A couple of friends and i are planning on attending the game between the Dodgers and the Mariners next Saturday, June 27.
In a situation where i am attending a ticketed event, i will do everything possible not to put a single red cent into the pockets of the assholes who run Ticketmaster. What i’m wondering is whether it is a safe bet to turn up to a Saturday night interleague game and expect to get three tickets?
I looked at some the attendance figures for some recent Saturday night Dodger home games, and attendances for games against the Phillies, the Giants, and the Padres were between 41,000 and 48,000. Given that the capacity of Dodger Stadium is 56,000, and given that at least a couple of those teams (the Phillies and the Giants) are probably much more of a draw than the Seattle Mariners, my hunch is that it probably won’t be a problem.
But i just thought i’d check with the locals. Anyone got any thoughts on the matter?
If it makes any difference, we’d probably be looking for relatively cheap seats, somewhere in the sub-$25 range, which would put us in the Top Deck, Left Field, Reserve, or Lower Reserve.
Cheap seats shouldn’t be a problem, especially if you show up early. Dodger stadium rarely sells out completely. If you did want better seats, there are usually guys roaming the parking lot with them for sale too.
In Atlanta you can buy tickets for any game whenever the ticket windows are open, and I’m fair certain there isn’t a Ticketbastard fee (or if there is, it’s already in the price of the seat and not itemized). So you could always head down to the stadium beforehand and buy your seats for the game you want with no worries and no upcharges.
Thanks haj. I sort of suspected as much. I think we’ll just arrive a bit early and take the chance that there will be tickets.
Unfortunately, that’s not really feasible for us. I live in San Diego and won’t be in LA until the day of the game. One of my friends will also not arrive until the day before the game. The other friend lives in LA and could theoretically do it, but she is very busy at the moment. Also, she is the other friend’s girlfriend, and isn’t a huge baseball fan. She is mainly coming to the game to hang out with us. She lives in West LA, and i really can’t see her wanting to drag her ass all the way out to Chavez Ravine to pick up tickets early.
If you check stubhub you can find tickets below face value in good spots for some games - even after their service charge. It’s worth checking out. yes, this means putting some money in a company’s pockets. But, ticketmaster hasn’t bought stubhub yet.
One more thing just occurred to me. The games that do sell out are either end of season games during a hot pennant race or some special promotion days. You might want to check out if this game is a promotion day of some kind. It’s easy enough to do by checking the Dodgers web site.
I’m pretty sure the game is nothing special, and there’s no chance it’ll sell out. In a strange coincidence, I’ll be at that game too – strange because I no longer live near LA anymore. Go Dodgers! Unfortunately, I actually have nothing useful to add, so… go Dodgers?
Well, the game was fun. I had no real investment in the outcome, although my friend is a big Mariners fan, so he was very happy with the result. It was great to watch Felix Hernandez pitch 8 innings and give up just 1 unearned run. There was also some excellent defense from both teams.
I was impressed with Dodger Stadium. The view out towards the mountains is great, and the stadium itself is very nice. I like the fact that they don’t blare rock music at you during every break; the organ gives the whole place a somewhat retro feel. We ended up in the Reserve section ($19), as that was the cheapest section available by the time we got to the ticket window, and the view of the game was fine.
Dodger Stadium does, though, have the worst signage of any stadium i’ve ever been to. Finding the window selling tickets was a herculean task and involved walking around half the stadium. I’m sure it’s very obvious if you already know where to go, but the ticket windows stuck in the middle of the parking lot are not exactly obvious to a newbie. And $15 for parking, at a stadium where there is basically no alternative way to get there? Pretty rich, if you ask me.
Then, once you get into the stadium, the marking of the seating sections is almost non-existent. We found the entrance to our area, which said that it was for sections 43, 45, and 47. Once we got into the area, though, there was not a sign to be found indicating where one section began and another started, or which was which. We finally got an employee to show us, and once we were seated i saw that there were some tiny section numbers on the seats at the end of the rows, but i couldn’t believe that there were no signs marking the sections.
Anyway, it was a good night. Thanks for the responses.
Glad you had a good time at the game! I was there yesterday (where I was also there with a Mariners fan, and we also lost).
I don’t think about the things you mentioned much because I’ve been going to the Stadium for years, but they are all valid points. There’s an area down the street from the Stadium where lots of folks part on the street for free because we think that the $15 is excessive (especially since it was only $10 two years ago, and $8 the year before that). The hike stinks, but it beats paying $15 every time.
The signage for seating sections is fairly poor, too. It seems like almost every game, I’m directing someone to their seats because they’re in the wrong section.
But overall, and even acknowledging my hometown bias, Dodger Stadium is still my favorite place to experience a ballgame. I will be happy, however, when they carry out their plans to revamp the stadium to allow easy access to all levels. The limitation of available food for us Top Deckers is pretty inexcusable, and since they don’t allow you to move between levels during sold out games, you’re pretty well screwed.
Unfortunately, I actually have nothing useful to add, so… go Dodgers?