Dodger Stadium might not be the first ballpark in Southern California served by a gondola, if that comes to pass. In Anaheim, city planners are considering whether to pursue a gondola that would serve Angel Stadium.
For more than a decade, the city has explored how to connect its two main visitor hubs along Katella Avenue, with Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center about three miles west of Angel Stadium and Honda Center.
The effort has accelerated recently, spurred by city approval of a plan that allows Disney to expand its theme parks and add nearby attractions as well as the construction of OC Vibe, a dining, entertainment and residential village surrounding Honda Center.
In May, the chief executive of the local tourist agency told Spectrum News that a gondola was one of the transit options under consideration. On Tuesday, the Anaheim Investigator posted public records regarding the gondola option, including a study the city had paid a gondola company $20,000 to produce.
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Among the possibilities the company pitched, according to the Investigator: the gondola’s towers, which hold the support cables in place, could be flared to resemble the Big A, the landmark that gives the ballpark its beloved nickname.
“It is fun and exciting to think about something like a gondola,” said Mike Lyster, the city spokesman. “We know Dodger Stadium’s has generated a lot of interest. To suggest it’s anything more would give the wrong impression.”
Lyster said Anaheim officials also have been in touch with Tesla and Waymo about options for driverless shuttles or trams, and with a company called Glydways that pitches small driverless vehicles operating along dedicated pathways.
The gondola company, called Swyft Cities, does not have gondolas in commercial operation but has discussed a similar option with the city of Irvine for use in its emerging Orange County Great Park neighborhoods.
Lyster said the possibility of expanding the Disneyland monorail has not come up in “recent discussions,” since the newer options might turn out to be environmentally friendlier and less costly.
“We have to evaluate these emerging technologies to determine which ones may have staying power, which ones may be cost-effective,” Lyster said. “We’re too early to say this one or that one may be a strong candidate.”
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Swyft Cities estimated a gondola construction cost of roughly $35 million last year and increased the cost to $125.7 million this year, the Investigator reported. The estimated cost of the proposed Dodger Stadium gondola, which would involve construction over hillside terrain, has risen from $125 million when former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt first pitched the plan in 2018 to about $500 million now.
In its presentation to Anaheim, Swyft Cities said the next step would be for the city to commission a “detailed analysis, preliminary engineering, and implementation strategy.”
The estimated cost of that study, should the city choose to want it: $350,000 to $500,000.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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