From the other side

From all the times I’ve gone to Dodger Stadium, I’ve always sat on the first base side. Maybe I’m just used to it, but it’s my preferred side to sit at. When I went there this weekend, this was the first time having seats at the back side on the right field.

It was a very odd place to sit at. First off, it was bleacher seating as opposed to having individual seats. Second, when someone needed to get up and leave, it was a very tight squeeze because the bleachers were so close to each other; this also made it difficult for tall people to sit as there was virtually no leg room. Third, you can see only one of the large screens. For us, we could barely see the one over the left field pavilion. We couldn’t see the one right above us because we were sitting under the wavy awning the stadium is known for. And lastly, where we were sitting was the absolute last spot for the sun to set. The game started at 6:00pm, but it didn’t set for us until around 7:30-ish. It didn’t help too that we went during one of the hottest weekends this year where we saw triple-digit weather.

But complaints and whining aside, fun was had by all. The right field pavilion has the benefit of having all-you-can-eat meals during the game. With each trip you can get: two Dodger dogs, popcorn, peanuts, nachos, and 32oz soft drinks. This is pretty generous and I didn’t know you get Dodger dogs (I thought they were going to be rinky-dink hot dogs) and such a large cup for sodas (I was thinking 12oz). I would say I probably ate 80 dollars’ worth of food. This was a great trade for cruddy not so good seating.

The back side of the pavilion is beautiful as well. It has a lot of gardens and lush landscaping throughout it. I thought about trying a dessert at the newly built Tommy Lasorda's Trattoria, but I’m still broke for the month due to my car maintenance from a few weeks back, so I decided to pass on it (plus I was stuffed from the all-you-can-eat meals).

When it came to the game, it was weird because I was paying attention to almost everything else but the game itself. I guess when you sit near the top from the first base side, there’s nothing to look at but the game. When at the pavilion, you can see all the weird stuff people are doing all around you, so my eyes tended to glance around at my surroundings and seeing things like ushers telling people to go back to their own seats, seeing a beach ball accidently drop into the bullpen, people acting crazy when the cameraman that shows the audience on the big screen when a batter walks up to the plate passes by.

I’m glad I tried the new viewpoint by sitting at the pavilion side of the park, but I think next time I’ll stick to my favorite first base side from now on. If you want to try it, the all-you-can-eat tickets are for the right field pavilion. I don’t know what the left side gets but maybe a weird look from an usher and them saying you picked the wrong side for the unlimited meals.

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