After our two day stint in the Bay Area, Kara and I flew back to LA and the oldest ballpark west of the Mississippi: Dodgers Stadium. Tucked inside the Chavez Ravine overlooking downtown LA, Dodger Stadium is one of the legends of major league baseball, the first true monument to baseball’s westward expansion of the early 60’s. I’ve watched the Dodgers face the Rockies since 1993, so this was one of the ballparks I pictured in my mind when Kara and I first started talking about this MLB ballpark tour.
We watched the Dodgers face off against the Milwaukee Brewers in front of a decent Friday night crowd and squeak out a 7-5 victory. Our seats were located in the left field bleachers, which left us little opportunity to explore the rest of the stadium because of restricted access due to our seating location. There are a total of two identical concession stands and two sets of bathrooms tucked directly underneath the left field bleachers… and nothing else. No fan fun. No walkway. No tribute to Dodgers history. Nothing.
It was still a decent ballgame and with the deep Dodgers tradition, there is a good feel of baseball in the air when you arrive at the stadium. Here is some of our experience when it comes to Dodger Stadium:
- Choose your seating chart wisely. That’s what we learned. I’m told that one of the best views of Dodgers Stadium is on the loge level.
- If you’re going to catch a Dodgers game, try to catch the radio broadcast. Vin Scully is a legend in baseball and his voice is a great throwback to the golden years to start the game.
- Parking is fairly cheap at $10 a pop. There’s no shortage of parking with a massive lot surrounding the stadium, but it’s LA: leave for the game early or risk being stuck somewhere for three hours.
- Dodgers Stadium is the largest stadium in MLB. I thought that might be the case when we were walking to our seats, and sure enough, I was right. It holds over 56,000 people! Translation: wear your walking shoes.
- Food is decently priced.
- If you’re sitting in the bleachers, prep for an even rougher crowd than you’d expect in the bleachers. We had LAPD stationed all around our section and they kept themselves busy the entire game.
- Since it was a Friday home game, we were able to go onto the outfield grass after the game and watch a fireworks show. Worth the experience, even if we were limited in access to the rest of the ballpark.
The Dodgers have such a rich history in their organization and I’m glad we got to experience a night game (and fireworks!) at a place like Dodger Stadium. If we ever return I’ll be sure to buy tickets in the main seating area of the park so we can fully experience all that the park has to offer. For now though, nineteen ballparks down, only eleven more to go!