The start of the 2020 MLB season has been indefinitely delayed due to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but renovation efforts at Dodger Stadium continue.
While the process has slowed some, construction workers nonetheless have made progress toward completing the reported $100 million project.
Earlier this month, a drone flyover over Dodger Stadium revealed that the Home Run Seats in the new center field plaza were installed.
The Home Run Seats, which feature drink rails and barstool seating, are among a long list of upgrades coming to the ballpark. Other additions include the installation of elevators and escalators, a Sandy Koufax statue, new speaker system, batter’s eye and an overhauled pavilion that will feature standing room decks and now be connected to the entire stadium.
In the latest Dodger Stadium construction update provided by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ official Twitter account, fans were offered a first glimpse of the new sports bar and batter’s eye in a video narrated by Vin Scully.
While Opening Day has been put on hold, the work at Dodger Stadium has continued. Check out the latest renovations, narrated by Vin Scully. pic.twitter.com/oKSELzESfL
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 17, 2020
Each of the two Dodger Stadium outfield pavilions will be home to an air conditioned sports bar packed with an abundance of televisions. What’s unique about them is that they will give fans views into the bullpens.
As for the batter’s eye, there will no longer be a tarp covering the seats. “We’re not planning to put the tarp back on those seats,” Dodgers senior vice president of planning and development Janet Marie Smith explained during a tour.
“We’ve got a corrugated metal that’s going to be 80′ wide on the permanent building. Gone is the tarp that formed our batter’s eye, gone is the scaffolding that we’ve been wrapping for decades.
“The cameras will be positioned on two levels in the structure; we’ve still got it set up so the cameras are stacked just as they were in the scaffolding but now in a concrete spot, so there’s no shaking and it looks better.
“And we have cameras that are in the corners on the field wall, so we will be blocking those seats behind the cameras. We will be blocking the seats behind those cameras so there will not be fans in what is technically the batter’s eye, but we won’t need the tarp again.”
With the bulk of the Dodger Stadium renovations already completed, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten is optimistic that the entire project will be finished if and when games were cleared to be played.
However, MLB has been discussing scenarios in which the 2020 season would begin in a centralized location without fans being permitted to attend.
Moreover, L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti recently suggested that sporting events may not return to the city until 2021.
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