An LA local’s guide to Dodger Stadium for New Yorkers who need help

Note: This story was written and edited by LAist staff and first appeared on LAist.com. It is written from the point of view of a Los Angeles journalist.

For the first time in 43 years, the classic rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees will resume on baseball’s biggest stage: The World Series.

It’s the 12th matchup for these teams — who were crosstown New York City rivals in the first decades of Major League Baseball. The last time these storied franchises met was in 1981 when the Dodgers bested the Yankees 4 games to 2.

This time around, if you are a betting person, Vegas says the odds favor the Boys in Blue again.

L.A. also has home field advantage, earned by clinching baseball’s best regular season record. That means the first two games, Friday and Saturday, will be played at Dodger Stadium.

Many of you New Yorkers are no strangers to L.A. — after all, who hasn’t clocked time in the best city on earth. But since that level of familiarity might not extend to our baseball park, here’s a Dodger Stadium guide for all you Yankees fans out there.

It’s the least we can do, I mean, you have come all the way to L.A. to watch the Dodgers win. And come on, you are New Yorkers, we know you can take a ribbing.

About the traffic

Yeah, there’s no sugarcoating it — traffic’s going to be bad. The smart bet is to get to the stadium early, hang out and enjoy the sunset, beer and premium L.A. ballpark weather.

Expect mostly sunny skies, with highs in the low 80s, so it’ll make for prime hangout conditions. We sincerely urge you to skip the frustration unique to next-level L.A. congestion brought on by World Series baseball.

There are public transportation options, too. That said, we’ll have to give this one to you, New York. Los Angeles doesn’t have a subway station that is spitting distance from our ballpark, but give us a break, we’ve been working hard on expanding our rail and light rail lines in the last decade.

Should you choose to ditch your car on Friday and Saturday, you can take The Dodger Stadium Express from Union Station in downtown. The shuttle is free, and if you want to park your car there, it’s $8. (More info here.)

Since New Yorkers love to walk (right?), we’ll also point you to LAist’s great guide on saving those parking fees and putting them toward tastier treats.

About those gondola billboards

On your way to Dodger Stadium, you may be greeted by these billboards about the Dodgers and gondolas.

You may wonder — Why? What? And… How?

To which we say: Los Angeles dreams big. For example, if you haven’t heard, we are building the world’s biggest wildlife crossing — basically a pedestrian bridge, but for mountain lions and animals. It’ll span multiple lanes of the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills and cost $90 million. Big.

But back to the gondola.

Officially it’s known as Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART). Now you know why everyone calls it the gondola.

This idea to connect the one mile or so between Dodger Stadium and its nearest subway station in Chinatown through an aerial passenger tram system was first pitched in 2018.

The very razzle-dazzle L.A. sales pitch — backed by former Dodger owner Frank McCourt and his son — was that this new transportation option would take thousands of cars off the roads on game nights.

Six years later, the proposal is stuck in limbo. Critics say the system would bring noise, light pollution and the threat of further gentrification in Chinatown and surrounding communities. Stop the Gondola, an organization opposed to the project, also questions the project’s claims about how much it would reduce traffic and greenhouse gases.

The battle between displacement and larger-than-life civic visions have marked the city of Los Angeles since time immemorial, including the birth of Dodger Stadium when the team moved from Brooklyn more than six decades ago.

Now, some advice on parking

You did it. You drove your car after all we have told you. Sure, why not? Now you have to park it. On World Series nights, as with regular games, the recommendation is that you pre-purchase your parking pass.

You can do it here on the official MLB site, if passes are still available. Or, head on over to the secondary resale market — as of the time of writing, general parking start at around $100; for a lot in the VIP section, we are seeing one ticket that’s asking for more than $4,000. Yes. That is three zeros after the 4.

The truth about Dodger Dogs

The famous hot dog with the 10-inch wiener has been a staple at Dodger Stadium since it opened back in 1962, once claiming the title of the best-selling hot dog in baseball.

In 2021, Dodgers Nation was shocked to learn that the team had moved on from its longtime local supplier Farmer John and would instead get its meat from Papa Cantella’s, another local company.

We will concede that taste is subjective, and that change is always a little hard. While Dodgers diehards swear fidelity to the old Dodger Dog, others say the new version is just as good — if not better. [Editor’s note: This is incorrect. Just saying.]

But sure, for the sheer experience grab a dog along with the libation of your choice. History and nostalgia matter. Because there’s no better way to spend an October day than to be at a ballpark, a light breeze in your face, the magic hour descending on L.A., as you pay witness to what is the latest chapter in baseball history.

And oh, Dodgers in 6.