Seismic Shift in Dodgers’ Thinking

The Dodgers have halted seismic improvements to Dodger Stadium that began under News Corp. ownership, saying the project was unnecessary and the 43-year-old ballpark is safe.

The team quietly implemented a voluntary project in 1999 to upgrade the stadium to current seismic standards after learning that a fault runs directly under the stadium. Improvements were to be completed in phases over several off-seasons, and the scope of work included the construction of concrete shearwalls, grade beams and drag connections at a total cost of about $16 million.

The project was put on hold a year ago when News Corp. was in the process of selling the team, and new owner Frank McCourt does not plan to resume it even though about half the work hasn’t been completed. The Dodgers are in the midst of a $15-million renovation unrelated to the seismic upgrading that will add 1,600 premium seats to Dodger Stadium.

“At this time there are no seismic requirements necessary,” said Dodger Vice President Howard Sunkin, who is overseeing the current renovation. “We have a building that is seismically safe and responsible.”

The seismic upgrading was prompted in part by a 1998 study that detailed two fault systems -- the Puente Hills fault and the Elysian Park fault -- running in broad segments for almost 25 miles under downtown Los Angeles and into northern Orange County. Geologists say the systems are closest to the surface underneath Dodger Stadium and Bunker Hill.

“Both are active faults capable of producing large earthquakes,” said James Dolan, professor of geology at USC.

The 1987 Whittier Narrows quake, a magnitude-5.9 temblor east of downtown, first drew attention to the system. Invisible from the surface, the system is similar to the fault that caused the magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake in 1994, which killed 57 people, left 20,000 people homeless and did $40 billion in damage.

The stadium is in compliance with city codes, and upgrades were not necessary for the city to approve the sale of the team. Also, the stadium is built on bedrock, Dolan said, making it safer than numerous other downtown structures built before seismic standards were increased in the 1970s.

“I am not aware of any seismic deficiency in Dodger Stadium,” said Andrew Adelman, Los Angeles general manager of building and safety. “It meets the regulations and standards of the city. Nothing needs to be done in addition to what is existing.”

News Corp. had decided to move forward with seismic upgrades during a stadium renovation in 1999. The beginning phase of the project was done in concert with the addition of luxury suites and other improvements.

The engineering firm that did the work, Nibah Youssef & Associates, declined to comment, but a News Corp. source said, “One of our concerns was that if we knew we could seismically improve it and didn’t, it could create a tremendous amount of exposure for the company. It was too risky not to do it.”

Several seismic engineering experts said the project should be completed.

“If people were in the stadium at the time of a seismic event, the people responsible should have done their best to have it in reasonable shape,” said Tom Heaton, a professor of seismology and civil engineering at Caltech. “If you owned the stadium, you’d sleep better if you took care of it.”

Capital improvements under McCourt have focused on modernizing the dugouts and moving them closer to the playing field, increasing the size of the Dugout club and adding seats closer to the foul lines.

An equal number of upper-level seats are being removed, keeping stadium capacity at about 56,000. Ticket revenue will increase by about $100,000 a game because $8 seats are being replaced by $75 seats. Although progress was slowed because of heavy rains, the work is expected to be finished before Freeway Series games at Dodger Stadium April 2 and 3.

Nearly 120 million fans have watched games at Dodger Stadium, an average of more than 2.7 million a season. Stadium operations vice president Doug Duennes calls it “a clean, safe and secure environment to enjoy a game.”

Dodger Stadium sustained virtually no damage during the six temblors that have hit Southern California in the last 35 years, beginning with the magnitude-6.5 San Fernando earthquake in 1971.

The giant scoreboard at Angel Stadium fell into the stands during the Northridge earthquake, while no damage was reported at Dodger Stadium. In fact, Angel Stadium could be the ballpark more susceptible to earthquake damage.

According to a 2002 state geological survey, the southeastern side of Angel Stadium is in a seismic hazard zone -- an area designated by the survey as being susceptible to liquefaction during a large earthquake. Liquefaction occurs when water-saturated soil is shaken and loses its ability to support weight.

Eighteen steel beams in the stadium were brought up to seismic building codes after the Northridge earthquake, and a $117-million renovation of Angel Stadium in 1996-97 included seismic upgrades.

“It was a major focus on the renovation project,” Angel spokesman Tim Mead said.

Although it had nothing to do with an earthquake, concrete chunks fell from the upper decks at 90-year-old Wrigley Field three times last season and Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Cubs, must come up with a solution in order for the team to play there next season.

The most serious temblor to affect a baseball stadium was the magnitude-7.1 Loma Prieta quake on Oct. 18, 1989, that occurred as a capacity crowd of 63,000 at Candlestick Park was settling into the seats for Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.

The epicenter was 40 miles from the stadium, which withstood the shaking remarkably well. The earthquake opened cracks in the upper-deck concrete wide enough for fans to stick their arms through and also knocked out electrical power and caused chunks of concrete to fall.

Those outside Candlestick Park could see its protective joints doing what they were supposed to do -- flexing during the shaking, as if the stadium were made of rubber rather than concrete.

Craig Comartin, president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, offered another analogy, saying that seismic upgrading enables concrete columns to “bend like coat hangers rather than snapping like pencils.”

The Dodgers have determined that increased measures are unnecessary. McCourt had seismic engineers inspect the stadium before he purchased it and came away convinced the program initiated by News Corp. could be cut short.

Dolan, the USC professor, said the fault under the stadium produces an earthquake every 1,000 to 3,000 years. It is unknown when the last one occurred, and currently there is no way of predicting the next one.

“Frank did his due diligence and concluded that the stadium meets all standards that exist in the state of California,” Sunkin said. “As we continue to make improvements in the stadium, we will carefully review the seismic requirements.”