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More Concerts Are Coming To Dodger Stadium
Kiss plays Dodger Stadium in 2014 (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)
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Soon you'll be able to take the newly-christened Vin Scully Avenue to see some of your favorite bands play at Dodger Stadium.The Dodgers have just partnered with a couple entertainment execs to bring several major concerts to the stadium starting this year with more to come for the future, reports the L.A. Times. And while the stadium has hosted big music acts in the past—from The Beatles to last year's Kiss performance—the new plan is to more consistently bring in major headliners to fill seats during the off-season or while the Dodgers are out of town. No specific performers have been named yet, but the organizers say they're working to pin down two bands right now with a possible third act planned for this year.
To book the acts, the team is working with Oak View Group, a partnership between music industry vet Irving Azoff and former AEG exec Tim Leiweke, whose client list also includes The Forum in Inglewood, Madison Square Garden in New York and Philips Arena in Atlanta, according to KPCC. And while they will help to secure acts for the venue, they say they won't act as a concert promoter, allowing the stadium to work with other promoters.
One of the biggest hurdles with booking big gigs at the stadium will be working around the Dodgers' season, as large concerts often require days to set up and take down. The Dodgers also want to be sure that the turf isn't torn up by bands and fans, but Leiweke assures them, "We will work it out so that a concert will never have an impact on the field."
Increased traffic to the stadium is also, of course, an issue that has been raised, but OVG remains confident that it shouldn't be a major concern or impediment to bringing in more music.
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"The Dodgers do 81 nights of baseball a year and they get everyone in and out of the stadium successfully," Leiweke tells the Times. "And you have traffic everywhere—that is part of the uniqueness of Los Angeles and people will always go where the great artists are."
Since opening in 1962, Dodger Stadium has hosted an impressive roster of musicians, including The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Simon and Garfunkel, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John, who famously performed in 1975 while wearing a custom sequined Dodgers uniform.
And, of course, we'll never forget the jams played by stadium organist Nancy Bea Hefley who announced her retirement back in October after 28 years of taking us out to the ballgame.
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