New faces on the field and expanded food choices at the concession stands are some of the changes in store for fans visiting Dodger Stadium this season.
Renovated Dining Areas: The Lexus Dugout Club has undergone a major renovation, the first since it opened in 2000, allowing for more food options and an enhanced menu. In addition to the expanded kitchens, there will also be more built-in cooking locations, a new carvery and buffet, more desserts and premium cocktails.
The dining room capacity has increased and the décor has been changed. The bar and cocktail area have been expanded. There will be 20 televisions, including four 84-inch sets.
New Food: Choices include fried Dodger Dogs at the Extreme Loaded Dogs location on the field level; a breaded chicken sandwich and tenders; carne asada specialty fries at La Taqueria stands on the field and reserve levels; and Lasorda's meatball marinara cone and meatball marinara specialty fries at Tommy Lasorda's Italian Trattoria in the right field plaza.
The cone is a meatball with marinara sauce in a bread cone.
"People just have another expectation of what stadium food should be," said chef Jason Tingley.
Several nacho locations have been added throughout the stadium. The loaded helmet nachos will be available in vegetarian and vegan versions.
Four reserve level food stands have been upgraded. Several portable beverage kiosks will be added throughout the stadium. There will be new bar locations on the loge level entrance plazas and behind home plate and two stands on the Top Deck.
There will also be new food and drink areas on the Field level next to the escalators. Fresh salads, sandwiches and snacks will be available at the new grab & go location.
And, to Drink: Expanded beer choices will be offered featuring Anheuser Busch's full product line and local craft selections. Products from the 98-year-old San Antonio Winery will be sold at Dodger Stadium for the first time.
Now Batting...: Another change at Dodger Stadium is a new public address announcer, with former KNX-AM (1070) and KABC-AM (790) reporter Todd Leitz replacing Eric Smith, who could not fulfill the season schedule because of other commitments.
New in Dodger Blue: The Dodgers' 25-man opening day roster includes eight players acquired in the off season and four rookies -- center fielder Joc Pederson, relief pitchers Pedro Baez and Yimi Garcia and infielder Alex Guerrero. Pederson is expected to start Monday, becoming the first Jewish player to start on opening day for the Dodgers since first baseman Shawn Green in 2004.
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Length of Games: Major League Baseball is trying to shorten games, so new rules will be in effect in 2015, including a game clock that will run between innings and pitching changes. There also are restrictions on hitters stepping out of the batter's box. Games last season took an average of 3 hours, 2 minutes – 30 minutes longer than the average time of games in 1981.
Security Changes: All entry gates will have metal detectors and metal detecting wands. The league required all teams to implement metal detection and other security upgrades by this year.
