Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:1000 Elysian Park Avenue
Los Angeles, California
Our Sports Superfan Says:
While it may be known as the home of fans arriving late and leaving early to beat the traffic, the currently fourth-oldest Major League Baseball stadium has seen more than its fair share of memorable moments, and is a highly enjoyable place to take in a game. Opened in 1962, four years after the Dodgers moved here from Brooklyn, Dodger Stadium has seen four World Series championships, four more National League pennants, and the 1980 All-Star Game.
The most famous moment at the stadium came in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, when injured Dodgers star Kirk Gibson hit a home run off of Oakland A's ace closer, and now hall of famer, Dennis Eckersley, in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete an improbable comeback from which the A's never recovered, losing the series in 5 games. In videos of the game, you can see brake lights going on in the parking lot as fans who left early, and there were quite a few, heard the home run on the radio. In fact, while their zeal for beating the traffic has given Los Angeles fans a bit of a bad rap, few stadiums are as concerned with it as Dodger Stadium. In addition to a transportation center with its own radio station giving updates on the parking lot traffic inside the stadium, the lots themselves are uniquely configured. First, the lots are leveled in a way that you park at the tier of your seats, to avoid spending time on ramps inside the stadium. Also, each parking lot gate provides access to all three surrounding freeways, the 101, 110, and 5.
Other noteworthy features of the stadium include the famous Dodger Dog, the bestselling hot dog in baseball, and the outfield pavilion, with its many dining and entertainment options, and the beautiful views of both nearby downtown Los Angeles and the surrounding mountains.
In addition to baseball, the 56,000-seat Dodger Stadium has hosted many other events such as big-time concerts, a mass by Pope John Paul II in 1987, the 1984 Summer Olympics' baseball tournament, boxing, and even a ski-jumping exhibition. Its proximity to Hollywood has also led it to being used in numerous commercials and films, including "The Naked Gun" and "Superman Returns."
Tours of the stadium are available Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at 10 a.m. and again at 11:30 a.m. Private tours are also available for groups of 20 or more.