www.thecooldown.com/green-business/dodger-stadium-parking-lot-reddit-area/
Is this shit for real?
Photo of desolate Dodger Stadium raises questions about city design: 'It's mind-boggling'
Yeah at PetCo you just walk right out and you're in the city and can eat, get drinks, etc.
I only know this because I got stuck in traffic there once trying to get to my hotel. Never again. 🤪
Same thing for a lot of other stadiums- especially the other OGs Wrigley and Fenway
Yea, I was just at Wrigley and it was awesome. One of my favorite parks now. Had a sandwich at Luckys then walked like a block to the park.
San Francisco was also super convenient. The train dropped you off at the front gate of the park essentially.
The hour we spend getting into the parking lot would be way better spent eating and drinking lol.
I know it’s sacrilegious to say it but I wouldn’t hate the idea of a new Dodger stadium. Obviously I have no idea where they would put it now anyways but it can’t be much worse than up on the ravine.
How difficult is it to partition off a special priority Express Bus lane to get to Dodger Stadium, and put a few dozen buses on it during game time? It seems incredibly easy for the city to repurpose existing roads into special protected bike lanes (see Broadway, Union Street, etc), and we have been going through a massive bus-lane building boom in 2023.
Is there a payola-money angle that we're missing here, why isn't one going to Dodger Stadium?
They have that from Union Station.
Yeah and like an hour wait to leave and 2 busses. Never again.
User deleted comment
1mo
The bus from Union station has its own lane for most of the ride
But they do NOT, at least the last time I took it, have a designated lane leaving the stadium. The Express is a very very very imperfect solution. All of the options kind of suck tbh.
I’ve had this same sentiment over the years. I absolutely love Dodger Stadium but I wouldn’t mind if they did decide to build a new one in the city somewhere after visiting other parks lol
Oof can’t say I agree but I’m not a season ticket holder so I don’t know the struggle as much. Some trolly system would be ideal but that ship sailed in the 60s. Maybe drones can drop us off soon
Guggenheim should invest in teleportation technology
Weigley is awesome. I have family In chicago and they took me to go drink at wrigleyville when I was 21. Had no idea it was in the middle of a neighborhood
Chicago in general was awesome. It was my first visiting. Never knew that Lake Michigan was so blue. I knew it was massive going off of maps but when you see it in person it just feels like it is an ocean. Loved all the architecture too.
I want to go back when it isn’t April because man was it cold and rainy
I used to live in SD when I was in school. The convenience behind Petco puts Dodger stadium to shame. I lived in Little Italy and would walk to the Gaslamp to meet with friends for a meal/drinks before games. Afterwards stroll down to the stadium and do it in reverse after the game.Â
Even when I lived in Mission Valley, which is akin to living in Burbank, I still took the trolley down to games.Â
They seriously need to do something with that parking lot. Restaurants, bars, some hotels and condos with parking garages. Wouldn’t have to be anything over three stories to make a difference. I’d gladly park at the Union Station to make it the area early if there was something to go to pre-game. Â
That sounds like it was an amazing time!
They definitely need to do something about the lot, though I imagine it could be challenging with it being a bit isolated.
The only realistic solution I can see is if they add a ton of off-season events or festivals at Dodger Stadium, that way any business next to it can survive throughout the year.
Some restaurants or hotels taking advantage of the amazing views could attract people too.
I think if they made it mixed use between dining establishments, retail, office and condos/hotels/apartments the area could fill in quite nicely as a walking only area. The parking area is quite large even if you left Lot G and beyond intact.
I've read that this is the McCourt plan, and why he hung on to the parking lot. Wants to make it like Universal Citywalk.
Like that'd be fun and all, but if McCourt is involved it is bound to be a nightmare, and probably a bankrupt one, and there will STILL be not enough parking at the stadium.
Until there is impetus to build a metro extension to DS, the transit problems are going to remain.
Wow, learn something new every day!
We used to be able to pregame in the parking lot. We would play frisbee, barbecue, just hang out. Seems like a good way to get people coming in at staggered times and avoid a crush.
Gosh I barely remember those days. But yea I think if, at the very least, the stadium started off with some pre-game festivities some 3-4 hours pre-game I'd think they'd attract plenty of people into coming in earlier.
That was the best part about being stationed in San Diego. There is a trolley station right outside the 32nd st base and it's like 3 stops before you hit Gaslamp. I even knew guys who lived off base but would park on base because its free and safe parking
as much as I hate the Padres I do love me some petco. The gaslamp is right there! It's beautiful! Plus the amtrak down there sells booze! what more can you ask for?
Rockies I think is like that too. Pretty cool to be just having dinner or a drink then walk into the stadium. Dodgers takes forever to get to and once you get there forever to park.
Set up at petco was very nice
Same for t-mobile park.
Yeah but at petco you run the risk of stepping on human waste every step you take towards the stadium.
Petco Park is also in East Village aka the shittiest part of San Diego. I avoid it if at all possible.
Not much they can do about it now unless they install a few rails. Which I think is way better than that stupid gondola
Hell at this point I’d be ok with an escalator
I went to an A’s game with my grandma when I was like 7, we got there by train and walking across a bridge(?) its been 12 years so i could be wrong about the bridge part but it was astonishingly easy to get to the stadium and i remember thinking how crazy it was that it was so different from dodger stadium
There is a pedestrian bridge, you are not wrong.
The parking robber Baron wants to develop the parking lot!
Don’t give that asshole who made the dodgers suffer any money. Make him sell the property!!!
Fuck that guy. He who should not be named as a former dodgers owner.
YESSSSSSS
If he's involved, it will be a bankrupt disaster
was there a plan to build it near the beach or we just spit balling ideas
Completely spit balling there, didn’t mean it to sound like they scrapped an idea to build closer to the beach.
imagining how that changes the dynamic of the franchise and the city is kinda crazy
The article mentions it’s too steep for rail.
this is nothing but a pro-gondola add article. Literately just has Reddit comments as its sources. Can't we be better than this?
Oh wow, I just realized that it quoted a Reddit comment, LOL. Personally, I'm not opposed to the gondola, but a system that is going to carry maybe 1-2k people in a reasonable timeframe is not going to solve the need for a massive parking lot at a 56k person stadium.
yeah I am all for some alternative like another commenter said I think a hybrid rail system/escalators could solve this and move way more people in a much faster time. the Gondola is just a fluff piece I grew up in Lake Tahoe and at some point Heavenly added a Gondola that connects to the state line casinos. it just became an elitist way to get to the mountain and barely reduced the parking situation.
I’m struggling to figure out how or what could even be developed besides bars that are empty except before and after games (like Yankee Stadium).
I like the idea of a hybrid rail/escalator system.
Housing is the obvious answer here. Mixed use development with places to eat and hang out and parks could all go in place of a giant, ugly parking lot!!
So where do people park?
In an ideal world they can take public transit into and out of the area.
If we had reasonable access to public transportation to the stadium, we wouldn’t need the giant ass parking lot.
I don’t believe for a second that it is “too steep for rail”.
Light rail can easily handle grades of 5%, and there is light rail in Boston that does 8%. If you’ve ever ridden a bike, you would know that 8% is really steep.
I’m not a civil engineer and I don’t have an altimeter on my bike, but that seems to track.
You could also tunnel into the hillside and build the rail station underground at the stadium to reduce the elevation change needed.
Too steep for rail? Have they seen The train brides on The blue like south of DTLA Into The Gateway?
The ballpark was designed to be away from the city, why else on a hill? Also still the only ballpark without dedicated transit service in the offseason.
Closest is The 4 at Sunset/Vin Scully the a hike up The hill
Angels Flight, a railway (admittedly a short one), is over 100 years old and steep AF. I'm pretty sure we've got the technology nowadays to overcome a hill
Funiculars exist.
Went to yankee stadium about two years ago and the rail was not a fun ride.
Yuuup! PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the same way and beautiful - view, scenery, and there’s SO much to do within walking distance. And there’s a free light rail if you’re traveling in the city limits to get wherever.
I’m a PGH transplant from SoCal and always try to make it to a game when our boys in blue come to town. Can’t wait for June!
A train there would be amazing.
Completely agree, the gondolas wouldn’t fit nearly as many people as trains would.
LA needs better public transportation. LA needs public transportation.
I’ve been saying this for years and people think I’m crazy to suggest Dodger stadium be built in DTLA…
People just are nostalgic or they haven’t visited many other stadiums.
Building an entire new stadium (that would still require SOME parking) seems far, far more difficult than just building a fucking train and more bus lines.
They need to just build a couple structures and then they can turn Lot 1, Lot 11, and Lot k into parkland with a view.
That clears up space which is good but doesn’t solve the traffic I think. There are still the same entrances to the ravine that will be clogged with cars.
I don’t think you can fix that without a solid option for public transit.
They say it’s too steep for a rail but aren’t there countries in Asia who have crazy advanced rails that go through all sorts of shit?
I don’t trust California to handle rails well though after they robbed the tax payers of $120 billion for that high speed farce.
They're lying if they say it's too steep for rail. In fact, right here in downtown LA we have precedent for a funicular, which are railcars that are designed specifically for going up steep inclines: https://www.angelsflight.org/
Yup. I was thinking the same thing lol. I used to live in that Gotham looking building on the corner of 5th and Hill before Covid. I miss being that close to grand central market
Dodgers Stadium say Thank you!
"Make sure to click on our Official and Biggest Sponsors - Lexus, Hyundai, 76 Gas Stations (literally on the scoreboard), Toyo Tires, Hankook Tires, Mobil Gas Station"
​
Don't know what to say? Not sure why Dodger's wouldn't invest in public access and eliminate the traffic conditions.
You would have a point if other parks with great public transportation didn’t advertise the same companies anyways lol.
SF had good public transit to get to the game. Yet they have had the chevron gas ad up in left field my whole life.
SF public transit, NY, Philly,
LA probably won't be ever become a "public transit" friendly city no matter how much it tries unless we remove a good portion of people. Its going to suck for these people in the short run but beneficial for all of LA in the long run.
it's 2024. LA is the 2nd largest city in the US, top 25 in the WORLD and there is NO underground or fast public method to get to the major airport to the city.
None.
If it decided to put the most basic things like a major airport underground system to all major significant places (Airport, DTLA, Hollywood, Disneyland, Sports arena (LA Dodgers, Inglewood), Long Beach), it would kill the need for half of the cars (4 million cars) in the metropolitan area.
O'Malley and city boosters wanted it near the city to "revitalize" it since white people were leaving for the suburbs. Their selection was deliberate and well planned on their end.
Are you familiar with the Mickey and Friends Parking Structures at Disneyland?
Build 3 of them. Sunset/Vin Scully Entrance, Stadium Way Entrance, 110 freeway side.
Wrap them in screens and put greenery on top to hide them. Also, the city will pay to build them. The deal Disney had with Anaheim was perfect. Everyone made out like bandits. It will just take longer to do because there are basically 90-100 events at Dodgers Stadium every year where as Disneyland is open 365 days a year.
Use the land for housing and parks.
Make sure you build some kind of structure that would be part of the park in lot 11 where everyone can take their pictures with the cool view of downtown. Hell make it so you can rent it out of weddings.
What do you think it would cost to build enough 4-5 story garages to replace every current lot space
Like half an Ohtani?
No idea but......
There are 16,000 spots at Dodgers Stadium. Divide that by 3 and you need to build 3 structures that hold 5,400(Rounding Up) cars each.
The Mickey and Friends at Disneyland cost $50 million but holds 10,500 cars.
I will guesstimate and say they would cost $35 million each for a total of $105 million. Thats just a "ballpark" figure.
Did Frank McCourt write the article?
Right? That gondola is not going to solve any of the parking problems. It’s a gimmick
I heard on 570 radio saying if the traffic at Dodger Stadium is reduced to a certain number, Then McCourt can develop on the land. That’s why he’s pushing for the gondolas.
A “news” article about a random post in a subreddit lol
A Reddit post about a news article about a Reddit post. Peak internet.
The amount of empty space truly is a tragedy. McCourt really needs to start developing that land
McCourt spend money on something that might benefit other people? You must be new here.
What would you develop there? Bars that are empty except before and after games? How does that help?
I assume the idea would be to add something that isn't only used before/after games. Mixed-use space with housing/retail/restaurants, open park/recreational space, etc. Anything that would give the space a purpose outside of the ~90-100 days per year that the stadium is used games & concerts.
I can see that. A bar "night life", clubs, bowling alley, hotel, etc or alternative so people aren't flooding the exits and stay for different things than just a baseball game.
I like the idea. Make it into a City Walk sort of thing where people can spend a few hours in addition to game time.
Fun weird fact! During and after the pandemic, the major rental car companies were storing extra vehicles at Dodger Stadium and other such large parking lots because no one was renting at the time and there weren't any games (or later no fans at the games).
It makes me feel better to know that it gets some additional use. Maybe it'll help you a little too.
It would have to be low income housing with limited access to public transportation. The latter of which is why we have the huge ass parking area to begin with. I’m not sure what the answer is other than Angelinos just become like New Yorkers and don’t have cars.
build low income housing there. Oh the irony.
LA development moment
Brick and mortar retail is dying rapidly. Trying to sell them on open space/park is going to be hard as that takes away from revenue generating space they already have. Restaurants will likely struggle with customers only really coming for games. This would also cannibalize in park concession sales. Maybe housing could work but as with housing that gets built near preexisting loud venues it turns into nonstop court battles and the eventually shuttering of the venue.
No one needs to do anything with their property if they don't want to. You and I can agree it's a waste of potential but ultimately it's up to the owner to do anything with it.
Dodger stadium will always be my favorite place to see a game. But my least favorite to get to and from. I'm living in Seattle right now and go to way more baseball games just because it's easier to get there on the light rail.
I hope they give up on the gondola and put in some proper transit. At least give the shuttle from union station a dedicated lane. Last time I tried that it was just stuck in traffic the whole time (it was a couple years ago)
Bring back the Trolleys!
yes trolleys and walking should be the only way in so attending a game requires you to live the experience of an actual trolley dodger
We could really piss off SF and make them cable cars to handle the hills
Found the real Dodger.
Did we ever have trolleys in LA?
Yes, old LA. And there’s Angel’s Flight still right by Central Market
That’s a funicular not a trolley
TIL. Lol imagine “Introducing, your, Los Angeles Funicular Dodgers”
Tolleys built Los Angeles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric
Legitimately got lost in the parking lot twice and couldn't find my car for 45-60 minutes (had an old car where the unlock remote's range wasn't very wide).
Last year (April/Mets series), I had to have the Über driver just pick me up wherever we could meet up. I couldn’t find the ride share spot for shit.
I’m only out for one series a year in LA. And I gotta say, Rays, Marlins and Braves games I do go to every year are much easier to get to.
Oh thank God I'm not the only one who did this lol. Also happened twice.
I don't have a remote (old car) so I had to ask someone who worked there if they had an inkling as to where they might have situated me based on my arrival time (they were extremely helpful)
One of my favorite childhood memories is trying to find the car after a game with my dad. This was in 98 or 97 at night trying to find a Peugeot. It was an adventure! Adult me would be annoyed though.
How is anything built in 1962 mind-boggling?? You've had plenty of time to process; stfu
Yeah, the problem is not with the original stadium build, it’s with everything that has been planned since then.
I’m in favor of any plan that:
A) develops the land around Dodger Stadium (including housing, commercial and access/transportation)
B) Fucks over Frank McCourt. Because fuck that guy.
I wonder if it’d be possible to tunnel straight into the hillside and then have some high speed elevator or escalator that takes you right to the stadium entrance. Seems like that would make rail possible.
Or we invest in public transportation.
Oh no that’s what I meant; doing this as a Metro light rail line as opposed to doing it on the outside of the hill since the grade is too steep.
Ah, I see that now. My reading comprehension is terrible this morning.
All good brotha. Seems like this would be more logical than the gondola too. Although the upfront tunneling cost will probably be pretty high.
The Gondola would represent an ass raping of Chinatown and its community. McCourt, that mother fucker should be stopped and ran out of town IMO.
The article called them NIMBY as if the gondola would be only within the area fuck that more like NAMH not above my head.
They got a firm set up in Chinatown and the little twit CEO working for McCourt interloped on the TV Chinese New Year Marathon broadcast pimping the Gondola. Run those motherfuckers out of LA IMO. McCourt and his posse should be tarred and feathered and sent back to the East Coast with their head permanently affixed to their ass so they can eat dinner out of it.
I love Dodger Stadium, but is whole construction is basically a study on what not to do. Its construction really fucked over a heavily Latino lower income neighborhood and got rid of so much housing.
I would love to see some parking structures and development of the parking lot into affordable high-density housing (with needed infrastructure), but that isn’t happening in my lifetime.
A parking structure at Dodger stadium will be a nightmare.
Well the current parking is also a nightmare, and it takes up an insane amount of needed space.
They could absolutely make it work with other infrastructure improvements. I also acknowledged it’s not going to happen.
Imagine everyone trying to get out of a parking structure at the same time. I rather deal with the parking lot.
Disneyland has a massive parking structure (Does the Pixar part of the structure count as a second structure?) with a large influx of traffic right around park opening. It's not spectacular - the lines go out past Harbor some mornings - but it is similar to what Dodger Stadium would need.
Does Disneyland have 56,000 people coming out of the parking structure at the same time?
After the fireworks or World of Color, it certainly has thousands all leaving at once. Getting out of Mickey and Friends is a breeze, especially if you're getting on the 5 where there are dedicated lanes to just dump you on the freeway.
Ya we need all that space for the cars
This Ad brought to you by Dodger's Official Sponsors. Toyo Tires, 76, Lexus.
Why would you want public transportation? - Main Sponsors looking confused and angry.
I’m only out for about one series per year (I’m in Florida) and even getting a ride share is a pain in the ass.
I mean yeah it’s also basically the biggest ballpark capacity wise and they routinely fill most of it up. So add that to hard to get to location and LAs bad public transportation. You have a massive parking lot. That at somepoint they forgot how to manage cuz it was not always this bad getting out of there.
I’m convinced McCourt wants to make us pay for making him sell the team.
How about adding restaurants, stores and hotels for fans and locals to enjoy before and after the game and the offseason?
Oh for FUCK sake. The plans were conceived in the 50's and was built in the 60's. It's the 3rd oldest MLB stadium. It was state of the art then... built for the car culture Mr. O'Malley left New York to tap into. There is NOTHING wrong with the stadium or the parking lot (except the douche bag that owns the lot)
Build a crane, take some shovels, dig the park out of the ground, and crane it to DTLA, exposition park somewhere, next to SoFi, something like that.
I am the genius.
The design functions to keep hobos and meth creeps away from the front gates.
This reeks of shilling for a particular individual who owns parking lots - just saying. Edit to add: Rail and other forms of ingress/egress are very possible. Will owners and operators of the space take on the cost to build a functional solution? To me, that's the question. We have several examples of this in Los Angeles, including The Hollywood Bowl and The Greek Theatre. Note how a similar requirement was solved on steep, winding access for the Getty Museum along the 405 - yep, a people mover. So it's been done, but ownership and political will are needed.
Don’t the McCourts still own the parking rights? Why would they give up that gravy train just to sellout so someone can develop something?
I love Dodger Stadium.  It’s like a microcosm of the city itself.  I’ll be sad when it eventually gets demolished. Â
Fenway, Wrigley and Dodger stadium are never going anywhere.
People said that about the old Yankee Stadium. Â Nothing is permanent. Â
Redevelop half of the parking lot into a mixed use development. Make it a new LA neighborhood; call it DodgerTown. Build the gondola and force everyone to take it or the Dodgers Stadium Express.
The lot is a blight.
Found Frank!!!
I think the desolation is doubly tragic when you consider the Chavez Ravine community it displaced. Full disclosure, I don't live in LA - I'm from Boston. I remember the stadium seemed shockingly far from downtown when I biked there.
Gon do la! GON DO LA!
This is why I have the controversial opinion that Dodger Stadium should be relocated to DTLA.
My ideal choices for a location would be near union station or LA live.
And the city should ban all future stadia, arenas, etc that are not built near both rail and freeways
I’ve always believed this too. A more accessible stadium in DTLA would elevate the city and this franchise.
Agree. I’ve lived in Boston and DC and it was simple to get to the park on foot, bike or transit.
The parking lot is necessary because of the location of the stadium. Even with its size, it only will hold enough cars for a sold out game if everyone carpools at an average of 3-4 people. The gondola wouldn't bring in that many people and it is a proposal by McCourt, who owns the parking lot. The parking lot would not downsize or lead to new housing with a gondola, but McCourt would likely develop part of it for commercial uses to profit.
Parking at any stadium in LA is a nightmare even Sofi
Not many of us want to pay an arm and a leg to park at Dodgers and then also deal with the insane traffic afterwards. The Dodgers Express Bus is absolutely appalling. They need to send way more buses and also create a dedicated bus lane. It takes 2 hours for me to get home taking that bus plus metro after night games and I live only 5 miles away. It's faster for me to walk down the hill and get on the metro at Chinatown so that's what I do for day games. Even at the fastest it takes me 50 minutes to get home even though normally it's a 12 minute drive away. It's faster to get home to the Eastside from Angel's Stadium postgame. At this rate how on earth are we hosting the Olympics??
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Nice!
First off, this post loses all credibility for using a stock photograph of a parking lot that is not Dodger Stadium. Looked at how well maintained that asphalt is! Look how freshly painted the lines are!
Second, the parking lot has been used for other purposes. COVID-testing, vaccinations... charity runs ... maybe a circus?
Anyways when it's not game time I just like to think of it as "entirely too much available parking for people to visit the team store"
Who did frank McCourt pay to write this article
Would it be possible to legislate Mccourt into developing the land, and possibly adding a parking garage? Some disneyland-esque type garage would make parking there so much better
I think because Walter O'Malley had zero parking spaces at Ebbets field in Brooklyn, that was his number one thing he wanted since the new ballpark in Milwaukee had it and he wanted it to be like that. Unfortunately him wanting that as a priority back in the 50’s is why we have this dilemma now.
It would definitely be nice to have a ballpark, like every other modern day ballpark, where there are many restaurants and places to go before, during, and after the game. Also easily accessible. But it is what it is.
I mean I agree, it was designed that way too, I wish it wasn’t so but there’s no quick way to get to the stadium
Yeah, I went to a an Angels game a few years back (free tickets) and I was shocked that I was just able to pull up and park. It was very convenient getting there and leaving.
This wouldn't solve the problems but the Chinatown station is technically not that far but that walk is brutal. I wish ownership would at least invest in dedicated walkways up to the Stadium, fuck it do escalators, instead of expecting us to walk beside cars the whole way up. Have a bridge to get over the parking lot. Start investing in that Chinatown area along the walk, giving people a reason to take the Gold line. Do something
Soooooo no one used google earth until today?🤔
It to me is a case of - we already have the lot- you want to make another parking lot where the gondola is? I like the idea but like what are they gonna do with the parking lot? Turn it into a housing development? LA is a car city, until they solve public transportation and make it somewhat convenient, just having a gondola isn’t gonna do shit.
Subway or light rail line through the hill with escalators to the gates would work. Shame they didn’t make a dodger station when planning the Former Gold Line.
Really a shame that with all the expansions Metro has made with their rail system, the Dodger Stadium area was never touched
Lol, the "article" quotes a wildly uninformed Reddit user as one of its primary sources.
I went to one Dodgers game and swore never to go again due to the parking/traffic inefficiency.
Looks beautiful to me. Don’t see the problem
Sick and tired of bike brain bus onanists trying to force their view on everyone.
Los Angeles is car centric, and quite frankly we are incapable of a society right now from creating the conditions necessary to make public transit comfortable and appealing.
Any rail line or bus lines you created to remove parking for development is only going to become an adult daycare center for people who won't or can't care about the affects their actions have on those around them. And furthermore, fuck Frank McCourt. Any transit amenities performed on this land will allow him to enrich himself through the development of this land that is legally prevented from being developed right now.
1 missing reply
You kinda need all that parking because the location isn’t very accessible. I wish they had just built it in DTLA or down near the beach when they originally built it.
Once you visit other stadiums and see how easy it is to get to them on a train or bus or walking it shows you how much the parking situation sucks at Dodger stadium.
Not much they can do about it now unless they install a few rails. Which I think is way better than that stupid gondola