A Major League Project: Dodger Stadium

More than 125 million fans have visited Dodger Stadium since it opened in 1962 with a breathtaking view of downtown Los Angeles. The 56,000-seat Dodger Stadium has parking for 16,000 automobiles, has more than 3,400 trees, and has 100,000 square feet of Bermuda grass on the field, irrigated by a two-way channeled system. But years of foot traffic, earthquakes, spilled beverages and moisture have caused varying levels of concrete deterioration. During a field-level seating replacement project in 2006, the decision was made to perform extensive concrete repairs and coat the field-level seating and aisle ways with a high-build, high-traffic polyurea coatings system.

Because of its size and configuration, the Stadium actually has varied climates within the park; the left field size, exposed to sun, is dry most of the year. On the right field side, however, a comparative rain forest exists with a fairly constant water film on the surface in the morning. This required the technicians at Innovative Painting & Waterproofing to use every preparation and application method in the book to accomplish the task of coating the seating areas.

After extensive concrete repair, including epoxy/aggregate blends and other products to level the surfaces, Polycoat Series 21 primer was applied, followed by high-temperature, high-pressure plural-component spray-applied Series 5502 Aromatic Polyurea. The critical time window required the use of multiple trailer/workshop spray systems with two guns operating at nearly all times. After curing of the base coat, medium-cure Series 6881 Polyurea was applied as an aggregate base – medium aggregate was used in the seating areas with a more aggressive texture in the aisles for safety. Series 6000 Polyaspartic Polyurea finish was applied after curing of the aggregate coats. The flexibility and toughness of polyurea will reduce life-cycle maintenance costs and ensure that the stadium will be easier to maintain.

Jim Sliff
Vice President
Innovative Painting & Waterproofing Inc.
www.waterproofingcontractor.com