March 30th, 2013 at 10:54 am 
by Ron Cervenka At Friday evening’s one and only spring training Freeway Series game against the Angels at Dodger Stadium, the 34,157 fans in attendance were treated to the unveiling of the “Whole New Blue” campaign. But even among the oohs and aahs for the aesthetic improvements, no one expected what happened during the 3rd inning – and it had nothing to do with the game itself.
Up to this point of the game, fans were thoroughly enjoying the brand new state-of-the-art video boards, which were using the familiar graphics they were accustomed to (albeit is striking 1080p HD).
Through the first two and a half innings of Friday night’s games, fans thought they were enjoying the best that the new right field video board had to offer with the familiar scoreboard graphics. Boy were they wrong.
Suddenly there was the loud sound of shattering glass (over the stadium’s awesome new sound system) and entirely new graphics broke through on both of the new video boards. Now I have been to several other ballparks with great video boards (most notably Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, AT&T Park, Coors Field and Chase Field), but I have never seen anything like this. Not only were the new graphics extremely detailed, they were absolutely flawless.
The new graphics on the right field video board are far more detailed than in the past and include the pitch count (no more adding balls and strikes in your head) and an easy to spot radar gun.
(Photo credit – Eric Stephen)
The new left field video board gives a much better (and larger) image than the old one did.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
The new control room for the video boards and sound system looks like something out of a science fiction movie.
But long before Josh Becket’s first pitch in Friday evening’s eventual 9-8 win over the Angels, and even long before the Dodgers took batting practice, Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten and Sr. Vice President of Planning and Development Janet Marie Smith held a press conference to detail many of the renovations made to the legendary and historic ballpark. And while you can find most of the exterior and obvious improvements on just about any of the other Dodger blog sites out there, I was blessed to be among a small group of media folks who were given a personal tour of the unseen parts of the Whole New Blue (including the brand new Dodger clubhouse) with Kasten and Smith as our tour guides.
When you exit the elevators on the Dugout Club Level you are immediately greeted by the absolutely breathtaking Gold Glove, Cy Young and MVP awards won by Dodger players that are beautifully displayed.
“These aren’t replicas of the originals, they are identical copies of the actual awards made exclusively for us,” said Smith. “The only people who are allowed to have them (beside the actual players) are the teams themselves, as with the Cy Young and MVP awards you see displayed here. We put them here so that our players will be inspired by them when they walk past them everyday and the visiting teams intimidated by them. It’s definitely a lot of bling,” added Smith.
I was overwhelmed by this beautiful display of Gold Glove Awards won by current and former Dodgers.
Upon entering the Dodger clubhouse, the first thing that you notice is that it is nothing like the old clubhouse – it is an absolute maze. Just inside the main doors is a brand new media interview room where Dodger manager Don Mattingly will hold his post-game interviews. The room was put to use for the first time a little later in the day for a press conference with Korean pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu.
Korean left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu will forever be known as the first person to have a press conference in the new media interview room. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
Down the hall a ways after a couple of left and right turns (or was it right and left turns?) you come to the video room where players and coaches can view videos of just about every pitch or swing made in the MLB over the past several years.
As you might expect, the video room has the very latest in HD equipment.
Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and catcher Tim Federowicz doing research in the video room.
Just down the hall from the video room are manager Don Mattingly’s office and the coaches offices.
Manager Don Mattingly’s office. Note the photos of every former Dodger manager on the back wall.
The coaches office.
The players clubhouse is nearly half again as wide as the old one with larger lockers for the players.
I overheard several players raving about their new clubhouse – even visiting players.
At least Yasiel Puig got to enjoy the new Dodger clubhouse – even if only for a day.
In a show of class, Dodger pitcher Aaron Harang walked up to Janet Marie Smith and introduced himself to her and thanked her for all of her hard work. I saw no other Dodger player do this.
After being completely blown away by the new clubhouse, I was even more so when I saw the new indoor batting cage and weight room.
Manny Mota prepares to throw BP in the new indoor batting cage. There is now a similar cage on the visitor’s side as well, something that never existed before in Dodger Stadium’s 51-year history.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
I overheard more comments about how awesome the new weight room is than anything else.
There is even a new workout pool and two whirlpools.
(photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
Although the finishing touches are still being completed inside of the clubhouses, it is completely operational. Even the visiting Angels players commented that the visitors clubhouse is the nicest that they have ever seen.
When Stan Kasten or Janet Marie Smith tell you that they are going to do something you better believe it, because their word is gold.
(Note – All photos by Ron Cervenka unless otherwise noted).
Posted in 
AWESOME RT : @Think_BlueLA @DodgersPR New post – Inside of the Whole New Blue: http://t.co/aOcrGw8kgT @DodgersPR #Dodgers #Dodgerfam
Good work, my friend. Nice article. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to see it, which could be opening day. If not I’ve got tickets in hand for Jackie Robinson Night on the 15th.
You are one lucky SOB. I can only hope to get that tour some day.
Thanks, Ron. I was looking forward to reading this article and seeing what you had to report about yesterday’s presser. Had no idea that you’d get the full tour in the process. It’s even nicer than I imagined. Very cool what Harang did. Too bad he’ll probably not be able to enjoy the new facilities.
Incredible facility! This should give the Dodgers another edge. Thanks for the info and the pix.
I’m with Gary… you’re one lucky dog! One day, Leslie and I are going to take the tour when we come down for a game.
I laughed when I saw the configuration of the video boards during the third inning. It was a nod to the old technology, but I’d already been fortunate to get a preview of the new graphics with all the photos on the internet, so I was wondering when they’d actually unveil them. Kasten mentioned in the press conference that they’d not unveil the full potential of the video boards until Monday’s home opener. Which leads me to think; if this was being “held back”… watch out!!
Great photos and article Ron… you rock! Oh, and love the Guantanamo comment! That was funny!
“The only thing missing is the razor wire!”
Haha! I posted dodgerfilms’ new video clip as our Featured Video.
Quite an improvement. Everyone must feel good about it. Another demonstration of the direction in which the Dodgers are going. Great photos and commentary.
Ron great article and pictures!!! The place looks fantastic! I really love the Gold Glove Award display and the photos of all the Dodger mangers in Mattingly’s office. This shows me that the new Dodger management is sparing no expense to make the Dodgers a first class organization. Eventually it will show up in results on the field and that’s what we’ve all been waiting for. You are very lucky to be able to see that up close. The next time I go to LA I must take the stadium tour.
You are coming out for the World Series, right?
Absolutely!!
Oh, you meant Will…
Cool! It will be a special time indeed.
Fastastic Upgrading.
I went Friday night as well. Yes, the glass shattering was ear-shattering out in right field where I was. I liked the scoreboard because at my age, I’m happy to be able to read it clearly.
It might just be perception due to the new ownership but I felt like there was more “warmth” entering the stadium from employees, cops, etc. Even Phillippes before the game just had a better “vibe.” Ken-Isportsweb.
Great point, Ken. My usher friend Patrick said that they had a staff meeting before they opened the gates and Stan Kasten addressed the employees, telling them that friendly customer service is Job One.
This is GBM’s first Opening Day and you can bet the farm that it will be spectacular.
By the way – I LOVE Philippe’s!