Tag Archive for: opening day

What to expect in Echo Park on Dodger Stadium opening day

The new season of baseball at Dodger Stadium (with new owners!) is also going to be it’s 50th year – that’s right, the stadium opened in 1962 after bulldozing a whole neighborhood in Chavez Ravine.

But we all know about that – so here’s what you can expect in Echo Park if you’re new to the whole Opening Day hoopla at Dodger Stadium, taking place on Tuesday, April 10 at 1:10 pm in a game versus Pittsburgh:

  1. Pre-gaming: Tailgating has started as early as 7:00 am, loud music for us neighbors to hear included. But the LAPD will be in full force, arriving as early as 4:00 am to the command post, to crack down on any debauchery.
  2. The Scott Avenue gate will remain open this season for outgoing traffic only on high traffic days (it was just re-opened a few years ago after being closed for a decade).
  3. Gates open at 10:00 am – which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
  4. Pregame ceremony starts at 12:30 pm, and will include a military flyover 10 minutes before the start of the game
  5. As in past years, the Dodger Stadium Express Metro service will run. Service will run from Union Station every 10 minutes, starting 90 minutes before the start of the game, after which it will run every 30 minutes. Ticket-holders ride free, or it’ll cost you a mere $1.50 (better than the $15 parking fee!).
  6. Traffic, traffic, traffic: Department of Transportation personnel will be deployed to certain intersections to help mitigate traffic issues. Since the game is pretty much sold out, the 50,000 fans that descend on Elysian Park will certainly cause some heavy traffic before and after the game, so plan appropriately!

As we mentioned, the LAPD will be out in full force to keep everyone under control – it’s been just over a year since Bryan Stow was beaten to near death by some trouble-makers in Dodger gear, so we hope the same tragedy won’t be made again.

Be sure to call the Neighborhood Focus line at 323.224.2636, or the command post at 323-344-5707 if you any issues.

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Prepare for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium

Since the Dodgers are at this moment kicking the Mariners you-know-whats, it’s time for a Dodgers update.

Thursday, March 31, is D-Day – that is, Opening Day (and the 54th season in Los Angeles!). If you have lived around Echo Park long enough to know how completely insane Opening Day is, well you know how to avoid getting caught up in the traffic. Here’s the deal:

The past couple of years, Opening Day started in the early afternoon. This year, it starts at 5:00 pm. This could be either a good thing or a bad thing:

Good: Fans won’t be blasting music and starting the day off with a little buzz at 7:00 am in Elysian Park. (Trust me, you can hear it pretty early)

Bad: Fans will be blasting music and catching a little buzz starting at 10:00 am in Elysian Park.

Good: 50,000 people across Southern California won’t “mysteriously” call in sick on the same day, instead they’ll be able to take a half day to enjoy the game!

Bad: Traffic, traffic, traffic. Even the non-arteries to the stadium are jam-packed, so expect a bit of a parking lot outside your front door for a little while.

Good: The Dodgers are going to win their first game, and it’s against the Giants (returning from their, uh uhm, win in the world series last season)

There will be a pregame ceremony at 4:30 om, which will include displays on the field and a military flyover. All parking gates will open at 1:00 pm (much earlier than they usually open the gates to accommodate the crowds) and the stadium gates will open at 1:30 pm.

There will be some street closures on Thursday from 1:00 am – 11:00 pm for “staging purposes and game preparations.” Closures include:

  • Scott Avenue between Stadium Way and North Boylston Street
  • North Boylston between Academy and Stadium Way
  • Lilac Terrace between Stadium Way and Lookout to Stadium

And lastly, the Dodger Stadium Express is back! You can get transit service to and from Dodger Stadium using the Metro and the Metrolink trains. Transit from Union Station starts 45 minutes before the start of the game and will stop running one hour after the last out.

That’s it for now – since we have to work all day Thursday, we won’t be planning on getting home until after all the traffic has gone through. Good luck out there! See you at the games.

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Dodger Home Opener Off to a Rocky Start

I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee yet, and there’s already some drama going on with the Dodger Stadium home opener today (which doesn’t start until 1:10 pm). I’ll be posting some updates throughout the day as needed, but here’s the low-down so far:

  • Matthew on Scott Avenue wrote on the Echo Elsyian Neighborhood Council Forum: “I was walking my dog in Elysian Park at 6am and the music coming from Dodger fans already parked in Chavez Ravine was deafing. I asked a policeman about it and he just ignored me. I saw police cars driving down Stadium way making announcements but the music kept up its deafening volume. So much for the start of the Dodger season and working with the neighborhood.” Other residents seem to have heard loud music as early as 5:00 am coming from Elysian Park. Click here to join the conversation on the forum.
  • LA Now reported last night the LAPD will be cracking down on tailgate partyers in the Stadium parking lot. Last year we saw plenty of people getting tickets as their drinks were being poured on the asphalt, so be aware.
  • There’s already a lot of traffic on the surrounding freeways right now (the 5 and 110 Pasadena freeways in particular), try to avoid leaving your house or work today. Just don’t go anywhere and you’ll be fine.
  • Or ride the Dodger shuttle from Union Station and give residents and commuters a break.
  • Residents have yet to receive the placards that allow local access to surrounding streets. No word from Neighborhood Relations Manager Noel Pallais why those haven’t come in yet (not that the placards really improve anything, but it’s the least they can do).
  • Click here to read a little about how Dodger Stadium had “planned ahead” for this crazy, crazy day.

Send us your photos or comments about how Dodger Stadium is handling Opening Day 2010.

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