When Guggenheim Partners purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012, they understood that they had a chance to make a strong first impression, both for fans and the players, on Opening Day of 2013.

Janet Marie Smith led the strategic design thinking and assembled a team of architects, engineers, and contractors to collectively complete $150 million of improvements in the short span of seven months, including design, permitting, and construction. Fan-facing improvements included three new plazas with free standing retail and concession buildings, upgrades and additions to restrooms, ADA seating and circulation improvements on every level of the building, and the integration of environmental graphics throughout Dodger Stadium to tell the story of the club. Smith and team expanded both the home and visiting team clubhouses with newly excavated basements, doubling the square footage for players.

Expertise

Capital improvements

Design

Historic preservation

Master planning

Clients

Los Angeles Dodgers

Timeline

Current

2019

In 2019, Janet Marie Smith led the concept design thinking for another robust renovation and expansion effort at Dodger Stadium. The $100 million, single off-season effort added a two-and-a-half-acre Centerfield Plaza, serving as a new “front door” to Dodger Stadium, renovations to the Pavilions to accommodate seating for fans in wheelchairs for the first time, unique food & beverage offerings, and a vertical circulation plan allowing fans to circumnavigate the building via an outdoor concourse. The Centerfield Plaza has become a destination and entertainment hub for fans visiting Dodger Stadium during games and non-baseball events, providing space for concerts, gatherings, and family-friendly activity.

2024/2025

Canopy Team and the Dodgers are again embarking on a Clubhouse renovation and expansion effort this offseason, adding an additional underground level to both the home and visiting team sides. In addition to increasing the square footage for additional amenities and training tools, the project will also incorporate the latest technology and high-end finishes to create a best-in-class experience for players.

Ongoing

Dating back to the beginning of the Guggenheim Dodgers ownership in 2012 and driven by Janet Marie Smith’s leadership of the Dodgers’ Planning & Development department, piece by piece, renovations have been defined, designed, and driven forward to meet specific contextual needs of Dodger Stadium for fans and players alike, completing all projects during the off-season without ever missing a game of baseball at Dodger Stadium. With technology and fan behavioral patterns ever evolving, proposed and completed projects have sought to deliver a future-minded environment that honor the franchise’s traditions of the past.

In addition to the large-scale improvement projects, Canopy Team has worked with Planning & Development to turn Dodger Stadium into a living, breathing museum dedicated to the club’s history. From the addition of larger-than-life sized bobbleheads to converting lockers from the 1962 clubhouse to display cases, the team has taken advantage of every open space and every piece of available memorabilia at Dodger Stadium to make the story of the Dodgers available to fans, identifying key locations for game day circulation and the stadium tour route.