Dodger Stadium advice

Yes, rule No. 1 — Don't wear Giants gear.

But seriously — taking the family to LA in June and wanting to take in a Dodgers' game. It's a Sunday-afternoon date and I have to get a 16 year old girl and 6 year old boy to sit long enough so that the wife and I can down a couple of beers and enjoy the game for perhaps seven innings. Any Dodger Stadium vets out there who can tell me where my best bet is for value and to avoid getting baked in the sun for the three hours or so we'll be there?

I'll take your answers off the air ...

 

Avoid the bleachers, and not just because of the sun problem. See if you can find seats lower or mid level in the back rows. You can still see the game great and you'll avoid the sun. If the 6 year old gets antsy, it's easier for him to move about closer to the walkway than having to trek up the stairs.

And speaking from personal experience, know where the hell you parked. It is so easy to get turned around in that parking lot and all the lots look the same. Last time I went I had to wait for the parking lot to clear out before I could find my car.

 

Go to an Angels game instead. The McCourts don't deserve your money.

 

A friend of mine has avoided going to Dodgers games for at least five years because of who they allow into the park nowadays (read: gang members). But if you do go, don't sit in the upper decks. Packed with people with neck tats and most likely 'bangers.

 

Pay the money and sit in good seats.

If you can get preferred parking, buy it.

 

Make sure you know where your seats are located and how that relates to the parking lot. It's really easy to get stuck in the loop and somehow get "diverted" to a section that's on the wrong side of the stadium. Otherwise, you do a lot of driving around like on "National Lampoon's European Vacation." ("Look kids, there's Big Ben.")

If you aren't too stuffed from Dodger Dogs, check out BBQ King - it's a BBQ shack near the stadium that I think is one of the best BBQ joints in LA.

 

I was stunned that the Dodgers announced "new security measures." Basic stuff. Uniformed police, zero tolerance for violence, cameras at the entrances. I realize the no tailgating is kind of a bummer, but it really sounds like McCourt has almost openly courted the scumbags of LA by making it a more comfortable place for the criminal element.

 

Take a deflated beach ball and hide it in your pants. Then blow up the beach ball. Bat it around.

Good times!

Stay for the whole game to avoid the traffic.

 

To be fair, it's been like that for years. Back in the late 80s, even the outfielders were packing heat and trying to shoot major political figures.

 

Yeah, not only that, in the same game the home plate umpire and even the opera singer who was going to do the national anthem were knocked out by an unknow assailant. I think it was after that the Dodgers stopped letting the Angels use their stadium.

 

That's the goddamn truth. I thought I remembered where I parked the first time I went there, and I think I walked two miles looking for my car, which was a rental and so didn't jump out at me like my own vehicle would've.

 

The Dodgers ticket sales are down this year, way down, because of the McCourts and the really bad team they fielded last year. (And so far this year.)

So check Stub Hub for cheap tickets. Also try the half-price tickets commonly offered at goldstar.com.

Be warned that the Dodgers do not let fans move down to the lower levels, no matter how few people are sitting there. If you want a ticket for a lower level, buy one.

Preferred parking is $35, regular parking is $15. So, if you're staying anywhere near public transit (not a punchline), take the free stadium shuttle from Union Station. Your game ticket is your shuttle ticket.