Outfield renovations will allow fans to walk around the entirety of Dodger StadiumGETTY IMAGES
A planned $100M offseason renovation of Dodger Stadium that "focused on adding five elevators and four escalators, creating a 'front door' and sprucing up the outfield pavilions is expected to be ready" for Opening Day against the Giants on March 26 but "won’t be done in time for exhibitions against the Angels on March 23 and 24," according to Helene Elliott of the L.A. TIMES. Dodgers Senior VP/Planning & Development Janet Marie Smith said that the team "will be able to 'use the entirety of the stadium between the foul poles' in the main seating areas from home plate outward during those preseason games but the work in center field won’t be done by then." She added, "We’ll give our contractors a few more days in the outfield." The improvements to Dodger Stadium will be "noticeable and should make it easier for fans to get where they want to go and be comfortable when they arrive." A two-acre "entertainment area will be created, with announcements due soon on features besides kids’ areas." Eventually, on a "new, wide concourse, a drink rail will go the entire width of the ballpark and become a social gathering place." Dodger Stadium will celebrate its 58th anniversary in April and trails only Fenway Park and Wrigley Field as the oldest major league ballparks (L.A. TIMES, 2/13).
