OPENING DAY JITTERS

When Dodger Stadium opened on April 10, 1962, former Chavez Ravine residents who had been forced from their homes to make room for the ballpark threw tomatoes over the fence. Inside, owner Walter O’Malley had installed only two drinking fountains--one in each team’s dugout--because he wanted fans to buy beer and sodas. (Public outrage soon led to more fountains.)

When the Pond of Anaheim opened on June 19, 1993, the parking lots became so snarled that singer Barry Manilow had to delay his concert 45 minutes. Even so, many fans missed the start of the performance.

“It will take a while for the building to shake itself out,” says Staples Center partner Ed Roski Jr., who’s been fretting for months over potential opening-day problems. “I can guarantee you that first night is going to be havoc.”

But not all openings are unpleasant. On Dec. 31, 1967, the late Jack Kent Cooke made a final tour of his new Forum. He stopped to test a cigarette machine, inserting the exact change. Forty quarters poured out.