Sign Of The Times: Dodgers Allow Kids To Seek Autographs Again
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Dodgers Dropping New Autograph
Restrictions At Dodger Stadium |
The Dodgers have "dropped a new rule and will allow all youngsters to seek autographs in Dodger Stadium in much the same way they have done for years," according to T.J. Simers of the L.A. TIMES. The team has "designated a taped-off area for autographs," and fans at Friday night's Padres-Dodgers game formed a line that "extended almost halfway up to the snack bars" (L.A. TIMES, 4/12). In a separate piece, Simers reported the team is "not allowing anyone without a ticket into the field-level box seats, lining up all those who want an autograph in aisle 27." Field box-seat holders had "complained about the autograph crunch." Simers noted that before Saturday's Padres-Dodgers game, every Dodgers player "walked by the youngsters as if they didn't notice a single one of them standing there" (L.A. TIMES, 4/13). MLB.com's Ben Platt noted the Dodgers received "criticism from the media and more than 300 e-mails and scores of phone calls from unhappy fans" after the team did not allow fans to seek autographs during the club's first homestand. Dodgers CMO Charles Steinberg: "It was a valid criticism, even though there was a rationale to it" (MLB.com, 4/12). Fans complain that the current Dodgers players seldom walked into the centerfield area known as Autograph Alley, where a "former Dodger signs autographs before every game" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 4/13). In L.A., Bill Dwyre wrote, "Good for the McCourts for having the sense to pay attention when they are pushed into a corner. ... It was a bad idea" (L.A. TIMES, 4/13).
PRIVATE CONCESSIONS: Meanwhile, the L.A. TIMES' Simers reported the Dodgers "have been advertising new concession choices on the field-level concourse," but the team had "blocked entrance to the concourse except for those fans with field-level tickets." All fans now will be "allowed to use the new concession stands, but only through the end [of] batting practice," when the area will once again be closed "to everyone except the rich folk" (L.A. TIMES, 4/12).
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