Los Angeles Dodgers To Open New Restaurants Behind The Outfield, Find More Reason To Rip Fans Off

We scoffed when the Dodgers decided to introduce sushi to the stadium’s delicacies; and we went cuckoo when prices for parking went up to $15 per vehicle. Now the McCourt’s are revising the blueprints of Chavez Ravine by adding restaurants, parking structures and a Dodgers museum behind the outfield pavilions. Get ready for another ticket stub fiasco.

The Dodgers today plan to unveil their most extensive stadium renovation yet, a project that would transform the area behind the outfield to an entrance promenade featuring restaurants, shops, club offices and a Dodgers museum and add two parking garages to help replace the 2,000 spaces lost to construction.
In a letter sent Wednesday to season-ticket holders, owner Frank McCourt and President Jamie McCourt said the improvements would “give the stadium a chance to remain viable and perhaps see its 100th birthday.”

The Dodgers would not confirm the project cost or other specifics, but a news release from the office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa put the cost at $500 million. The McCourts purchased the Dodgers — and their stadium and surrounding parking lot — for $430 million four years ago.

Let’s query the board:

• The pavilions at Dodgers Stadium are notoriously dry and sober, so would the restaurant offer le booze?
• All-You-Can-Eat pavilion seats are, to put it mildly, freakin’ awesome. Would there be an all-you-can-eat buffet a la’ Stadium Club at the new rez?
• Will there be a big bulls-eye sign on the parking structure?
• Will the ticket prices rise from $20 to “need to refinance my house to attend a game?” Most likely.

At least this is all inspired by a good cause.

“This is a project that will green the area around Dodger Stadium and reduce its carbon footprint while spreading out the traffic impact on the neighborhood.”

Can a “green” project coexist with “traffic?” Ugh. Let’s stick to investigating why Andruw Jones is playing with eight pound shoes and then we’ll worry about ripping fans off building a restaurant.
Dodgers to unveil plans for restaurants, shops at stadium [LATimes]
Image [Getty]