive prices even higher. I am a pretty big on letting the market do it's thing. For the most part I believe that players should get whatever the market if offering and owners should be allowed to maximize revenue. But does baseball owe anything to the community? If only the rich can afford to go to games, is that a problem? Only the rich can afford a Mercedes or a night at the Four Seasons. Is it okay if a ballgame is a luxury item? My quick reaction is that it is but things look the antitrust exemption and the fact that the land was given away to the O'Malleys make it clear there's a lot to consider.

35 - My link above works for me at work on IE.

30
Of course fans will show up. But I think the McCourts are badly mistaken when they suggest that the stadium will be vibrant and bustling for 365 days of the year. I'd guess between 81 and 95.

The rest of the time all the new bells and whistles will simply go unheard and unpaid for.

44 Yes, but the idea that $500-a-pop for entertainment crowd will always be there, and can sustain a business might be a bit short-sighted. High-end public golf courses, for one example, are taking a beating these days.

I think ultimately, I'd rather the Dodgers play in a downtown stadium myself. I enjoy the convenience of going to and from Staples Center and I was hoping for more of same from the Dodgers. Still, what I saw today was pretty good.

40 "I don't know this for sure, but I am willing to bet that your statement about more fans than any other sports franchise in the history of the world is wildly incorrect. Wildly."

It came from a Dodger press release. Apparently the Dodgers are in the Guinness Book of World Records for largest cumulative attendance. It makes sense if you think about it. Certainly no other baseball team approaches the Dodgers' attendance. The NBA and NFL haven't been around long enough. That leaves only foreign leagues/teams like Manchester United, about which I don't know enough to comment on their attendance.

I worry about ticket prices, too, but this pretty much puts the lie to any talk that McCourt is planning to tear down the stadium.

They have to keep some seats affordable and they have to make good on their public-transit promise. Honestly, a 10 percent increase in ticket prices, or a 20 percent increase, accompanied by the waiving of a parking fee because I can take a bus into the lot, would be a good tradeoff.

The Dodgers want the MTA to build a Metro stop. The MTA would put a stop near Dodger Stadium if the Dodgers paid for it.

I believe this is called a standoff.

55

Metro stop would be ok, but I'd like something that ran on rails. I'd even settle for that goofy Disneyland cab thing that ran on elevated wires.

51 I just think that Dodger Stadium's current site is about as "downtown" as they're likely to get. It'd be far easier to connect Dodger Stadium to the rest of the city, then to find a more suitable site.

Everybody catch the giant Nomar poster in the fifth photo of the "Next 50 Renderings," set? Awesome. Clearly they're laying the groundwork for a five year extension!

36 The subway tickets can get really expensive for a family of 18. ;)

51 - I'm beginning to lean that way too. I love Dodger Stadium but if they can tear down the Boston Gardens, Yankee Stadium, Commisky Park, and Chicago Stadium, I see no reason why the Dodgers can't build a new park.

Just don't make it a publicly financed park, that's all I ask... unless the city retains ownership a la Angel Stadium and it gets used for stuff other than baseball games.

55 That is a standoff, but not a stalemate. You can negotiate on behalf of the Dodgers, and I'll represent Metro (they're trying not go by "MTA" anymore).

40 April 2005, Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that they have been recognized by Guinness World Records Book as having registered the "Highest Cumulative Attendance for a Baseball Franchise." Since 1901, when Major League Baseball began tracking official attendance, the Dodgers have played before more fans than any other franchise in the sport's history with a cumulative attendance of 165,770,718.

From 2005, the Dodgers have sold another 11 million tickets or so, so there total is getting close to 180 million tickets. Attendance figures varies because at different times, they used actual attendance (butts in seats) instead of just tickets sold, when Dodgers set their record of 3.2 million in 1982, those were actual people at the game not just tickets sold.

However, for some time, baseball has counted just tickets sold.

Since baseball has the most home games of any major sport worldwide, it is probably likely that although the record is just for baseball, it stands for every professional sport in North America if not world-wide.

http://tinyurl.com/479b2f

Just thinking out loud, but...

When the MTA was designing the subway lines, I thought it would have been possible, maybe not, to put a Dodger Stadium stop in between two other stops. Perhaps the red line could have had a Dodger stadium stop between Civic Center and Union Station. When the Dodgers aren't playing, simply don't use the stop. When they are, open it up. It seems logical from a purely mapquest standpoint.

63

Metro, that is, thanks for the update Jacob :)

63 Dodger Stadium is roughly half way between Chinatown and Lincoln Heights on the Goldline, and it does seem there'd be room for a "auxiliary" stop between the 2, next to the new Cornfields park. You still gotta get up a hill and across the freeway, though.

60 There will never again be an MLB park built with private funds. Any new stadium will be publicly financed or it will not exist.

What was the last privately funded park, anyway? It's been at least half a century. (And no, Dodger Stadium and Phone Co. Park don't count, despite what their owners would have you think.)

52 You're probably correct considering they play 81 home games a year, and for the longest time, played 76 home games a year. Someone like Manchester United who have been around since the late 1880s play about 30-35 home games a year and average 70,000 plus fans per game, but I'm sure they haven't don't that throughout their history. Someone like Barcelona or a South American soccer club might make it closer, but considering the Dodgers play that many more games at home than any soccer team, the statement is probably correct.

66 Yet another reason there will not be a new park in LA. You'd have to think, though, that $500 million in improvements (if that's to be believed) is approaching the price tag that a new park would have.

Obviously they want people to come to the stadium and frequent the shops/restaurants in the off-season and I'm hoping they would not be charging full parking for that. But, do they want people to come to the stadium during the season who will NOT be attending the game? If so, they shouldn't be charging them $15 to park.

43 Man, that monorail reference was tough to leave alone, but for Jon's sake I resisted.

{mmmph!}

But I do agree with y'all, public transportation is the big remaining thing that has not quite been addressed here, though it appears they're at least working towards it. And of course the Dodgers can't be expected to actually pay for and build a light rail system from Downtown, but there has to be something that makes the traffic lighter, which will improve everyone's enjoyment of the experience, and, gosh, maybe cut down on the # of people who leave games early because of traffic gridlock. Plus, as Wilford Brimley once said, it's the right thing to do. But anyway, I agree with Logik and co. above, an addition to the metro line would be fantastic.

I'll say this before Bob, I fear that this construction will be done before anything happens at Pauley Pavilion.

69 My impression from the video was that all that stuff was within the ballpark so you had to have ticket to use it, at least on game days.

I was under the impression that most of it will be outside the gates, except for the walkway.

Kauffman Stadium, which was modeled after Dodger Stadium in the first place, is also undergoing an extensive renovation right now which includes a similar 360-degree walkway around the park.

63
A dedicated stop for Dodger Stadium that would only be used on game days would require another set of tracks to be laid down.

The Metro people can barely figure out how to lay down one set of tracks.

I took the Gold Line yesterday and parked at Union Station was a much larger train although it wasn't in use. The train was much higher and it was mostly gray as opposed to the present trains which are mostly white.

Are they planning to change around their rolling stock in anticipation of heading out to East L.A.?

66

Why does the new Giants' stadium not count?

73
I don't disagree with what you said in 44 except that i