The Battle for Chavez Ravine: Building Dodger Stadium
How an iconic MLB stadium originated with eminent domain and the destruction of a vibrant community
Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a baseball landmark with few peers. The venue, which opened in 1962, boasts the largest capacity in professional baseball and is roundly viewed as one of the most beautiful places to watch a game. Sadly, in order to be built, an entire community was destroyed, and residents evicted from their homes in what became known as the Battle for Chavez Ravine.
After he was unable to secure a new stadium in New York for his Brooklyn Dodgers, team owner Walter O’Malley shocked the baseball world by announcing he was moving his franchise west to Los Angeles following the 1957 season. The move not only presented him with better opportunities, but for the time being gave him an entire territory to himself, as the Major Leagues had not extended further than St. Louis and Kansas City at that time.
The Dodgers needed a permanent place to play in their new home and one was found for them. The land that the stadium was built upon was known as Chavez Ravine and had been originally seized by the City of Los Angeles in the early 1950s under the premise of eminent domain (the power of the state to take property…
