For many years I have heard how beautiful Dodger Stadium (formerly called Chavez Ravine) is and have visited the ballpark on a few occasions—mostly to see the Cardinals play because I couldn’t stomach going to see the hated Dodgers. Now that I follow the Arizona Diamondbacks more closely, I have more chances to make a pilgrimage to the former home of Maury Wills, Don Drysdale, and Sandy Koufax. And even though I do not “Think Blue” like the huge sign on the hill overlooking the stadium, I will admit that the field itself and the setting (especially from the upper deck behind home plate) is very beautiful. Baseball stadiums that host only baseball are always superior to multi-sport facilities.

That’s a huge admission from a fanatical baseball fan, who constantly hopes to see the Dodgers lose a game (except if they are playing the D’backs more bitter rivals, the Giants). I still wouldn’t bother to go to the ballpark if the Dodgers weren’t playing a team I was interested in, however. The setting has some flaws that detract from my ideals of baseball fandom. So I don’t rank the venue with other places like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, or Safeco Field that I have visited without needing the presence of the Cardinals or Diamondbacks to motivate me.


The Setting

Granted, Elysian Park is a beautiful emerald island amidst an often dingy, smoggy city and makes a fine setting for Dodger baseball, but I really prefer stadiums that are more a part of the downtown ambiance of a city. This allows fans to shop for souvenirs, find something to eat at more reasonable prices than you’ll find at the concession stand, or relax a bit at a sports bar.

But Los Angeles is a city of wheels—car wheels. And it’s difficult to rely on public transportation in the city, and virtually impossible to walk most places. Thus, Dodger Stadium access is limited primarily to the 16,000 cars that jam the parking lots surrounding the park before every game. Engineers have constructed good entry and exit paths onto the surrounding freeways and major streets, but it’s still a lot of traffic to get through after the game. Of course, this is just more of the general concrete ambiance of Los Angeles.


Ballpark features and Seating

The Santa Ana Bermuda grass field is very nicely kept, and there’s not an obstructed view in the park that holds a maximum of around 56,000. I have sat in the lower boxes in right field and left field, but found the less expensive seats in the lower part of the third deck behind home plate to have a much better view.

One occasion I tried moving to a closer location on the lower level during the fourth inning when it was obvious that a large number of fans were not going to show up for the game, but Dodger gestapo squads kicked me out of the section. Their lower level attendants must be trained in senseless cruelty to preserve those vacant seats. Even during batting practice they kick people out from the home plate area unless they have a ticket for that particular seat, and I witnessed them preventing several young kids from approaching the players who were offering autographs—making the kids toss balls from 10 feet to get the signature.

I’ve never seen such attendant behavior in other parks before the game, and long term this can only have negative effects on young fans and their connection to the players and the game.

Now one of the “older” parks, having opened in 1962, Dodger Stadium remains remarkably clean. Even the restrooms aren’t badly maintained, and the men’s room has one of those long troughs (like Wrigley Field) that allows a few more people to crowd shoulder to shoulder in crucial after the game urination rushes.

One major irritation I have with Dodger Stadium is the fact that scoreboard updates on other games are not readily accessible like they are in most ballparks; in fact, from the upper deck behind home plate, they are non-existent. The only way I could get an update of the Diamondbacks game being played down the road in San Diego was to listen to the radio or go over to right field and wait for the mini-scoreboard in left field to change to that game. But I suppose Dodger Stadium is catering to its fans, who aren't all that committed to baseball anyway and hardly follow the Dodger game--let alone keep up with other baseball scores.


Fans

Revisiting Dodger Stadium for a couple of Cardinal games makes me appreciate the fans in Arizona more. I thought that my hometown fans were generally lame, but now realize that they aren’t so bad. After all, the Dodgers have been in Los Angeles since 1958, yet I saw the following fan behavior:

1. Traditional late arriving and early leaving fans. It’s well known that Dodger fans rarely stay until the end of the game, and some will often leave by the 5th inning if behind. Close to half of the fans will leave by the 7th inning when behind, and a majority will be gone before the 9th inning when behind. The figures are slightly better when the Dodgers are ahead.
2. Laid backness. Actually this is a blessing to visiting fans wearing Cardinals attire. At the worst you’ll get a little good-natured ribbing from surrounding fans (I hear that there is genuine hatred for Giants fans though, but this may be more due to a longstanding city/political rivalry than truly being sports related). At the best, you’ll be able to talk baseball with neighboring fans and listen in to Vin Scully on the radio for a play by play. One long time real Dodger fan, who had followed the bums from Brooklyn, actually gave me a bag of peanuts that he wasn’t going to eat.
3. Air-headedness. And I thought our Arizona fans were bad for doing the Wave on occasion. Dodger fans do the Wave during the game at anytime, and it doesn’t matter if their team is at bat or not. Also, dozens of beach balls were batted around in the stands during both games that I saw, and many fans paid more attention to these activities than the game.
4. Huge concession lines all through the game. If you leave for food, you will miss two innings of baseball action. It seems that the only reason some of the Dodger fans come to the game is to eat.


Concessions

Actually, the concessions are fairly standard baseball fare. Don’t expect the same kind of gourmet baseball cuisine that you can get in San Francisco or Arizona, although the Dodgers are part of the California baseball tradition that supplies garlic fries and Krispy Kremes—with the specialty donuts going for a dollar less than they do in San Francisco.

But the Dodgers can boast baseball’s best concession bargain with their trademark Dodger dogs. At $3 for a foot long hot dog, this is as good as it gets in the major leagues.


Overall

Dodger Stadium is a beautiful facility and a great place to visit, but I sure wouldn’t want to live there. The ambiance is pleasant enough, but it doesn’t match the real baseball atmosphere that you can find in traditional baseball cities like Chicago or St. Louis, nor does it match the intensity at San Francisco’s Pac Bell Stadium. Of course this is personal since I don’t like the Dodgers.

But when a friend was asking whether I’d consider moving to Los Angeles because I’m such a film nut, I instantly flashed on Dodger Stadium and replied that I’m tempted because of the film culture but can’t stand the idea of having to go to baseball games continually to see the dreaded Dodgers. I don’t care to see much more of their gestapo seat attendants either—the ones that guard the vacant seats of the season ticket holders.

Nice stadium and great reasonably priced Dodger dogs, but with the beach balls and fans and those Dodgers, it’s a silly place.


Recommended: Yes

Parking Availability: Busy But Manageable
Seat Location: Upper Deck