Ballpark Digest is previewing what every MLB team is doing to begin the season, both on and off the field, as the 2018 campaign is underway. Up next: the Los Angeles Angels and Angels Stadium.
Angel Stadium will feature improved technology this season, thanks to a series of changes made by the Los Angeles Angels.
Over the offseason, the Angels put a major emphasis on overhauling the ballpark’s video displays. In partnership with Daktronics, the Angels undertook a project that was estimated to lead to 14 LED displays totaling more than 23,000 square feet. Highlighting that round of additions is a new right field videoboard, which measures at 9,500 square feet and has been billed as the third-largest video display in all of Major League Baseball.
This season will also see a lower home run boundary in right field. In the past, the right field home run boundary at Angel Stadium was 18 feet in height, but that has been lowered to eight feet. To accomplish this, the Angels placed a new eight-foot outfield wall just in front of their new out-of-town scoreboard. With this adjustment, Angel Stadium could see more home runs in 2018, as left-handed hitters in particular could benefit from the reduced height.
While the upgraded video displays and adjustments to the outfield wall represent some notable changes, they are not the only new elements that are being introduced at Angel Stadium this year. Along with Legends Hospitality, the Angels are rolling out new concession offerings for 2018.
Changes to the menu will be noticed on various levels of the ballpark. On the field level, the Santa Maria-Style Steak Sandwich will be one of the highlights, as will the The Mound—an offering that features soft chocolate chip cookies served in a souvenir helmet. The terrace level, meanwhile, will feature an interesting mix of new grilled cheese-related offerings, including Meatball Grilled Cheese and Cubano Grilled Cheese.
There will also be some new menu items in premium areas and suites of Angel Stadium. In addition, there have been some changes to the food offerings at the Saint Archer Brewing Co. Restaurant, which is located on the club level in right field. Fans on the club level will be able to enter the restaurant and partake in some of its new food items—spanning from a Thai Shrimp Salad to Steak Frites—beginning two hours before first pitch, while fans with tickets for other parts of the ballpark can access the space after the game begins.
Rendering of new right field videoboard courtesy Daktronics.