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Sons of Steve Garvey offers this interesting elaboration on Steve Hymon's Friday article in the Times about Dodger Stadium parking.
First, quoting from Hymon's piece, regarding public transportation to Dodger Stadium:
City and county transportation officials have said they don't have the money to add new routes and that altering existing ones would inconvenience other riders. So the closest bus stop remains on Sunset Boulevard, down the hill from the park.
And the Dodgers aren't willing to foot the bill for new service.
"We think this should be done by the public," said Howard Sunkin, the team's senior vice president. "We've spent in excess of $150 million to restore the stadium, with more to come, and our fans are looking for public transportation."
The SOSG response (in part):
... let's look into that $150M:
Sunkin's haughty, elitist response is absolutely absurd and further reinforces how the Dodgers organization is out of touch with the common fan. Offering a public transportation option is more than a simple economic calculation; it's a business responsibility for a quality major league team who wants to take advantage of its large market fanbase. And it's not like the fans who are interested in taking the bus are net losses--not after buying $8 glasses of beer and $5 Dodger Dogs.
By the way, in Hymon's story, you might notice a certain Weisman quoted. He isn't me, but he is a big part of me ...
The general idea is true in that the Dodgers as an organization are not doing a good job trying to serve the common fan, but complaining about ticket prices is a little unrealistic.
A part of that "$150 million" also went into a much needed seat overhaul. Every seat in every section was removed and replaced with new ones, complete with cup holders. The stadium looks loads better with the new seats, which have been restored to their original color scheme.
Make that 600 feet, not 300. Cycle!
http://tinyurl.com/ynulf5
Also, I can see the city's perspective on this. It's not like some places where the stadium is in the middle of a commercial area (like Anaheim). For the city, at an administrative level, having an extra stop 600 ft up the road (especially just 81 times a year) is a logistical pain in the posterior.
The logistical problem of running a transportation system would be vastly more expensive than simply getting busses and drivers - to where do you send these busses, and when? How long do they wait for passengers? How many busses?
The way to go about that would be to survey season ticket holders, offer the service to season ticketholders with a certain deadline, and then evaluate whether enough people will use the busses to make it worthwhile. The difficulty, though, would be determining if that would draw more fans that do not regularly attend games to the stadium. The Dodgers are quite aware that they have set attendance records despite a lack of public transit, after all.
Catch a game, catch a meal in China town before or after the game then catch the train home. Heck, charge a $1.00 or something to use it and eventually pay for darn thing. Down Lookout Drive, over stadium way to the existing walkway over the existing Pasadena freeway overpass walkway and into China Town.
Fine the city is too broke to pay for building something like this and the Dodgers don't want to, so set up the same sort of private enterprise that built the toll roads down in OC to build the darn thing.
Players questioning Williams' release
>> "I think it's unfortunate," Berkman said. "I think a veteran like Woody deserves the benefit of the doubt. We're talking about Spring Training and everyone knows it's a totally different ballgame when you suit up for real." <<
http://tinyurl.com/3cjmgn
I am guessing it is Jon's dad.
I thought there was already a lane similar to this for Taxis and Shuttle Buses like the one for the SB Airbus. I may be wrong on that count, but I thought there was.
The collective weight of the Nats' first basemen must be massive.
Obviously Paris Hilton and the uber rich of LA hire people to sit beside them with the proverbial bucket to catch said seeds. Brief flash back to Mel Brooks in History of the World appearing as the P* Boy.
Now that's what I'm talking about.
It's part of the myth of LA, people won't get out of their cars in LA.
I used to take the Metro rail from South Bay up to the Convention center every year for the LA Auto show. Cost less than the parking, was a push when it came to travel time and there is a certain symmetry to taking public transportation to a car show. Besides, it's a hop skip and jump on the Metro up to Union Station for a nice Phillipe's French Dip for lunch then back to the car show.
Besides, the $2 Million+ a year in parking revenue does not hurt Mr. McCourt the parking king's bottom line does it?
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