Okay I admit it – a Dodger home game doesn’t go by where I don’t scope out those luxurious Dugout Club box seats behind home plate through my binoculars from out in the Left Field Pavilion where my longtime season seats are located. I mean, that’s where they sit – the celebrities, the rock stars, the professional athletes, a certain well known baseball agent; you know, the people who can easily afford the $50,000 a year season ticket price… per seat. I also have to admit that I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in these incredible seats a couple of times over the years, but only because I got the tickets from a friend of a friend. Heaven knows I could never come up with the $600 per seat per game ticket price.

I have also had the pleasure of sitting in the Prime Ticket Club (formerly called the Baseline Box Seats) a couple of times as well (ditto on that friend of a friend thing), but even these seats are well out of my price range and, for the most part, the price range of most Dodger fans.

But shortly after opening day and as part of the $100 million renovations made at Dodger Stadium during this past off-season, Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten and Senior Vice President of Planning and Development Janet Marie Smith snuck in some great new boxes for the working man and woman – the all-new Loge Party Boxes.

The new Loge Party Boxes allow fans plenty of leg room and “…a place to put your stuff.”

As their name implies, the Loge Party Boxes are located on the Loge Level of historic Dodger Stadium at the top of each section between first and third bases. Each box has plenty of leg space with stool seating and a wide-screen TV overhead – something that even the aforementioned Dugout Club and Prime Ticket Club boxes do not have.

“This is probably one of the most unique and different things we’ve done here at Dodger Stadium,” said David Siegel, Dodgers Vice President of Ticket Sales. “These Loge Party Boxes are all located inside of the bases on the Loge Level. They range in size from ten to eight to six people and come with in-seat food and beverage service.

“It’s a nice happy medium between sitting in a United Club Suite or Dugout Club seats,” added Siegel. “It’s very casual and fun for a boy’s or girl’s night out or for a birthday party or family gathering, something like that.”

At Tuesday’s game between the Dodgers and Angels, I had an opportunity to speak with several Dodger fans enjoying their first game from a  Loge Party Box.

“This is a great way to watch a game,” said longtime Dodger fan Matt Miranda of Sun Valley, CA. “You don’t have people standing up in front of you blocking your view and you don’t have to keep getting up to let people in and out of your row.”

One of the first things you will notice about the Loge Party Boxes is that your view of the field is never blocked by people sitting in front of you.

“It’s kind of like the boxes at the Hollywood Bowl but with a lot more leg room,” added Matt’s wife Grace. “The in-seat food service is great and you don’t have to balance your food on your lap while you eat. You can watch the entire game without ever having to leave your seat.”

In-seat server Julio takes a food and beverage order from Matt and Grace Miranda.

Evan Bladh, a life-long Dodger fan and southern California native now living behind enemy lines in San Francisco, made the trip down with his son Evan Jr. to enjoy their first Dodger Game of the season in the new Loge Party Boxes.

“This is a great way to enjoy a Dodger game without people blocking your view,” said the elder Bladh. “It’s perfect for small groups celebrating a birthday or a family gathering.” “I like that the restrooms and the Team Store are so close,” added Evan Jr.

The only drawback that I noticed about the new Loge Party Boxes is that both video boards are partially obstructed because of the overhang from the upper levels, which forces you to bend down a bit to see them.

Although the new video boards are partially obscured from the Loge Party Boxes, the view of the field is outstanding.

“We did think about that and that’s one of the reasons why each box has its own big flat-screen TV directly in front of it,” said Siegel. “That’s a thing we thought through knowing that any seat if they were here are going to have trouble seeing the scoreboards. We wanted to make these boxes extra special and that’s why you get your own personal big screen.”

Siegel pointed out that when you reserve a Loge Party Box, you are given a pre-order food menu that you can submit ahead of time, however the folks that I spoke with simply placed their order with their in-seat server Julio, who made frequent stops by the box to see if they needed anything.

Ticket prices for the new Loge Party Boxes range from $40 per seat to $135 per seat depending on the number of people in your group and the size of the box requested. The entire box must be purchased, as no single seats are sold for the Loge Party Boxes. Because the Loge Party Boxes are located under the overhang of the upper levels, they are always in the shade and perfect for those hot summertime day games. As of right now parking is not included in the price of the Loge Party Boxes but this is something that Siegel said they would consider based on the feedback they receive from fans who use the boxes.

Dodger fans interested in giving this new and affordable Dodger Stadium experience a try or for more information about the new Loge Party Boxes, feel free to call David Siegel at: 323-DODGERS (323-363-4377). Deposits are also accepted on-line through the Dodger website. Keep in mind that there are only ten Loge Party Boxes, so if there is a specific date or game that you would like to reserve for your group or special event, you might not want to wait too long to do so.