Blue Heaven on Earth

Official Review by Drew Cieszynski, Stadium Journey Regional Correspondent

Nearing its 50th birthday now, Dodger Stadium remains one of the most iconic venues in all of baseball. A simple glance towards the outfield and you'll see some of the most memorable images of all of the MLB including the palm trees by the foul poles, the Dodgers twist of the Hollywood sign, Dodger dogs, and the wavy roof on the outfield pavilion.

Constructed from 1959 through 1962, it is one of the few stadiums that was privately financed during construction. Its cost of $23 million seems like a relative bargain considering the cost of modern venues today.

The Dodgers have not always called Dodger Stadium home. After moving from Brooklyn and awaiting construction to complete, the team played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1958-1961), which could seat over 80,000 fans.

The stadium is located in Chavez Ravine, which makes it extremely unique. So many stadiums are built in a flat downtown area or on a waterfront, but this stadium was built into a hillside. It offers amazing views of the surrounding area, including the 3,400 trees across 15 acres.

Though it's approaching 50 years of age, the stadium has somehow never changed its capacity of 56,000, currently the largest in all of baseball.

Food & Beverage    2

The signature item at Dodger Stadium is the Dodger Dog, which will cost fans $5. While this remains one of the single most mentioned food items in all of sports, I'm still struggling to find what all of the hoopla is about. The Dodger Dog appears to be nothing more than your everyday inexpensive hot dog on your everyday/inexpensive white bun. What's worse is that they are kept in a warming vat, so the purchasing fan has no idea how fresh their hot dog really is. With so many great variety of encased meat these days, it is beyond me of why anyone would recommend this to any other fan. If you are going to purchase a 'dog, at least go for the all-beef Super Dodger Dog for $5.75, Polish Sausage for $6.75, or Picante Dog for $5.75.

Some other common ballpark items include the souvenir helmet fries ($6.75), fries ($4.75), nachos ($6), peanuts ($5.50), cracker jacks ($3.75), popcorn ($4.75 or get a souvenir size for $7.75), soft pretzel ($3.75), and cotton candy ($4.75).

If you're hungry for some Mexican, try the beef or chicken burrito for $7.75 or a Nacho Camacho's Supreme $8.50 (sour cream, beans, nacho cheese, guacamole, and pico de gallo).

If you're a fan of predictable food that you have probably tried before, you can get a pizza at the California Pizza Kitchen for $9.00 or typical Carl's Jr meals.

Dodger Stadium does include an extensive dessert menu as well. They offer cookie ice cream sandwiches ($5.25), M-M frozen lemonade ($5), ice cream malts ($4.50), red vines licorice ($4.50), churros ($4), ICEE cups ($4.50), Dippin' Dots ($4.75), and yogurt served in mini souvenir Dodger helmets ($4.75).

Coke products are available for $3.75 (regular), $5 (large), and $6 (extra large). Hot chocolate is $3 and Dodgers Blue spring water is $5.

There is also an option to purchase tickets for the all-you-can-eat pavilion for $30-$40. This fee allows you to get a seat in the outfield and sample as much of the food as you'd like.

Draft beer prices seem to run at $6 (small), $8 (regular), and $10 (large) for your common domestic beers such as Bud, Coors, and Miller. You'll add $1 for their "premium" options such as Gordon Biersch, Heineken, Shocktop, Tecate, Dos Equis, and Corona. If you want a 24 ounce beer poured into a cup, you'll pay $12.25 for domestic and $13 for premium. O'Doul's non-alcoholic beer is $5.

Many of the everyday cocktails are $9, wine is $7.25, and margaritas are $11.

Atmosphere    4

On the outside of the stadium and throughout the concourse, you'll find murals of all of the Dodgers current players as well as many from the past, evoking great memories of Dodger baseball. This sets an early tone of Dodger Stadium being one of the great places of baseball.

The atmosphere was kicked off in a rather exciting way as I witnessed my first helicopter flyover prior to the game. Four helicopters appeared above the main grandstand at the conclusion of the national anthem and flew towards centerfield in perfect synchronization.

Next up, the PA system announced "It's time for Dodger baseball," followed by "Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue as the players ran into the field.

Throughout the game, there were subtle promotions and entertainment, such as the good old-fashioned blooper reel. The "massive speaker in centerfield" is a dying phenomenon these days, but despite the antiquated sound system, the fans really seemed to react every time music pumps out of it.

You'll spot a celebrity here and there, but it seems that many of the fans are more concerned about the game here than they might be at other Los Angeles events. The stadium certainly gets extremely loud anytime that the Dodgers get a runner on base or are primed to make a key out. When a Dodger's player hits a home run, the outfield pavilion strobe lights will flicker and the fans will erupt in cheers.

Neighborhood    2

As previously mentioned, the stadium is atop a hill and unfortunately sits somewhat alone. It is surrounded by some beautiful scenery in the form of Elysian Park and the San Gabriel Mountains. If hiking is one of your hobbies, you may find that to be a fun pre or post game activity.

Some other notable nearby items include the LA Police Academy, which could come in handy if any crowd control is needed after a big Dodgers win, and Chinatown is just minutes away and proves to be a good stop whether a tourist or a local.

Unfortunately, I wasn't comfortable venturing into any of the local restaurants as many of them had bars over the windows. While the stadium is near Sunset Blvd, unfortunately it is a bit away from the more exciting parts, so be sure to drive down a bit before stopping.

Fans    3

Despite the stadium being only at 60% capacity, these fans were easily among the loudest I've witnessed anywhere. They were passionately cheering for their team during every play.

Despite having 68 luxury suites and several celebrities at the game, the Dodger fans still make this experience about baseball. All fans seem to be there to cheer on their team rather than to be seen.

Unfortunately, sometimes this support gets a bit too deep-seated and emotions run high. While I do enjoy their enthusiasm, I do have some points of contention.

Over the course of the summer, I paid several visits to Dodger Stadium and witnessed several unfortunate experiences with the fan base.

The first was when a group of Dodger fans were jawing with a Padre fan. Of course, this common "trash talk" occurs everywhere, but when the Dodger fans continued to keep their eyes on this fan and were yelling promises of a physical encounter after the game, then it had clearly gone too far.

Next was during the evening where Dodger Stadium was giving away beach towels to fans in attendance. Two sections over, I witnessed a Dodger fan creep up behind a father and son and steal their towels. Security seemed ineffective in catching up to this thief.

My last example stems from an evening when a friend and I were enjoying a game from the upper section of the first base side. Some Atlanta Braves fans were sitting a few rows below us and began to celebrate a productive inning from their team. Suddenly, dozens of members of our section began throwing everything from trash to pieces of food and yes, even beverages. While this in itself is completely unacceptable, it continued downhill from there. Security came to our seats and escorted my friend from the game because he was "seen throwing items." As he was escorted out, all of the fans in the section remained silent. I pleaded with all of the nearby fans to speak up and tell the guards that my friend had not been throwing objects, but all I heard were crickets.

While I cannot group all Dodger fans into this bucket, I would encourage the good fans and Dodger management to prevent these instances from occurring in the future. It seems to be a little more than coincidental that these bad acts of sportsmanship are showing up at Dodger games.

Access    1

The stadium is located in Chavez Ravine, and surrounded by the rather large Elysian Park. The stadium can be easily accessed from the 5, the 110, or the 101. Of course, being just a few minutes north of downtown Los Angeles, you'll be sure to encounter hordes of traffic at all hours of the day.

If and when you do conquer the traffic and make it to "the Ravine," you'll encounter some vast parking lots (16,000 spots) that will cost you $15. The spots are extremely tight and the pavement looks as if it has not been resurfaced in quite some time. Tailgating is not allowed and alcohol is strictly prohibited in the parking lots.

The walk to the stadium from your parking spot could take up to 15 minutes as guards often have to stop fans at crosswalks for oncoming traffic.

Be aware of your gate number as you are approaching the stadium as you must enter the gate specific to your section. You could be sent to the opposite side of the stadium if you are not paying attention. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the terrain was flat, but keep in mind that this is on a ravine, and you'll encounter many challenging hills and staircases on some rather steep inclines along the way.

Once inside the stadium, plan your bathroom breaks well in advance. The restroom are extremely small and cramped. Although they utilize "trough" urinals in the men's room, the limited size is not conducive to moving patrons in and out quickly.

Unfortunately, this is one of the few remaining stadiums that you cannot "walk." Many fans fulfilling their stadium journeys love to walk the concourses and see the field from multiple vantage points. Stadiums often have different food options in different areas and certain memorable aspects in the stadium that aren't always near your purchased seat. This is easily my biggest frustration with the stadium. Those in the upper concourse cannot access the lower levels and those in the outfield pavilion areas seem stricken from the scenic views of the upper levels. I do understand that this could be to prevent fans from gawking at celebrities that may be attending any given game, but by preventing fans that are in attendance for baseball purposes from getting more intimate with the stadium is just plain unfair.

Lastly, I believe that the biggest miss as far as access is that lack of a Metro stop. Sure, they do offer the "Dodger Stadium Express," which is a bus you can catch at Union station. With a ticket, your fare is free, and without it's a mere $1.25. Optimally, a metro train stop would be near the stadium so that fans can easily and quickly get in and out.

Return on Investment    3

Ticket prices vary depending on whether they are advance purchase or game day. Unfortunately, there are over 70 different ticket prices listed at the box office, so I cannot list all of them here.

The best value is definitely the top deck, where it is only $15 for adults and $7 for children. While fans here are far removed from the action, you can still get a good vantage point for the game and beautiful views of the San Gabriel Mountains. Premium seats have a face value of up to $285 and can get you close to the action and all celebrities that may be in the crowd.

The pavilions in the outfield also offer some great values. Tickets here are usually around $18-$20, but can be part of an all-you-can-eat promotion for $30-$40.

The upper sections of right field and left field lines have been renamed to "Bleacher Beach" and "This is My Town" to make the seats a bit more desirable to the average fan. For about $30, you'll get free gifts and food vouchers in addition to your seat.

While the parking is a bit extreme, the ticket prices and food prices do seem reasonable by MLB standards. Any fan can take in the experience for under $40. Unfortunately, it will likely take a few visits before you can see all of the park from all of the vantage points.

Extras    5

One of the biggest extra points in all of the MLB goes to Dodger Stadium. If you are parking or sitting in a top level, you can get some rather unbelievable views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline. If the smog is out on break, you can even get beautiful views as far as the Pacific Ocean.

If you glance past right field to the mountains north of the stadium, you'll spot the "Think Blue" sign, which has become a common symbol of the ballpark. While it has the same number of letters as the world-renowned Hollywood sign, its blue color gives it a little pop among the green and brown colors of the mountains.

More points to the Dodgers here for recognizing their employees. On this particular night, they recognized the team photographer prior to the game with a touching ceremony for his 25 years of service. There were also moments during the game when the gameday staff and their names were shown on the jumbotron. I think it goes without saying that employees that feel appreciated are going to be much more accommodating and friendly to all fans.

We've all heard the "We Will Rock You" song by Queen, but only in LA will you hear a remix of that very song with lead singer "Snoop Dog."

Big extra point for the "This is my Town" promotion at the stadium. This celebrates the diversity of all Dodger fans. Excellent promotion since Los Angeles has everything from Chinatown to Filipinotown.

The stadium was not always known as Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers had a roommate in the form of the now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a little over three years in the early 60's. During this time, it was referred to as Chavez Ravine Stadium.

Eight World Series have passed through the gates at Dodger Stadium and both the Olympics (1984), the World Baseball Classic (2009) and MLB All-Star games (1980).

One last comment here. The scoreboard shows the umpire "jersey" numbers. My biggest question here is why? Can the Dodgers not find better use of the scoreboard space than umpire numbers?

Final Thoughts

Dodger Stadium is now the third oldest park in the MLB, second oldest in the National League (Wrigley), and oldest on the West Coast. Despite its age, it continues to be a gem that all baseball fans long to see.

Certainly, the Dodgers need to update the menu and urge their fans to be more accommodating to visitors and each other, but an opportunity to attend a Dodgers game should not be passed by.

All Dodger and baseball fans are anxious to see the Dodger's "Next 50" plan come to fruition. At this point, only Wrigley Field in the National League has more years of service and is getting a large facelift in the coming years. This plan is said to add a new centerfield entrance, observation deck to view the surrounding area, a landscaped perimeter, restroom updates, and reduced traffic congestion. Most importantly, this plan is said to add an area with shops, restaurants, and museums, making it a year-round experience and improving Dodger Stadium's Neighborhood score.

Follow Drew's travels through Southern California on twitter @Big10Drew.