Dodger Stadium Renovation Update Amid LA Rain and Virus Shutdown

So it happened. Unless you have already been pre-social distancing yourself from everything, you know that baseball and sports — and in a way life — has been shut down to combat the spread of the COVID-19 “Coronavirus”.

While this all comes with 99% negatives on our day-to-day — although it’s the right thing to do — there are some very small positives to be found along the way. One of those positives involves Dodger Stadium getting a much-needed extension on its renovation construction window.

Before the start of the season was pushed back indefinitely (with June/July now seeming like a best-case scenario), the Dodgers were scrambling as crews worked day and night against the calendar.

Early in March, we heard that the stadium would be ready to safely accept 56,000 fans for opening day, but not for the scheduled pre-season freeway series against the Anaheim Angels. Moreover, what additions and amenities would and would not be fully ready for the first month of the season seemed to be up in the air. 

Enter to Win a Gavin Lux Signed Ball!

When speaking with DodgersNation.com about the construction status, senior VP Janet Marie Smith said that her biggest concern at the moment was rain in the forecast halting progress. 

As the rain came, so did the shutdown of all major sports thanks to Coronavirus. And with that unfortunate reality came the sliver of hope for Dodger Stadium and its construction. The calendar and schedule would all but be thrown away. There’s time a-plenty to finish the job right (unfortunately).

Now as restaurants/bars/movies/night clubs and oh so much more close their doors to crowds, and Dodger Stadium staffers are even sent to work from home, the construction crew at the ballpark continues its tall task of updating a beauty.

With that, YouTube user John Kay once again took his drone out on a flight to capture some visuals of the latest progress.

In the video, we see the start of new perimeter escalators in place, and the new batter’s eye taking more shape. Additionally, the groundwork for new concessions in the new centerfield plaza has been dugout and prepped for the building being assembled offsite. One speaker tower has been painted and the staircases for behind the pavilion are ready to be put into place.

As Smith noted during a recent walkthrough of the stadium, one 24-hour day is about two working days for the progress of the ballpark. While we would all rather have baseball being played at a half-finished Dodger Stadium, at least when baseball comes back, the Dodgers will have a beautiful and (hopefully) completed home to play in.

NEXT: The All-Star Game May Now Be In Jeopardy