Dodger Stadium is a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in the
Elysian Park neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, California. It is the home stadium of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
's
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of (US$ in 2020 dollars).
It is the oldest ballpark in MLB west of the
Mississippi River, and third-oldest overall, after
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
(1912) and
Wrigley Field in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
(1914), and is the
largest baseball stadium in the world by seat capacity. Often referred to as a "
pitcher's ballpark", the stadium has seen 13
no-hitters, two of which were
perfect games.
The stadium hosted the
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and Nationa ...
in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
and
2022—as well as games of 10
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
(
1963,
1965,
1966,
1974,
1977,
1978,
1981,
1988,
2017 and
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
). It also hosted the semifinals and finals of the
2009 and
2017 World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
s, as well as
exhibition baseball during the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
. The stadium hosted a
soccer tournament on August 3, 2013, featuring four clubs: the hometown team
Los Angeles Galaxy, and Europe's
Real Madrid,
Everton, and
Juventus. The
Los Angeles Kings and
Anaheim Ducks played a regular season game in 2014 as part of the
NHL Stadium Series.
It is sometimes referred to as “Blue Heaven on Earth,” a nickname coined by Dodgers manager
Tommy Lasorda.
History
Construction
In the mid-1950s,
Brooklyn Dodgers team president
Walter O'Malley
Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league ...
had tried to build a
domed stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in the New York City borough of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, but was unable to reach an agreement with city officials for the land acquisition, and eventually reached a deal with the city of Los Angeles. The land for Dodger Stadium had been seized from local owners and inhabitants in the early 1950s by the city of Los Angeles, using
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
with funds from the federal
Housing Act of 1949. The city had planned to develop the Elysian Park Heights public housing project, which included two dozen 13-story buildings and more than 160 two-story townhouses, in addition to newly rebuilt playgrounds and schools, and a college.
Before construction could begin on the housing project, the local political climate changed greatly when
Norris Poulson was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 1953. Proposed public housing projects such as Elysian Park Heights lost most of their support as they became associated with socialist ideals. Following protracted negotiations, the city purchased the
Chavez Ravine property back from the Federal Housing Authority at a drastically reduced price, with the stipulation that the land be used for a public purpose. It was not until June 3, 1958, when Los Angeles voters approved a "Taxpayers Committee for Yes on Baseball" referendum, that the Dodgers were able to acquire of Chavez Ravine from the city. Los Angeles forcefully evicted residents from their homes, mainly Hispanics. While Dodger Stadium was under construction, the Dodgers played in the league's largest capacity venue from
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
through
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
at their temporary home, the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which could seat in excess of 90,000 people.
Los Angeles–based
Mike Davis, in his seminal work on the city, ''
City of Quartz
''City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles'' is a 1990 book by Mike Davis examining how contemporary Los Angeles has been shaped by different powerful forces in its history. The book opens with Davis visiting the ruins of the sociali ...
'', describes the process of gradually convincing Chavez Ravine homeowners to sell. With nearly all of the original Spanish-speaking homeowners initially unwilling to sell, developers resorted to offering immediate cash payments, distributed through their Spanish-speaking agents. Once the first sales had been completed, remaining homeowners were offered increasingly lesser amounts of money, to create a community panic of not receiving fair compensation, or of being left as one of the few holdouts. Many residents continued to hold out despite the pressure being placed upon them by developers, resulting in the
Battle of Chavez Ravine
The Battle of Chavez Ravine refers to controversy surrounding government acquisition of land largely owned by Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles' Chavez Ravine. The efforts to repossess the land, which lasted approximately ten years (1951–1961), e ...
, a ten-year struggle by the residents to maintain control of their property, which they ultimately lost.
Dodger Stadium was the first Major League Baseball stadium since the initial construction of the original
Yankee Stadium to be built using 100% private financing, and the last until
Oracle Park in San Francisco opened in 2000. Ground was broken for Dodger Stadium on September 17, 1959. The tops of local ridges were removed, and the soil was used to fill in Sulfur and Cemetery Ravines to provide a level surface for a parking lot and the stadium. A local elementary school (Palo Verde) was simply buried rather than demolished, and sits beneath the parking lot northwest of third base. A total of of earth were moved in the process of building the stadium. A total of 21,000 precast concrete units, some weighing as much as 32 tons, were fabricated onsite and lowered into place with a specially built crane to form the stadium's structural framework. The stadium was originally designed to be expandable to 85,000 seats by expanding the upper decks over the outfield pavilions; the Dodgers have never pursued such a project.
Dodger Stadium was also the home of the
Los Angeles Angels from
1962 through
1965. To avoid constantly referring to their landlords, the Angels called the park Chavez Ravine Stadium (or just "Chavez Ravine"), after the geographic feature in which the stadium sits.
Frank McCourt era
At the conclusion of the
2005 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers made major renovations during the subsequent off-season.
The largest of these improvements was the replacement of nearly all the seats in the stadium. The seats that were removed had been in use since 1975 and helped give the stadium its unique "space age" feel with a color palette of bright yellow, orange, blue, and red. The new seats are in the original (more muted) 1962 color scheme consisting of yellow, light orange, turquoise, and sky blue. 2,000 pairs of seats were made available for purchase at $250, with the proceeds going to charity.
The baseline seating sections have been converted into retro-style "box" seating, adding leg room and a table. Other repairs were made to the concrete structure of the stadium. These improvements mark the second phase of a multi-year improvement plan for Dodger Stadium.
Renovations
Between 2003 and 2005, Dodger Stadium upgraded with
LED video displays. The large main video display measures high by wide.
In 2008, the Dodgers announced a $412 million project to build a Dodger museum, shops, and restaurants around Dodger Stadium. In a press release, the team described the various features of the renovation as follows:
*Dodger Way – A tree-lined entrance will lead to a landscaped grand plaza where fans can gather beyond center field. The plaza will connect to a 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 links to a beautiful perimeter around Dodger Stadium, enabling fans to walk around the park, outdoors yet 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 connects to a large scale outdoor plaza featuring breathtaking 360° views spanning the downtown skyline and Santa Monica Bay, the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, and the Dodger Stadium diamond.
In the 2008–2009 off-season, the upper levels of the stadium were supposed to be renovated to match the repairs and improvements made to the field level. The improvements were to include the removal of the trough urinals in the men's restrooms, new concession stands and earthquake retrofitting to the concrete structure. It was also to include the replacement of the outfield scoreboards and monitors with new HD monitors. Due to the
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26.
Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...
hosted at Dodger Stadium, these renovations were put on hold. The divorce of Frank and Jamie McCourt, as well as a weak economy, were the reasons for the postponement.
To pay for an outstanding loan with the Dodgers former owner
News Corporation, former owner
Frank McCourt
Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book ''Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood.
Early life and education
Frank ...
used Dodger Stadium as
collateral to obtain a $250 million loan.
In 2008, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to give the Dodger Stadium area bounded by Academy Rd, Lookout Dr. and Stadium Way its own zip code, 90090 (as of July 2009). This also gives the area a new name, Dodgertown. The signs from the former Dodgertown spring training facility in
Vero Beach, Florida will likely be integrated into the $500 million project.
New ownership and further renovation
Following the sale of the Dodgers in 2012, the team brought in the architect, urban planner, and stadium specialist
Janet Marie Smith
Janet Marie Smith is a Major League Baseball (MLB) executive, architect, and urban planner. Smith has built and managed renovations of several major and minor league baseball parks in the United States including Baltimore, Atlanta, Boston, an ...
to lead renovations efforts to the 50-year-old stadium. Renovations to Dodger Stadium began in the winter of 2012. Both video boards were replaced with High Definition screens, and new clubhouses and weight rooms were installed. The restrooms, concession stands, sound system and batting cages were also improved and renovated.
Dodgers owner
Guggenheim Partners internally discussed moving the Dodgers to a new stadium at a
Downtown Los Angeles site proposed by the
Anschutz Entertainment Group to allow an
NFL team to build a stadium at the Dodger Stadium site. Guggenheim Partners also considered allowing an NFL team to build a stadium next to Dodger Stadium. The NFL eventually chose to build
SoFi Stadium in the
City of Inglewood.
The extensive renovations to Dodger Stadium were ready for the 2013 season and included new HD
hexagonal
In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°.
Regular hexagon
A '' regular hexagon'' has ...
video and scoreboards, a new sound system, wider concourses, more standing room viewing areas, improved restrooms and a children's playground amongst others.
Between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, more renovations were put in place. Dodger Stadium was the beneficiary of improvements such as wider concourses in the pavilions, new restaurants "Think Blue Bar-B-Que" and "
Tommy Lasorda’s Trattoria", dedicated team store buildings replacing the tents that previously served as team stores, bullpen overlooks with overlook bars, and tree relocation at the top of the stadium.
On July 23, 2019, a press conference was held with the presentation of the $100 million renovation to the ballpark, which includes a center field plaza with a children's playground located between the left field and right field bleachers, the relocation of the
Jackie Robinson statue from the left field entrance to the center field playground, as well as a display honoring the Legends of Dodger Baseball, along with a sports bar and a beer garden. Also included are new elevators and escalators which connect the outfield bleachers with the field, loge and reserve levels and a new stadium center main entrance. The renovation was completed while the 2020 regular season was delayed.
Features
Design
Dodger Stadium was one of the last baseball-only facilities built before the dawn of the
multi-purpose stadium. It was built near
the convergence of several freeways near downtown Los Angeles, with an expansive parking lot surrounding the stadium. With the construction of many new MLB ballparks in recent years, it is now the
third-oldest park still in use, and the oldest on the
West Coast.
Dodger Stadium offered several innovative design features. One of these was a covered and screened section of dugout-level seats behind home plate. Dodger owner Walter O'Malley was inspired to incorporate this feature into the Dodger Stadium design after having seen it at Tokyo's
Korakuen Stadium
was a stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 1937, it was originally used for baseball, and was home to the Yomiuri Giants for nearly 50 years. For various periods of time, it was also the home stadium of six other professional Japanese baseb ...
during the Brooklyn Dodgers' postseason goodwill tour of Japan in 1956. The original dugout seating area was replaced by more conventional box seating in a 1999 renovation, but this feature has been replicated at
Progressive Field in Cleveland and
Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Two of Dodger Stadium's most distinctive features are the wavy roof atop each outfield pavilion and the top of a 10-story elevator shaft bearing the Dodger logo rising directly behind home plate at the top of the uppermost seating level.
A unique terraced-earthworks parking lot was built behind the main stands, allowing ticket-holders to park at roughly the level of their seats, minimizing use of ramps once inside. The stadium was also designed to be
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
-resistant, an important consideration in California, and it has withstood several serious earthquakes.
Dodger Stadium was originally equipped with two large
Fair Play electronic scoreboard units above the left- and right-field pavilions. The right-field board displayed in-game information. The left-field board displayed scores of out-of-town games and other messages. Smaller auxiliary scoreboards were installed at field level on the box seat fences beyond the first- and third-base dugouts during the inaugural 1962 season. The left-field message board was replaced by a
Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision video board in 1980. The field-level auxiliary scoreboards were replaced by larger units installed on the facade of the Loge (second) seating level in 1998; these, in turn, were replaced by a video ribbon board in 2006. Field-level out-of-town scoreboards were installed on the left- and right-field walls in 2003.
Strobe lights were added in 2001; they flash when the Dodgers take the field, after a Dodger home run, and after a Dodger win. In 2018, blue strobe lights were added.
Retired numbers
In addition to those of
Don Drysdale (53),
Sandy Koufax (32), and
Don Sutton (20), the
retired numbers of
Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Sta ...
(1),
Jackie Robinson (42),
Duke Snider (4),
Tommy Lasorda (2),
Walter Alston (24),
Roy Campanella (39),
Jim Gilliam (19) and
Gil Hodges (14) are mounted on the club level facade near the left field foul pole. On April 15, 2017, to mark the 70th anniversary of
Robinson's major league debut, the Dodgers unveiled a bronze statue of the player in the stadium's left-field plaza. The sculpture depicts Robinson sliding into home plate as a rookie. Also honored on the left field line in addition to the retired numbers are broadcasters
Vin Scully and
Jaime Jarrin.
Location
Built on top of the historic Los Angeles neighborhood of
Chavez Ravine in
Solano Canyon
Elysian Park is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It is a predominantly low-income community, and has a population of more than 2,600 people. A city park, Elysian Park, and Dodger Stadium are within the neighborhood, as are an al ...
, the stadium overlooks
downtown Los Angeles and provides views of the city to the south, the green tree-lined hills of
Elysian Park to the north and east, and the
San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield pavilions. Due to dry summers in Southern California, rainouts at Dodger Stadium are rare. Prior to 1976, the Dodgers were rained out only once, against the
St. Louis Cardinals, on April 21, 1967, ending a streak of 737 consecutive games without a postponement. On April 12, 1976, the second home rainout ended a streak of 724 straight games. April 19–21, 1988 saw three consecutive rainouts, the only time consecutive games have been rained out at Dodger Stadium.
No rainouts occurred between April 21, 1988, and April 11, 1999 – a major league record of 856 straight home games without a rainout.
That record has since been broken, with no rainouts since April 17, 2000, 1,471 consecutive games through October 3, 2019
Seating
Dodger Stadium has never increased its seating capacity, and was the only current MLB park (through 2005) that had never done so, due to a
conditional-use permit that limits Dodger Stadium's seating capacity to 56,000. Whenever higher revenue lower seats were added some in the upper deck or pavilion were removed to keep the number the same.
Through the sale of standing room only tickets, the Dodgers' 2009 home opener drew 57,099 fans, the largest crowd in stadium history. Following a number of incidents in the early 1970s in which fans showered
Cincinnati Reds left fielder
Pete Rose with beer, bottles, cups, and trash, the sale of beer was discontinued in both pavilions. Beer sales were reinstated in the right field pavilion in 2008, when that section was converted into the
All You Can Eat Pavilion. Fans seated in that section can eat unlimited hot dogs and peanuts and also have access to free soft drinks. There is a charge for beer.
With the retirement of the original
Yankee Stadium and
Shea Stadium in 2008, the park reigned as the largest capacity ballpark in the Majors.
As of 2010, there are a total of 2,098 club seats and 68 luxury suites. Both of these amounts will increase once the renovations are complete, with the necessary offset to comply with its conditional-use permit.
Due to renovations made in the 2012–2013 offseason, the current maximum capacity of Dodger Stadium is less than 56,000, although the team's president,
Stan Kasten
Stan Kasten (born February 1, 1952) is the former president of the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals, and the current president and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Long involved in Atlanta professional sports, he also served as g ...
, refuses to provide an exact number. A 53,393 attendance is considered a sellout. The high water mark since the renovations is 56,800 in Games 3, 4 and 5 of the
2008 NLCS.
The team's 2013 media guide and website still report the capacity as 56,000.
Dodgers Stadium achieved record paid attendance during the 2019 season with 3,875,656 spectators.
Center field dimension and playing surface
For various reasons, Dodger Stadium has long enjoyed a reputation as a pitchers' park. At first, the relatively deep outfield dimensions were a factor, with the power alleys being about . Home plate was moved toward center field in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
, but that move also expanded foul ground by , a tradeoff which helped to offset the increased likelihood of home runs caused by the decreased field dimensions. Also, during evening games, as the sun sets, the surrounding air cools quickly due to the ocean climate, becoming more dense. As a result, deep fly balls that might otherwise be home runs during the day instead often remain in play becoming outs. The park has been home to 12
no-hitters, while players have
hit for the cycle just twice in Dodger Stadium.
Recently, Dodger Stadium has been more neutral with respect to home runs. The stadium does depress doubles and triples quite a bit, due to its uniform outfield walls and relatively small "corners" near the foul poles. However, the extremely short outfield walls near the foul poles also make some balls that would bounce off the wall in other parks go for home runs. With some expansion of the box seat area and the removal of significant foul territory, the ballpark has become more neutral, favoring neither pitchers nor hitters. Baseball-Reference's Park Factor measurement of 102 for the 2006 and 2007 seasons is evidence of this.
Although the distance to center field has been marked at 395 feet since 1973, it is still actually to center, as has been the case since 1969. The two signs erected in 1973 are to the left and right of dead center.
However, curvature of the fence between the posted distance signs is not exactly radial from home plate, thus the distance from home plate directly to center field is most likely farther than the posted . As of 2012, distance to center field is indicated , and is located virtually exactly at the center field point.
With the opening of
Citi Field and the demolition of Shea Stadium in 2009, Dodger Stadium became the only stadium with symmetrical outfield dimensions remaining in the National League and only one of four total in Major League Baseball. The other three symmetrical fields are Kansas City's
Kauffman Stadium, Toronto's
Rogers Centre, and
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, all in the American League.
Pitchers such as
Sandy Koufax,
Don Drysdale,
Don Sutton,
Fernando Valenzuela, and
Orel Hershiser became superstars after arriving in Los Angeles. The pitcher's edge is also evident in the fact that 13
no-hitters have been thrown in the stadium, including two
perfect games (by the Dodgers'
Sandy Koufax in 1965, and by
Dennis Martínez of the former
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
in ).
Bo Belinsky threw the first ever no-hitter in Dodger Stadium on May 5, 1962, while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels (that club referred to the park as "Chavez Ravine".)
The park's significant advantage was eroded somewhat since 1969, in general because MLB rules were changed after the "
Year of the Pitcher" to lower the maximum height of the pitcher's mound, and more specifically because the Dodgers moved the diamond about 10 feet (3 m) towards center field. This also gave the fielders more room to catch foul balls, so there was some tradeoff. Following the
2004 season, the stadium underwent a renovation which significantly reduced the amount of foul territory. Seats were added which were closer to home plate than the pitcher's mound, the dugouts were moved closer to the field, and previously open space down the foul lines was filled with new seats.
Historic events
1963 World Series
The Dodgers won the 1963 World Series over the New York Yankees, sweeping the Yankees by winning game 4 by a score of 2–1. So far, this remains the only time the Dodgers ever clinched a World Series at Dodger Stadium.
1988 National League Championship Series
Until 1988, Dodger Stadium had never hosted a seventh game of a postseason series. The Dodgers won Game 7 of the 1988 National League Championship Series over the New York Mets, 6–0.
2020 postseason games
In keeping with the decision of Major League Baseball to schedule postseason games for neutral, "bubble" sites in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Dodger Stadium hosted all games between the
Houston Astros and the
Oakland Athletics in the
2020 American League Division Series
The 2020 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine participating teams in the 2020 American League Championship Series. Those matchups were:
* (1) Tampa Bay Rays (East Divisio ...
.
The
2020 World Series
The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los A ...
, which pitted the Dodgers against the
Tampa Bay Rays, was played in the neutral site of
Globe Life Field
Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. It is located just south of Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers' former home ballpark.
History Background
On M ...
in
Arlington, Texas. To accommodate local fans, Dodger Stadium staff set up two high HD video screens in the parking lot and allowed up to 950 cars to enter for each World Series game. An entrance fee of $75 per car was charged, with no more than 6 occupants per car. Audio play-by-play was broadcast over an FM station. No food or drink was sold, and participants were prohibited from bringing alcohol or "partying away from their car". An estimated 2,000 fans attended each game.
No-hitters in Dodger Stadium
(*-Perfect game)
Home runs out of Dodger Stadium
Six home runs have been hit completely out of Dodger Stadium. Outfielder
Willie Stargell of the
Pittsburgh Pirates hit two of those home runs. Stargell hit a home run off the Dodgers'
Alan Foster on August 5, 1969, that completely cleared the right field pavilion and struck a bus parked outside the stadium. Stargell then hit a home run off
Andy Messersmith on May 8, 1973, that landed on the right field pavilion roof and bounced into the parking lot. Dodger catcher
Mike Piazza hit a home run off Frank Castillo of the
Colorado Rockies on September 21, 1997, that landed on the left field pavilion roof and skipped under the left field video board and into the parking lot. On May 22, 1999,
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman
Mark McGwire cleared the left field pavilion with a home run off the Dodgers'
Jamie Arnold. On May 12, 2015,
Giancarlo Stanton of the
Miami Marlins hit a home run over the left-field roof off
Mike Bolsinger and most recently, on September 30, 2021,
Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a ball out of the stadium off the top of the left field pavilion roof.
Notable events
Park usage
Dodger Stadium has also staged other sporting events such as boxing, a basketball game featuring the
Harlem Globetrotters and a ski-jumping exhibition, as well as the baseball competition of the
1984 Summer Olympic Games and is currently designated to host softball and baseball for the
2028 Olympic Games with
Angel Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los A ...
.
Baseball
In 1992, baseball games from April 30 to May 3 against the Montreal Expos were postponed due to the
1992 Los Angeles riots. Three consecutive days of double headers were held later in the season on July 6 to 8.
Soccer
Dodger Stadium hosted a soccer doubleheader on August 3, 2013, part of the
2013 International Champions Cup, featuring
Real Madrid of Spain,
Everton of England,
Juventus of Italy and
Los Angeles Galaxy of
Major League Soccer in a tournament semifinal. The field dimensions were from the third base side to right field; temporary grass was covered on the pitcher's mound and the infield. The tournament was a semifinal and Real Madrid defeated Everton 2-1 and Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Juventus 3–1.
Hockey
Dodger Stadium hosted its first
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
game between the
Los Angeles Kings and the
Anaheim Ducks on January 25, 2014, as a part of the
2014 NHL Stadium Series. The Ducks won the game 3–0 in front of 54,099 fans. In addition, the rock band
KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
played songs before the game and during its first intermission.
Boxing
On March 21, 1963, Ultiminio "Sugar" Ramos won the WBC and WBA featherweight titles from Davey Moore in ten rounds. Moore died days after this fight. Also on the card, Roberto Cruz KO'd Raymundo "Battling" Torres in one round to win the WBA Junior Welterweight title.
Cricket
On November 15, 2015, Dodger Stadium hosted the third and final game of the
Cricket All-Stars Series 2015, featuring many retired cricket players from around the world and led by great cricket legends
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...
and
Shane Warne.
Warne's Warriors
Cricket All-Stars (better known as Cricket All-Stars Series) was an exhibition Twenty20 cricket series took place in the United States in 2015. The series features two lineups of renowned retired cricket players from around the world, led by cric ...
defeated
Sachin's Blasters by 4 wickets to sweep the three-game series. The ends were named after
Sandy Koufax and
Don Sutton, two
Hall of Fame pitchers for LA Dodgers.
Olympics
* The stadium hosted
Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics
* The stadium hosted the opening ceremony of the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival.
* During the
2028 Summer Olympics, the stadium will host Baseball and Softball.
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Concerts
Many of the world's top rock, pop and electronic bands have performed at Dodger Stadium, including acts such as
The Cure,
KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Bee Gees,
Elton John (2 Nights),
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
,
Simon and Garfunkel,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Green Day,
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hur ...
,
Weezer,
Madonna,
Beyonce,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
Guns N' Roses (2 Nights),
Eric Clapton,
Depeche Mode (2 Nights),
U2 (2 Nights),
Dave Matthews Band,
Bruce Springsteen and the
E Street Band,
Dead & Company, and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
in 1984 with The Jacksons (6 sold-out concerts, 330,000 people). In July 2017, it hosted the Classic West concert, the first night had featured
The Eagles (in their full first concert after the January 18th, 2016 death of founding member
Glenn Frey) his place has been taken by his son
Deacon Frey and American country artist
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...
, with supporting acts
The Doobie Brothers and
Steely Dan. The second night featured
Earth, Wind & Fire,
Journey, and
Fleetwood Mac. On July 13, 2019,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
performed at Dodger Stadium as part of his
Freshen Up tour, with
Ringo Starr and
Joe Walsh as guest performers.
The Three Tenors — José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti — gave a one-night-only show at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium on July 16, 1994. It was a watched by a billion people worldwide. In 2022,
Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias became the first stand-up comedian to sell out Dodger Stadium. The concert was taped for
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
and released on October 18, 2022 as "Stadium Fluffy".
In music video
Fleetwood Mac's music video for the song "
Tusk" was recorded and filmed at the empty stadium in 1979.
In film and TV
* The ending of the 1985 film ''
Better Off Dead'' takes place at Dodger Stadium.
* The baseball scenes from
the first ''Naked Gun'' film were filmed at Dodger Stadium, although the team represented in the film was the
California Angels. (The Angels played their first few seasons at "Chavez Ravine" while the ballpark now known as Angel Stadium was being built.)
* This was the starting point of a popular reality show, ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in fore ...
'' in its
fourth season.
* The parking lot of Dodger Stadium was used in the
2001 movie ''
The Fast and the Furious
''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...
'', in which
Brian O'Conner
Brian O'Conner is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. He is portrayed by Paul Walker and first appeared on film, alongside the other protagonist Dominic Toretto, in ''The Fast and the ...
(played by actor
Paul Walker) drifts his 1995
Mitsubishi Eclipse around the parking lot.
* Dodger Stadium was used as the model for
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
's baseball stadium in the
2006 film ''
Superman Returns''. The end of the airplane rescue scene was filmed at Dodger Stadium, and a CGI backdrop for the city was added behind the outfield.
* The stadium also appeared in the 2003 film ''
The Core'' during the scene where the space shuttle takes an unexpected crash landing.
* In a scene from the 2007 film ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, ...
'', an empty Dodger Stadium is depicted being hit by the Autobot
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
's protoform, which crashes through the upper deck and lands in the outfield. Though empty, the stadium's lights are on.
* In the 2010 film ''
Takers
''Takers'' (formerly known as ''Bone Deep'') is a 2010 American heist action thriller film directed by John Luessenhop from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, and Avery Duff. It features Matt Dillon, Pau ...
'', after fleeing in a helicopter from the initial bank robbery, the crew flies to the parking lot at Dodger Stadium where their escape vehicles are parked. They then blow up the helicopter in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium
* In the closing scene of the 2012 film ''
Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to:
Films
* ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips
* ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below)
Music
* ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...
'', Dodger Stadium is seen hosting a concert for the rock band Arsenal, fronted by Stacee Jaxx (played by
Tom Cruise).
* In a 1963 episode of ''Mister Ed'' titled "Leo Durocher meets Mister Ed", Ed offers hitting tips to Dodgers coach
Leo Durocher ahead of a big game.
* ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm'' filmed there in May 2003
Holiday Festival
On November 8, 2021, Dodger organization announced the “2021 Dodger Holiday Festival” event. The event will be held nightly from November 26-December 31, with the exception of the following dark days 11/29, 11/30, 12/6, 12/7, and 12/25. The event will include an ice skating rink, scenic and light displays, holiday themed food and beverages, and Santa photos for guests.
Other events
*
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
celebrated
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...
at Dodger Stadium on September 16, 1987.
*
Greg Laurie held his Harvest Crusades at Dodger Stadium in 2011 and 2012.
Express buses
The
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, LA Metro, and L.A. Metro, is the state agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angele ...
(Metro) has two Dodger Stadium Express bus routes that transport fans to and from the stadium during home games. The service is funded by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee and
Metro ExpressLanes toll revenue.
Union Station route
Buses on the Union Station route run non-stop between
Union Station and Dodger Stadium. Service to the stadium begins operating 90 minutes before the start of the game, with departures every 10 minutes until the 3rd Inning. Buses stop at Center Field and Top Deck. Return service continues until 45 minutes after the final out or 20 minutes after post-game events, with buses departing as they fill.
South Bay route
Buses on the South Bay route operate between the
South Bay and Dodger Stadium along the
Harbor Transitway, making stops at
Slauson,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
,
Harbor Freeway,
Rosecrans, and
Harbor Gateway Transit Center. Service to the stadium begins operating two hours before the start of the game, with departures every 20 minutes until the start of the game. Buses stop at Right Field. Return service begins at the end of the 7th inning and continues until 45 minutes after the final out or 20 minutes after post-game events, with buses departing as they fill.
Climate
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball stadiums
There are 30 stadiums in use by Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The oldest ballpark is Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox, which opened in 1912. The newest stadium is Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas ...
References
Sources
Clem's Baseball: Source for dimensionsDodger Stadium history and factsOfficial Website of former Dodger owner Walter O'Malley
External links
Stadium site on MLB.com Dodger Stadium Seating ChartLos Angeles Sports CouncilImage of a worker clearing a drain of a flooded Dodger Stadium, California, 1977.Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library
The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...
,
University of California, Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
, years = 1962 – present
, before =
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, years = 1962 – 1965
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Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
2022
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Kingdome Coors Field
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The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
Final Venue
, before =
Petco Park AT&T Park
, after =
AT&T Park LoanDepot Park
, years =
2009 2017
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1962 establishments in California
Baseball venues in Los Angeles
Boxing venues in Los Angeles
California Angels stadiums
Cricket grounds in the United States
Elysian Park, Los Angeles
Ice hockey venues in Los Angeles
Landmarks in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Dodgers stadiums
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