LOS ANGELES – Opening Series presented by Bank of America, a three-game set that officially kicks off the 2015 season, begins with Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on Monday, April 6. The Dodgers will face the San Diego Padres at 1:10 p.m. (LHP Clayton Kershaw vs. RHP James Shields). Auto and stadium gates open early at 10:00 a.m. Opening Day pregame entertainment throughout the stadium begins at 10:00 a.m. and on-field pregame ceremonies begin at 12:25 p.m. Opening Day is sold out.
The Dodgers encourage fans to carpool, arrive early and utilize transportation alternatives that serve Union Station and will connect them to the Dodger Stadium Express which will operate starting at 10:00 a.m. The Dodgers and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) would also like to remind fans that no parking will be permitted on the Avenue of the Palms (Stadium Way) between Scott Road and Academy Road from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. LAPD will also enact a zero tolerance policy for drinking in public or in the parks. Tailgating will also not be permitted on the Dodger Stadium premises.
Pregame entertainment and on-field ceremonies
Fans that arrive early will enjoy hours of entertainment throughout the stadium. DodgerVision will present Dodger features leading up to the start of on-field ceremonies. Live music will be offered throughout the stadium from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: DJ Lady Sha in the left-field reserve level, The Trip in the right-field reserve level, Angel City Dixieland Band will play throughout the reserve level and The Blue Agave, a mariachi act, and DJ Adam will provide entertainment in the right-field plaza. A magician will also provide entertainment in the left field plaza. The Budweiser Clydesdales will also make a special appearance at 12:30 p.m. Fans can visit the iconic Clydesdales in Dodger Stadium’s parking lots.
Dodger in-game hosts will be joined by longtime fans and celebrity guests George Lopez and Mary Hart. RCA recording artist and L.A. native Tinashe will present a pregame concert at 12:25 p.m. She will perform her Billboard Hot 100 hit “2 On” and her current single “All Hands On Deck.”
Tinashe will also perform the national anthem. Representatives from the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force will present our nation’s colors. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces will unfurl a giant flag, a display in the shape of the United States, in center field.
Also as part of pregame ceremonies, the U.S. Navy will conduct a flyover with two Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet Fighter Jets. The flyover will be conducted by VFA-122, a Fleet Replacement Squadron based at Naval Air Station in Lemoore. The Super Hornet is the U.S. Navy’s premiere aircraft carrier-based fighter attack platform which features both a F/A-18 E single seat and F/A-18 F dual seat variant of the Super Hornet.
Opening Day will be highlighted by a special ceremonial first pitch.
For the fifth consecutive season, the Dodgers will pay tribute to the men and women of our nation’s Armed Forces by honoring a “Military Hero of the Game.” Opening Day’s veteran of the game is U.S. Air Force Staff Senior Airman Stephen D. Hudson Jr., the winner of the Dodgers’ annual Veterans Day Batting Practice Day hitting contest. Hudson, a Rialto native, was deployed to Kuwait in 2011 and received an Army Achievement Medal for his deployment. He is currently stationed at Edwards Air Force Base.