Dodger Stadium is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium is also known as Chavez Ravine after its location built into a hillside neighboring a ravine of that name in Los Angeles , California. Opened in 1962, it is the third oldest MLB stadium, after Fenway Park (1912) in Boston and Wrigley Field (1914) in Chicago .
Dodger Stadium has a distinctive accordion-style roof to protect the rear outfield seats from the hot southern California sun. The ballpark is one of the few remaining with symmetrical outfield dimensions. It is 330 feet (100 meters) down the left and right field lines; 385 feet (117 meters) to each power alley; and 395 feet (120 meters) to the signs marking center field. A low outfield wall around each foul pole occasionally leads to players spilling into the stands. The stadium’s famous “Dodger Dogs” (extra-long hot dogs) are one of the most popular concession items in sports. Dodger Stadium’s seating capacity (56,000) is the largest of any MLB ballpark. The Dodgers often lead baseball in attendance, and the team has drawn more than 3 million fans in a season several times.
The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles from the Brooklyn section of New York City at the end of the 1957 season. The team played in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until Dodger Stadium opened in 1962. From 1962 to 1965, the Los Angeles Angels baseball club also played at Dodger Stadium. The stadium has hosted numerous concerts as well as soccer games, boxing matches, and a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in 1987.
