Dodger Stadium getting major upgrade for All-Star Game

Staff report

LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to welcome the All-Star Game back to Dodger Stadium with a $100 million renovation of their landmark ballpark.

The Dodgers unveiled the logo for next year’s Midsummer Classic along with their latest modernization plans Tuesday for their 57-year-old home, the majors’ third-oldest park.

“We want to stay traditional with regard to baseball, but we also want to have up-to-date renovations for the next generation of fans,” said Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president and CEO.

The primary addition will be a Centerfield Plaza area spanning nearly 2 acres behind the outfield fences, creating what Kasten described as a “front door” to the famously tough-to-access hillside park.

The plaza will include food, entertainment and a statue of Sandy Koufax, which will join a statue of Jackie Robinson already on the property.

The Dodgers also are constructing new elevators, escalators and bridges to allow easier movement around the park. Fans have traditionally relied on lengthy staircases to move between levels.

The entire park will be connected by the bridges between the new pavilions and plaza, allowing fans to walk all the way around the ballpark on the same level for the first time. Kasten also assured fans that the park’s iconic view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield fences won’t be affected in the slightest.

While most of the renovations will be completed by opening day, the new statue of Koufax will be formally dedicated at some point during the season.