Recapping Rally Sunday at Dodger Stadium

Not sure who is recording those strikeouts. Maybe Steve Lyons, sequestered in center field for the event?

SoSG Alex Cora and I made it out to the Dodgers' Rally Sunday at the Stadium yesterday evening, and the event was kind of like a kids birthday party at Chuck E Cheese:

• abundant availability of cheap food and drink;
• an atmosphere that was a little bit more chaotic than it should have been;
• a couple of nice moments when everyone chered in unison (except, instead of singing "Happy Birthday," everyone ended up saying "I Love The Dodgers!" at Tommy Lasorda's behest);
• a goofy, out-of-place guy walking around in a ratty / furry costume;
• and a couple of people (including myself) who walked away with a tchochke item or two, as if they had been playing skee-ball for two straight hours just to amass the tickets.

Not that I didn't have other options, but I just couldn't spend $35 on a gray NL West Division Champions t-shirt, even if the shirt logo and design looked a heck of a lot better than the oversized Coliseum pre-season game logo shirts that still aren't moving, even at 50% off. So cheap tchochkes it was, they would have to satisfy.

But let's get to elaboration on the five bullet points above.

Food and drink was offered at prices so low, you'd think Frank McCourt was CRAZY. Or, that he was trying to get rid of excess hot dog and nacho inventories from the 2008 season (at least, I hope it was the 2008 season). Nonetheless, we got our share of nitrates and cokes despite the fact that we were in the slowest queue at the counter (I took a picture of the woman serving our line, intending to post her visage on the site, but realized today that that wouldn't be very nice). Kudos to the stadium for not selling beer, which would have been a disaster because...(see next paragraph)

$2 Dodger Dogs, do mine eyes deceive me?

This Dodger Dog was not on sale, however; in fact, she wasn't allowed into the rally and had to wait outside the gates.

...the logistic planning was woefully poor for this event. The Dodgers had set up a stage in front of the first base side field level, apparently thinking that only four or five sections full of fans would come to an empty stadium to rally for the team. Well, they were off, by magnitudes of 4-5x. Not only were almost all of the sections of the field level filled on the first base side (I'm guessing, from about aisle 10 and up), but they also had to start shepherding incoming crowds to the loge level, which was also filling up. I don't even know if there were concession stands open up there (SoSG readers know I'm an elitist), but the crowds were clearly more than they had expected from a seating perspective. This was exacerbated when the Dodgers staff simply did not know what to do when their initial sections could not meet the overflow crowd. Ushers forced everyone into the main concourse, forbidding people from taking seats in other sections until they officially "opened up", which led to mass claustrophobia and a stampede of squished people. Fans at the rally with kids in tow had a particularly tough time standing there, with no movement, squished in place for 15 minutes. I kind of expected to see Drew McCourt leading crowd control from a booth in the press box, as it was a logistic disaster.

Field level seating; I know it looks orderly, but remember this was about a half-hour before the event even began! (See the stage in the distance?!)

A sea of humanity starts to crowd into the concourse (it got MUCH worse than this).

Hey look, there is still no line drawn on the ground! Fire code violation???!!!

Once the festivities started, though, it was nice to see people on Diamondvision (since viewing the stage, from our section, was impossible). Tommy Lasorda of course led off the list of guest speakers, and he was in fine form. You think he sounds angry in the Aamco radio commercials? He sounded pissed off and furious here. Tommy is so pumped for this series, that he did all but guarantee the World Championship title (heck, I'd take a playoff series win, at this point). I expected the bombastic delivery and propaganda, but there were two weird parts, though. First, he called out the few strange fans who wore Angels stuff. Why you would wear Angels gear to a Dodgers rally is bizarre, true; but why waste the time firing up the people by screaming, "the only angels I know are up in heaven, and they're all ex-Dodgers?" I'm not sure where Mike Scioscia ends up, given that logic; perhaps he's a ghost. Secondly, as Tommy was being asked his opinions on each position, when he got to Andruw Jones there was an understandable chorus of boos from the crowd. Lasorda took it upon himself to admonish us for booing Jones ("He's trying his hardest, and as long as he wears a Dodger uniform, we need to pull for him"), which I guess proves the point that obesity loves company (and food).

Lasorda ended up giving way to Don Newcombe and other Dodger legends. I confess that I wasn't able to stay much later, so I missed the arrival of the team and the rest of the show.

But about that goofy mascot guy...Bernie, the Inland Empire 66ers (Dodgers' minor league affiliate) mascot, was roaming around Dodger Stadium, and if I ever needed a last shred of proof that the Dodgers do not need a mascot, here it was. Bernie was not only the mangiest mascot I've seen since Palos Verdes' Marineland closed in the 1980s, he scared the bejeezus out of many small kids with his over-aggressive antics and unprovoked yelping sounds, the latter of which sounded like a sealion about to attack. I saw one child shrinking in horror from Bernie, as the poor kid was too scared to take a picture with the furry weirdo armed with shrieking screams and herky-jerky seizure-like movement. And later on, I saw this clown pretending to eat the head of another kid (the line for Dodger Dogs got worse as the evening went on), and the kid came out dazed and shocked. I thought the first rule of mascot behavior was to not maul children? This guy needed to get the Dodger Stadium security staff treatment, as Bernie was a liability lawsuit waiting to happen. Go send him to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, and let him duke it out with Crater to the death. And who decided it was a good idea to bring Bernie, a bright red sorespot, to a Dodgers rally in the first place?

Stop this mascot before he kills again.

Our early departure allowed us to enjoy sundown at the Stadium, which was nice, and I was happy to support the Dodgers' rally and cheer a couple times for our team. I was sorry that I couldn't stay for the full event (I had other commitments), but it was nice to take part in the rally, I'm glad that the Dodgers did an event like this, and thankful that Merrill Bank Lynch of America sponsored it, even if the execution was a little flawed. We walked out with a Dodgers fleece blanket and a 50h anniversary pin. Leaving early also allowed me to witness this nutjob who parked smack dab in the middle of the aisle.

Maybe Bernie drives a PT Cruiser.

It's Not All Beer & Skittles at Dodger Stadium

Things are swell for the Dodgers on the field, although the same might not be said for fans who accidentally end up there with them. Erin of Robots Took My Medicine recounts a security incident she witnessed at Dodger Stadium last Thursday, when a female fan fell onto the warning track going for a baseball—then decided to pursue the ball:

A security guard finally saw the woman when she started to run. [...]

I figured he would just grab her and stop her, but this guy, apparently deeming the woman a huge threat to national security, tackled her by the neck, pinning her against the wall. [...] My fiance kept watching and said that then, with his arms still around the woman's neck, the guard threw her to the ground. By the neck. I looked back and saw that, at this point, three of his coworkers had come over to help, and they decided that they needed three of them to hold this woman down and cuff her, then drag her off the field.

While acknowledging the Dodgers' zero-tolerance policy regarding fans on the field, Erin is sure of one thing: "This was violent. This was unnecessary. And it was just plain mean." And Erin is acting on her conviction, vowing to boycott Dodger games next year if the guard is still employed by the stadium.

We weren't there to witness the incident, but SoSG shares Erin's concern about the potential use of excessive force by Dodger Stadium security. Players must be protected, and fans on the field should be dealt with efficiently. But guards should be able to use discretion; was a verbal warning issued, for instance?

Erin has contacted several members of the Dodgers front office, including VP of Public Relations and Broadcasting Josh Rawitch. "I was planning on buying a season ticket package for next season," she writes. "That won't happen now, unless I hear something about this man being fired for his actions." We look forward to hearing from Erin what management has to say—and where she will be watching the Dodgers in 2009.

It's Time For McCourt To Draw The Line

We've now gone through an entire season of the much-ballyhooed field level stadium renovations, which basically resulted in two added private baseline clubs (compensating for the poor folks now sitting in foul territory with poor sightlines), revamped concession stands, new lighting and cleaner fonts throughout, and secret rooms with treasure troves of mens urinals. Being a field level season ticket holder, I have to admit the gutting of the field level over the 2007-2008 offseason was a great idea, and these are all nice improvements...

...except (and you know there was going to be an "except"!), the widened concourses are still just as crowded and unnavigatable as they were before. Simple physics should have one believe that this cannot be true; the concourses are wider, so the fan with a tray full of Dodger Dogs, beers, and nachos should have no trouble balancing this on the way back to his/her seat, right?

Wrong. It is still a mess, and even at games like Wednesday night's game, with only 45,000 people in attendance (far short of a sellout crowd), one felt like a salmon swimming upstream to get through the hordes of people. There are a number of reasons for the claustrophobia, namely:

• The lines extending from any concession stand (on the perimeter) back toward the playing field still run perpendicular to traffic, cutting off any traffic flow (there is one Dodger Dog stand on the odd-numbered side that sometimes snakes a Disneyland-like line of people, allowing the people in the queue to more efficiently go to the first available register--but the snaking queue extends so deep into the concourse, it's still a major logjam);
• The concession carts with mustard, ketchup, napkins, etc., are positioned poorly, as if to purposely impede traffic in the circumference of the concourse;
• I swear to god, most men haven't figured out the locations of the secret urinal rooms, resulting in lines of surly, full-bladdered men which creep out into the concourse, just as they used to do pre-renovations;
• And, most importantly, most fans are simply standing around, sipping their beers, right behind the last row of field level seats. And throngs of policemen, Dodger Stadium staff, and Dodger ushers don't do a damn thing about it.

Before they gutted the concourses, there used to be a line that extended about two feet back behind the last row of field level seats, with a notice "NO STANDING IN THIS AREA." This area, once painted red and marked off with a white line, prevented people from congregating behind the last row, and allowed the seatholders to actually make it down the aisle to their seats. What's more, the ushers used to enforce this rule strictly, making sure loitering people moved back behind the painted area; if you wanted to stand around in the concourse, you could, but you'd have a restricted view of the field.

Well, someone forgot to re-paint that line and "NO STANDING" area, which directly contributes to the foot traffic mess that is further exacerbated by an apparent cut in the number of ushers altogether (when you can find one, which is rare, they wouldn't be able to enforce this rule as there's nothing on the ground in the first place, and they'd probably be overrun by the hordes of congregators in the mob anyway).

As if the traffic outside the stadium isn't enough--there's a mess of traffic inside the stadium as well. At the some of most expensive seats, I might add.

I have to think that this painted area was there for a fire code reason or something, but to my surprise, we've lasted all year without this line and painted area being restored to the concrete. I'm going to shoot this post off to the LAFD as well, since no one else at the Fire Department seems to have caught this.

But hey, I'm not altogether salty all the time. I'm psyched we won the NL West and I'm riding the wave of euphoria. So let me say this, Frank McCourt: You've got one week to go before the first playoff game hits Dodger Stadium on Saturday, October 4. If you can sport me the paint and the brush, I will personally come out to Dodger Stadium this weekend and paint the line on the concourse. I'll even write "NO STANDING" a couple of extra times, too (and my penmanship is pretty good, I might add).

You buy the materials, Frank. I'll provide the labor. You avoid the fire code citations and fines from crowd control violations (that's right, Frank--you could lose money here if you don't take action).

And Dodger ticket holders on the field level get to access their seats--the ones with prices that you've jacked up over 100% since your highly-leveraged purchase of the team--quickly and efficiently, allowing them to fully enjoy the game and the whole Dodger Stadium experience.

Ball's in your court, Frankie! Time for you to draw the line.

SoSG Contributes to Yahoo Sports' Big Ballpark Review of Dodger Stadium

A big thank you to Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo! Sports' "Big League Stew" for asking us Sons to contribute to his Big Ballpark Review of Dodger Stadium, which posted yesterday evening. We were honored and appreciative to have been invited for comments, which were collected from a variety of fans who know the ballpark and offered their thoughts on what's good, bad, unique, and special about the home of our beloved Dodgers.

I'll let you link over to see the rest of the comments (including those from yours truly), but I'll excerpt this one which sums up my thoughts on why I love Dodger Stadium, and Los Angeles in general:

"I've been to over 35 major league stadiums, including 25 current MLB parks, and the reason why I love Dodger Stadium enough to visit 20+ times a year is that the diversity of the crowd reflects the wonderful diversity of Los Angeles like no other venue. I haven't found another cause that can bring all ages, races, income levels, and backgrounds together like a game at Dodger Stadium. When the Dodgers score (which to be fair hasn't been that often this year), it's awesome to see the crowd erupt in harmony, all cheering in unison for their favorite team. And on a summer evening under a cloudless night sky in Los Angeles, along with 56,000 of your closest friends — there is really no better place to be." — SoSG Steve Sax

Thanks for asking us to participate, Kevin, and keep up the great work at Big League Stew!

photo: Getty Images (can you see me there in the crowd on Opening Day?)

One Rare Category Where The Dodgers Are Ahead of the Angels

Wow, the LA Times is a goldmine for Dodgers information today, which is surprising given the diminishing volume of the sports page and record of fleeing columnists and sportswriters. Jerry Crowe writes about veggie dogs: Dodger Stadium's got 'em; Angel Stadium doesn't.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers is being introduced before last Friday night's game against the San Francisco Giants, and Johanna McCloy, otherwise preoccupied at AT&T Park, lets out a yelp.

"Yes," she cries. "Vegetarian."

The Berkeley-based McCloy, a self-appointed advocate for meat-eschewing baseball fans, has crossed the San Francisco Bay to promote her dreamer's quest: to add veggie dogs to the menu at every major league ballpark.

Eight years into her mission, the 43-year-old actress and Duke graduate is halfway there, with Dodger Stadium among the first to sign on and Angel Stadium still a holdout. Fielder's decision to give up meat has been a welcome shot in the arm to the cause, which has encountered pockets of hostile resistance.

Last month, after an article about McCloy appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle magazine, reader Marc Kimberly of Concord wrote: "For goodness' sakes, is there no limit to which annoying vegetarians won't go in their efforts to try to convert people from enjoying meat in favor of the bland mishmash of unappetizing and virtually tasteless 'food' these elitist snobs choke down their gullets?"

McCloy says she was equally dumbfounded when, during an appearance on a Denver radio station, her efforts were labeled un-American. Her only objective, she says, is to give fans a choice.

"I said, 'How more American can you get?' " McCloy says of her Denver radio experience. "This is a nation of immigrants, this is a nation of diversity, this is a nation of opportunity, this is a nation of saying 'yes' to everybody. How are you threatened by a couple of people to your left at a baseball game choosing to eat something other than what you're eating?"

Bravo, McCloy, fight the power. Vegetarians are people too (even Berkeley vegetarians), and we all could use greater breadth of edible options at our bseball stadiums. Heck, can we get a real Chinese food place in Dodger Stadium, while we're at it, with more dim sum items and less of the orange chicken?

And why is Angel Stadium behind the curve on this issue? Well, let's just say they've got other issues.

Father's Day On-Field Recap

During the doldrums of a losing season (Doldrums? Check. Losing season? Check), a change in perspective can help you appreciate your favorite team in different ways. For instance, the collapse of last year's Dodger team was chronicled in our first full year of SoSG; we all shared in the misery through our blog instead of angry mass e-mails. Progress? You decide.

So far this year's team has been equally dismal, yet some of us were lucky enough to experience something completely different with the Dodgers' VIP treatment on Blogger Night. Yesterday's Father's Day event at Dodger Stadium comes in a close second to Blogger Night but was definitely better in one way: It was open to the public!

Our party, including Sax and me, arrived at 10 a.m. The event was well-staffed, including the cheerful people handing out free foam baseballs for our throwing pleasure. The center field gates were open and onto the field we strolled. Little did I know I was about to be blown away.

I was completely unprepared for the emotion of the moment. First of all, the grass. It's perfect. It's short and dense and green and wow. To the Dodger Stadium greenskeeper (perhaps Eric Hansen, Assistant Director, Turf and Grounds?): (1) I'm sorry hundreds of people walked on your field today, and (2) congratulations.

Before yesterday, I had never taken a stadium tour or done one of those stadium sleepovers or otherwise come close to stepping on the grass of Dodger Stadium. Having spent my entire life rooting for the players in this stadium, it never occurred to me I would ever see the field from their perspective. And suddenly here I was in the Dodger Stadium outfield, surrounded by people playing catch as if this were any other Sunday:

There are precious few things in life that make me feel like a child again. This was one of them.

Dodger management had thoughtfully broadcast the Dodgers-Tigers game on Diamond Vision, so we could watch Clayton Kershaw collecting another no-decision. I chose to walk around the field, amidst a sea of flying foam baseballs, to soak in as much as possible from my new standpoint. It was somewhat surreal, like being fully aware in a dream—and feeling you were going to wake up at any moment.

The infield was gated off, maybe because of the giant red boa constrictor sleeping on the pitcher's mound. Oh wait, that's a hose.

The warning track dirt reminded me of the famous "red dirt" on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. I did not attempt to dye any T-shirts with it.

The visitors' bullpen was closed but the home team bullpen was open for people to pitch in. No gnome sightings but the deer is still there.

No, thank you! Seriously, kudos to the McCourts for this event, which is in its fifth year. And I'm going to go ahead and thank Josh Rawitch, because be probably had something to do with it as well. And if you're childless and thinking of going next year: Get crackin' now and for Father's Day 2009 you just might be able to bring a three-month-old!

UPDATE:

Josh replies at Inside the Dodgers (thanks for the link!):

And while I appreciate the kudos, I can't take credit for this event...there are a ton of hard-working people in the front office who put this together for the fans and they deserve it far more than me. In fact, I didn't even make it down this year, as my daughter can't quite throw yet.

That Josh. Modest as always!

photo #4 by Jill Weisleder/Dodgers. Hi Jill!

Dodgers Rank 22nd in SI's Ballpark Rankings

From SI.com:

These are your rankings. They are based solely on results taken from an online survey of baseball fans in March, when we asked readers to rate their hometown ballpark in 10 categories. As a group, these fans know of what they speak: Nearly 15 percent of the responses came from season-ticket holders, and more than half of all the responses came from fans who attend at least five games per season.

MLB Ballpark Rankings: Los Angeles Dodgers

The most interesting question:

Which player on your team is the most worth paying to watch?

Russell Martin 54.6%
Matt Kemp 13.2%
Andruw Jones 6.8%
Brad Penny 5.1%
James Loney 3.1%

No Nomar? No Jeff Kent? Color me surprised.

SoSG Exclusive: Dodger Stadium's New Field Level Urinal Rooms!

Remember the very first Legend of Zelda game, on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System? I probably played that game end to end about fifty times in my lifetime, as the gameplay was so enjoyable and the idea of a Dungeons and Dragons-like quest, without the tedium of turn-based battles (attack, attack, attack, attack, attack, yawn, attack), was a breakthrough videogame concept. Not that it was the first game to have real-time battles in a compelling quest, but there was something about The Legend of Zelda's storyline, epic adventure, and compelling gameplay which made the quests fun and exciting, with tons of replayability.

As one ran through The Legend of Zelda's quests, at multiple points one would inevitably come upon a rock wall that had a fairly evident crack in its edifice. A well-placed bomb would then blow open the wall and one could maneuver one's Link character to find a room often full of treasures, usually jewels in varying denominations of currency, ready for someone to plunder. It was if someone had built an entire room and stocked it with riches, then sealed the entrance behind him, just so a worthy warrior could uncover the bonus someday and achieve his just reward.

I couldn't help but think of The Legend of Zelda as I roamed the new wider field level concourses at Dodger Stadium on opening day. Part of the new stadium construction involved removing the old urinal troughs and replacing them with gleaming new rooms of urinals. These rooms are never straight back in the bathrooms or in obvious lines of sight upon entering; it's almost as if one has to walk into the bathroom, and then into another room, before locating a doorway that houses the urinal goldmine. It's a treacherous quest, to be sure, but one that yields riches, as there was nary a line to be seen (at least, not one hour before game time).

Gone are the old troughs which caused uncomfortable shoulder-to-shoulder stances among hordes of men. Now, each man is treated--no, rewarded--with his own private flush-free Falcon urinal (similar to what they have at Staples Center), allowing one to find relief without worrying about one's neighbor's stream.

A room full of riches indeed; and, one doesn't even have to bomb the doorway to access the room. One just has to hunt for an alabaster-white urinal room (and hold one's bladder until said room is found). It will be interesting to see if the unorthodox placement of the rooms allows for smooth traffic flow during peak times, but at least it's an effort in the right direction. I have no doubt that, like the removed stadium seats, Frank McCourt will put the old urinal troughs on sale to the public as well.

In anticipation of the Dodgers' next six-game homestand (starting Friday the 11th against San Diego), this intrepid Sons of Steve Garvey reporter brings you another SoSG exclusive: two glimpses of the rewards that await beer-laden men (there's even a convenient ledge for one to place one's beverage while urinating!).

Feast one's eyes on the new urinal rooms, Dodger fans! And drink with reckless abandon, for riches await!

Video 1 of 2:

Video 2 of 2:

Dodger Stadium Upgrades Food Options

Sometime in the middle of last season, I discovered the Camacho's nachos secret of Dodger Stadium. Each game, I'd slither upstairs on the staircase behind home plate, leaving the comfortable confines of field level for a bowl of Camacho's nachos with shredded pork, which apparently was only available on the Loge level. Along with a Dodger Dog and plenty of beer, it was the best food option in the park.

Next year, it looks like the competition is wide open. As Jon linked earlier, Canter's Deli is one of the new establishments to the park next year, along with Ruby's Diner and a Camacho's Cantina. These are all great and the Dodgers should get praise for including a Los Angeles institution like Canter's in the mix:

Traditional ballpark fare has given way to more dining options at baseball stadiums across the country. Dodger Stadium in recent years added California Pizza Kitchen and Panda Express, for example.

For Canter’s, the Dodger Stadium location marks only its second expansion from its home on Fairfax Avenue, where it has been located since 1953. In 2003, a Canter’s opened inside of Treasure Island Hotel in Las Vegas. It used Dodgers memorabilia as decorations.

The new restaurant line-up is the end of the first phase of a $60 million, multi-year revamp by Dallas-based HKS Architects to renovate one of the nation’s oldest baseball stadiums. Field level seating saw the first improvements. The remaining levels are scheduled for a re-do over the next few years.

But the real jewel of the crown is Mrs. Beasley's, a Carson, CA-based bakery that is known for its cupcakes, according to my sister in law. (I have a huge apology to my sister, who told me about Mrs. Beasley's coming to Dodger Stadium months ago, and I spaced out and was summarily scooped on the story. Sorry!) Just check this out. Expensive, perhaps, but they look incredible. And as you can see below, Kelly Preston is a fan (among others). I'll let you know how tasty these cupcakes are on Opening Day...

Dodgers Expect World Series Title in 2015

From the Dodgers.com, exciting news about the ticket price increase plan, a.k.a. the field-level renovation:

Demolition of the Field Level at Dodger Stadium took place this week, clearing the way for a $70 million renovation of the ballpark that will focus on bringing the concession stands and restrooms into the 21st Century.

Wow, and just think, the hard-working Dodgers fans get welcomed into the 21st century...in 2008. Only a scant seven years after the 21st century began! At this rate, we'll get a World Series title in 2015!

Heck, after this 2007 season, I was thinking third place might be too much for which to ask.

Wanted: Throwback Days at Dodger Stadium

A few days ago fellow Grumpy Gus Tony Jackson expressed admiration for the purity of the Wrigley Field experience:

NO loud music. NO commercials read over the PA system between innings. NO animated races on the jumbotron/diamondvision/whateveritis at any point (in fact, there is no jumbotron/diamondvision/whateveritis here).

Although we understand all the between-innings diversions are here to stay at Dodger Stadium, why not have a few "throwback days" a year? And I don't mean the players wearing throwback uniforms—with the Dodgers' classic uniform design, who would notice?—but rather a game with all non-scoreboard electronic signage (including DiamondVision) turned off and only Nancy Bea Hefley's organ music playing between innings. I'd buy a ticket to that.

I Believe I Might Have to Totally Agree with This Sentiment

Some grouchiness from Tony Jackson:

WHY WRIGLEY FIELD IS BETTER THAN DODGER STADIUM

NO loud music. NO commercials read over the PA system between innings. NO animated races on the jumbotron/diamondvision/whateveritis at any point (in fact, there is no jumbotron/diamondvision/whateveritis here). There IS a little bit of organ music, played at a nice, unobtrusive volume level, but other than that, when you come to Wrigley, you buy a ticket to see a baseball game and you get ... a baseball game. Novel concept, I know. But the Dodgers -- and almost every other team around the league -- could learn a lot from it.

Not that I dislike Dodger Stadium, mind you, but all that dot race/hat shuffle/MAKE SOME NOISE crap just gets in the way of the baseball. Both the Cubs and Dodgers have loyal fan bases, but when you're trying to market Dodger Stadium as the next Disneyland, I guess you need bells and whistles.

Anyone have any idea whether Wrigley is as "family friendly" as Dodger Stadium? Wrigley tops my list of stadiums to visit.

Dodgers Conspiracy Theory Links Wells Signing to Stadium Renovations

"Make those aisles wider and keep the beer flowing, Frankie!"

Call me Fox Mulder, but this "coincidence" seems pretty strange to me.

August 24, 2007: The Dodgers add David Wells to the team.

August 28, 2007: The Dodgers announce a new stadium renovation plan dedicated to doubling the number of concession stands, widening the concourses, and establishing some new "all-inclusive" dining options.

Thank God we have Takashi Saito as our closer. I shudder to think what renovations the Dodgers would have announced had we picked up Armando Benitez. (As if parking costs could go any higher. (That's right, Frank--we have a pretty good idea exactly how you're going to fund said renovation plans. I'm picking up an extra paper route this winter just to save up for the inevitable parking increase.))

The truth is out there, once every five days--and, it's 6'3" and 250 lbs.

Dodger Management Once Again Gives Fans the Finger

Is there anyone, anyone, in the Dodger organization who has an iota of customer service training?

Bill Shaikin's LA Times article on the Dodgers' recent and sudden decision to reopen the residentially positioned Scott Avenue gate demonstrates yet again that the Dodgers are absolutely inept when it comes to public relations with its loyal (but increasingly precarious) fan base.

What's worse, management's history of illogical and unsound decision-making (which catalyzed this whole parking mess in the first place) not only creates public relations disasters--but the Dodgers then try to ameliorate the situation by pissing more people off. SoSG has documented a long list of management ineptitude, which has real costs to both fan loyalty as well as total profitability. Yet the bumbling McCourts continue to remind us how poor they are at customer management, once again. In a nutshell, the process goes as follows:

• Make a poor decision without thinking it through (in this case, introducing a new parking concept to constrain parking options, further exacerbating traffic at high-volume gates);
• After chaos and mayhem ensues, deny that there is a problem (publishing internal propaganda (stories and photos) in a weak and insulting attempt at spin control);
• Fail to apologize to fans (the McCourts, now 50% richer from increased parking fees, suddenly withdraw from all public appearances, leaving others to speak the party line);
• Find another constituency to disadvantage, in an effort to improve the situation caused by the initial poor decision, by railroading a new and separate idea which is equally dubious and rife with deleterious consequences (screwing the Echo Park residents living near the Scott gate without recompense or even a modicum of basic concern).

Let's go to the videotape on this one so we report the full brunt of the Dodgers' latest public relations maneuver:

As the Dodgers pitched their neighbors on what the team called a pilot program to reopen a fifth gate at Dodger Stadium, community members Wednesday evening expressed skepticism that the team would ever consider closing the gate once it opens back up.

The Dodgers plan to open the Scott Avenue gate Friday, for the first time since 1996. Although they had intended to use it as an exit and entrance, Dodgers Senior Vice President Howard Sunkin said it would serve only as an exit gate during a trial period.

Sunkin agreed to the concession before about 75 people at a meeting of the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council. He rejected another proposal — that the Dodgers keep the gate closed for day games — but did agree to work with the community on establishing carpool discounts and public transit options.

A council committee approved a motion opposing the reopening of the gate — a vote not binding on the Dodgers — and plans to follow up with City Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Ed Reyes, who represent the neighborhood.

The Dodgers agreed to close the Scott Avenue gate more than 10 years ago after neighbors argued that fans had overrun the residential area surrounding the stadium. Sunkin said Wednesday that the team would pay for traffic officers and barricades to keep fans on Scott and off side streets.

But resident Pete Lassen said: "I cannot believe you will provide the level of control along Scott Avenue that would be absolutely necessary for this — quote — pilot program to work. I say 'quote' because I believe it's a pilot that will become a reality."

Sunkin said the Dodgers would evaluate the decision at the All-Star break in July, considering neighborhood feedback in the process.

The team plans to use the gate at games with projected attendance of 40,000 or more, which this season, Sunkin said, is 70 of 81 home games.

With Dodger Stadium designed to funnel cars through five gates, he said, the team must open them all to accommodate record attendance and the accompanying traffic.

Residents expressed concern that the Dodgers are implementing the change unilaterally and on short notice, providing the community with little time to respond.

The team announced the change Tuesday, after the first homestand and 72 hours before it takes effect.

Christine Peters, chairwoman of the neighborhood committee, said fans troubled by the crowded stadium lot and the $5 hike in the price of parking have begun to park on side streets and walk into the stadium.

"Street parking already has become an issue because of the increase to $15," she said.

Peters said she is willing to consider the pilot program but questions its potential effectiveness.

"If it means we're going to take 10,000 people out of the stadium and stuck in our neighborhood, it won't make a difference. Right now, it's just going to get them stuck on Scott Avenue."

Our first-hand experiences to date have not been positive regarding the new Dodger Stadium parking concept. We're still willing to give it a shot. But it seems to us that screwing over more fans in order to placate other fans doesn't really make sense. And Sunkin's comments at the community meeting make us wonder (once again) how far the Dodger management has thought through this idea, as well as the consequences it will trigger.

If the Dodgers seriously believe that they will be able to hire enough staff to stem the tide of fans parking in the Scott Avenue residential area, why haven't they done so to date already (as the issue, catalyzed by the $5/car increase in parking rates, has surfaced even without the Scott gate's opening)? Why won't they give the community ample time to respond? Why even send talking head Howard Sunkin to the community meeting in the first place, if he is only going to reject community proposals and offer up lofty and ambitious alternative concepts of solutions (I'll believe the public transportation option when I see it, especially since Dodger management has already tried to discount it as a viable option).

Put differently, it seems so obvious how the Dodgers could have handled this particular situation properly, if only their bumbling ineptitude and egos hadn't blinded them from logic and common decency:

• Work with the community along a reasonable timeline in order to listen to concerns and address them appropriately.
• Send someone with a shred of sympathetic concern, as well as the ability to agree to concessions, as your lead representative. Or better yet, go to the meeting yourself, Frank and Jamie, to show that your fan base is a priority.
• Perform analyses to forecast the impact of your decisions, and pledge concrete, specific, and transparent steps to ease any negative impacts and monitor them on an ongoing basis after a decision has been implemented.
• Go back and review the root causes which are triggering this issue, to see if there are other viable remedies (say, for example, restoring the parking process to the way it was last season, which seemed to work fine for 2006 as well as prior decades).
• Give the fans a meaningful avenue for raising concerns, ensuring management won't turn a deaf ear to legitimate issues or disappear from public view.
• Throw the fans a bone, for pete's sake, by offering free tickets to a future game (which will still bring in revenues off of concession sales, Frank! There is still money to be made beyond parking fee increases!) or even a frickin' bobblehead doll.
• And above all, treat your fans with the respect and decency that they deserve.

The people of Los Angeles love the Dodgers. I don't see why the McCourts persist to test the strength of that love.

Tales From The Crypt (The Dodger Stadium Parking Lot), Day 3

Three days into this McCourt Parking System ordeal, and still the Dodger Stadium staff hasn’t figured this one out. My experience last night was marginally better than on Opening Day, but that was attributable more to the lower attendance (slightly over half the size of Opening Day) rather than parking system/attendant competence. And even with the lower crowd volumes, the attendants appeared to be either indifferent or further complicating matters. At this stage, I don’t know if the problems with the McCourt parking system reflect human error or system shortcomings, but I have to guess that both factors will contribute to yet another failing over this weekend’s series with the San Diego Padres, which will attract higher attendance levels more similar to Opening Day's.

I exited the Harbor Freeway northbound at about 6.30p and got to the hill leading up to the Sunset Gate by 6.40p. (I opted to enter via the Sunset gate as it is most convenient for me to leave via this gate, rather than be forced onto the Harbor Freeway southbound.) From there, let me explain what happened next:

• Traffic up the hill to the Sunset Gate parking booths was so packed that people were not moving through the turnstiles (even though they had already completed their $15 transactions--the parking booth attendants should really wear bandanas and cowboy hats). The line extended all the way back to Sunset Boulevard. Inside the park, attendants were inexplicably blocking cars from continuing up the first hill to the outer ring (which in prior years moved traffic in a counter-clockwise direction around the stadium). The attendants’ decision to hold cars back was befuddling, since now there is no traffic allowed to travel around the outer ring (nor were there any pedestrians crossing the street), so clearly the delay wasn’t made for cross-traffic to flow. We were just standing there, pausing on the incline up, without reason.
• Fifteen minutes later, I had inched my way up the hill and weaved my way over to the left hand side of the upward incline, ready to scrounge for general admission parking. Lot 1, the closest lot to me (on my left), was my target.
• The closest and most logical entrance/exit to Lot 1 had its access blocked off, with two parking attendants standing there to enforce the blocked gate (these attendants were not providing any assistance any other way). So I had no choice but to continue to the outer ring and drive clockwise along the outside circumference toward the other, farther end of Lot 1, where they were letting people in to park.
• Once inside Lot 1, parking wasn’t all that difficult, as there were plenty of open and unused parking spots. Why the attendants weren’t rushing cars up the hill, leftward around the circumference, and down into Lot 1 as fast as humanly possible, was beyond me. It wasn't for shortage of supply.
• By now, though, the wait to get up that first hill had lasted so long, that the national anthem had ended and the Dodgers’ lineup was being announced. This whole parking ordeal added at least 10-15 minutes to my parking time and was definitely longer than normal—and I couldn’t help but think that this was during a low-attendance mid-week game.
• By the time I made it to the stadium after a brisk ten-minute walk, the Dodgers lineup was being announced and I was in as they took the field.
• Complaints about clueless and unhelpful parking attendants appeared to be validated even on night three of this ridiculous plan. Again, I got to the stadium well ahead of first pitch and even I couldn’t make it up the hill without delays.

Getting out of the stadium was fine though I left with two out in the ninth (Saito walked the next batter before retiring the final batter) and literally ran to my car from the field level seats (yes, I snuck down from the reserved level). In the time it took those last two batters to have their at bats, a quick jog/run had gotten me to my car, back out the formerly-blocked entrance, and out of the stadium. This was a pretty smooth egress but I have to say that it wasn’t any smoother or quicker than it would have been last year.

And again, this was on a light attendance game.

Having visited the Stadium two of its three days, I have to say that tonight was an improvement over Opening Day, and (potentially) a hopeful step that we’re moving in a positive direction. The logistics still appear to cause illogical delays in traffic flow, but parking did operate more smoothly than on Monday. However, I do think it’s unfair and well premature to call this plan a success, however, on almost half the first day’s car volume. Attendance for the game was only 33K, so in theory every car should have had roughly two spaces to itself.

Personally, I’ve gone from vehement anger to tempered pessimism (and I’m sure Josh from Inside The Dodgers will label this a rousing success in his next column). But let’s wait and see how the parking plan handles the division rival Padres over the weekend.

Stepping back from the situation, let me reiterate that even on the lightest night of the year, the new McCourt parking plan provided little to no incremental value to the consumer over last year’s plan—and yet parking now costs 50% more than last year.

The only purely positive thing to say about tonight’s situation was that it is comforting to have more parking attendants directing traffic after the game, even if they are clueless and largely unempowered before the game. I have to think that the mere presence of more attendants would help make the parking lots a safer place through which to walk, particularly for a family with young kids following a night game. But from a logistics perspective, again, we are no better off; my own experience was predicated more on my early departure rather than clever civil engineering.

Sometime in the middle of the fourth inning, as I sat there and watched the Dodgers go back to sleep after stoking a three-run lead, I had the crazy brainstorm idea that the bad parking logistics are all part of Frank McCourt’s master plan. Not only will he bilk you for $5 more to enter the lot—soon, he’ll probably charge another $5 on top of that for motorists who want to be able to leave the lot in a smooth and orderly fashion. Heck, for an extra four to five bucks on top of that, he'll get the new parking lot attendants (who are idle for 2+ hours during the game) to squeegee your windshield as you watch the game. And how about an auto detailing while you watch the game, for another $30 (+$10 if you want the hand wash to include sealer wax)? At this stage, I wouldn’t put any half-baked idea past the McCourts—those are exactly the kind of ideas on which their administration thrives.

Oh yeah, and the Dodgers won thanks to a two-hitter, leaving them a half-game out of first place. So luckily, not all was lost.

Dodger Stadium Parking Stories from Day Two

From TJ Simers' article today comes an unsurprising disappearance from Frank McCourt amidst public calls for accountability, as he throws his wife in front of the bus.

A SHORT time later, the Tipper Gore Lady grabbed the microphone in the press box and announced a car with a media pass was going to be towed. I'd have started with general admission, but at least they're trying to clear the lots faster.

It's the third inning, meanwhile, and no sign of the Parking Lot Attendant in his field-level seats. I wonder if he's stuck in traffic.

THE TIPPER Gore Lady said the Parking Lot Attendant would not speak about the parking problems at Dodger Stadium. She said she'd be "taking the bullet on this one." I guess I'm not the only one concerned about a sniper.

She said, with some pride, the Dodgers had squeezed 4,000 more cars into the parking lots on opening day than normal, so 4,000 times $15 a car, and what does the Parking Lot Attendant care about your traffic woes?

There's also a great anecdote about Dodger legend Vin Scully:

[From fan Jose Cristobal:] "As I sat in the morass that was the post-opening day Dodger Stadium parking lot, Vin Scully sat there too. As he crept along, one of the human beings hired with my extra $5 for parking realized it was Vin and offered him the chance to use a closed lane. But in a gesture that has defined his career, Vin chose to forgo the special treatment and sat among us regular folks. Now if only the Parking Lot Attendant and the Screaming Meanie could take a page out of Vin's book of class.

"I checked with Vin, who said with a laugh, 'I love traffic,' while continuing to take the high road. 'I'm no noble hero or anything like that; I wanted to go right and the closed lane wouldn't have helped.'

"I mentioned how upset fans seemed to be about the changes in parking, and Scully said, 'I assume they talked to a parking expert.'

"I thought the guy who owned the team was a parking expert. Now I wonder just what his expertise might be."

Scully, always with a rapier wit, even stuck in traffic. Love that guy.

Truth In Dodger Advertising

Drove by an outdoor billboard today which seemed to advertise the 2007 Dodgers in a very strange way.

I mean, I'm all for truth in advertising, but I didn't think they wanted to make a bigger deal out of this parking thing than they already have.

The Parking Game

In Los Angeles, this counts as news: Via Dodger Thoughts comes the Dodgers' new parking lot plan. Strangely, the $40 "all-you-can-park" option is absent.

Frank McCourt to Fix Everything This Year. You Will Pay for It

From Dodgers.com:

As for Dodger Stadium, [Frank] McCourt said the ongoing renovation this offseason included infrastructure work in preparation for next offseason's expansion of the concourses and an overhaul of traffic flow into and out of the Dodger Stadium parking lot that will go into effect this year.

He said the number of lot attendants will be doubled and the traffic patterns that have existed relatively unchanged since the stadium opened 45 years ago will be changed, with new signs and lights and the renaming or renumbering of lots.

McCourt said parking was one of three major projects his new ownership undertook based on fan input. The other two are stadium seats, which have all been replaced, and long concession lines, which he said will be resolved next year with the expansion of the concourses and doubling of concession stands and restroom facilities.

An overhaul of traffic flow? Fantastic! But every silver lining has a cloud. From Dodger Blues:

Yes, Frank McCourt has increased parking at the stadium to $15 a car. Yes, he's a dick. But you're the bigger asshole for actually paying the $15. Unless you've got gangrene and can't walk more than a couple hundred feet, park your friggin' car outside the stadium and get some goddamn exercise. Believe me, you can find parking... unless, of course, McCourt manages to convince the City of LA to ban street parking around the stadium, in which case he can eat my rotting dingleberries.

And as for "the expansion of the concourses and doubling of concession stands and restroom facilities," where exactly are twice the number of food stands and bathrooms going to fit? Hey Frank—crank-operated relish dispensers above the urinal troughs don't count.

Suite Surrender?

This is a bit late, but there was a pretty interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last weekend regarding how stadiums are removing suites and skyboxes, as they find them tougher to fill and less of a revenue driver. Safeco Field in Seattle, Comerica Park in Detroit, Jacobs Field in Cleveland, and Milwaukee's Miller Park were all cited as MLB stadiums which are modifying, or considering modifying, their stadiums by removing some of their corporate suites for other alternatives.

Reasons cited for the difficulties filling these suites include tougher accounting and tax rules, internal company audits finding the perks are going to employees rather than clients, and even a proliferation of suites such that they aren't a novelty anymore. (Long post due to lack of free link.)

It was like watching an era of sports history being erased. In early December, construction workers sawed through the multiple layers of drywall and metal studs separating a row of skyboxes at the Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field. They tore up the suites' beech-hardwood floors and carted away their oriental rugs and leather furniture. By the end of the week, the eight skyboxes were gone.

In a reversal that strikes at a cornerstone of pro-sports finances -- and of the way corporate America entertains -- teams around the country are ripping out luxury suites. These perches have been used to justify billions of dollars in stadium construction over the past two decades. But in many cities, they are losing luster with surprising speed, partly the result of factors that couldn't have predicted five or 10 years ago, from changes in tax laws to scandal-driven reforms on corporate entertaining.

"At GM, you can't even buy them a cup of coffee anymore," says Lin Cummins, the marketing chief at automotive supplier Arvin Meritor in Troy, Mich, which has let the leases expire for its suites in four different sports.

Bank of America cut back on its use of a handful of suites in part because it wasn't getting enough clients to fill the seats. At Pepco, an electric-products company that decided not to renew three of its four suites, the CEO says taking clients on fishing trips is a better -- and more cost-effective -- way to get face time.

The Milwaukee Brewers eliminated five of their 69 suites this off-season to make room for a lower-priced, 9,000-square-foot upscale party area that will be ready for opening day. The Chicago White Sox, one season removed from a World Series title, recently gutted 10 of its 103 suites to build a new press box. Other teams are hoping they can hold onto some of their suite customers by showering them with perks ranging from cooking classes to free suite renovations.

In some big cities, the skyboxes continue to draw consistently -- the Boston Red Sox, for instance, have a waiting list. But the Mariners' experience over the last decade shows why some teams are now having to rethink the suite concept.

When Seattle's Safeco Field was completed in 1999, the $517 million ballpark was a huge draw for a business community that included titans like Microsoft and Boeing. Those companies helped boost the team's revenue by more than $20 million a year by signing multiyear leases in the stadium's 68 suites. The suites, which sell for as much as $200,000 per season, are a key reason why the team went from struggling financially a decade ago to being one of the most profitable teams in Major League Baseball.

By 2003, the suites had become a tougher sell. For one thing, the pool of companies that needed or wanted to entertain 16 people at a time for 81 games was shrinking, according to Bob Aylward, the team's executive vice president of business operations. The Mariners made several moves to try to lift sagging demand. In 2003, the team began offering 10-game packages for some suites that previously had been sold on a 20-game, half- or full-season basis.

Then, late last year, following the lead of teams like the Tigers and Brewers, they knocked down eight of the suites and created a lounge where people could get all the food, drinks and other amenities of a suite but have it included in the price of a ticket. The new All-Star Club is a bit short on intimacy -- with a capacity of 140 people -- but it is $100 to $125 per game versus at least $17,000 for a 10-game suite package. The lounge has the potential to generate well over $1 million annually, which the team says would be a net gain because on a typical night 10 to 14 suites were sitting vacant. "We're smarter now than we were when we planned this facility," says Mr. Aylward....

In the late '90s, almost all of the more than 120 luxury suites at the Cleveland Indians' Jacobs Field were sold. The team says it has fewer than 90 suites leased for this season. The Seattle Supersonics used to lease more than enough of the 48 suites at Key-Arena to cover the team and city's debt on the facility. Now only half of the suites are full and the team is deep in the hole and asking for $300 million in public funds to build a new arena.

Teams currently