San Francisco Giants kick off twenty fifth season at Oracle Park with dwelling opener. This is what’s new
Fans can expect a special Opening Day as Oracle Park kicks off its 25th season, complete with an F-15 flyover and the home debuts of six new players.
As the sun rises across Oracle Park, crews are busy pressure washing seats, cleaning windows and clearing off the tarped field ahead of the Giants home opener on Friday.
“It should be a national holiday, right, all of us in baseball think it should be!” Shana Daum, a spokesperson for the Giants said.
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Inside the stadium, the Giants are introducing some new sculptures, including a 7-foot-tall SF Giants logo that will be in the lower center field area outside of the ballpark’s garden during the opening homestand for fans to take pictures alongside it.
Oracle Park is now the first baseball field in the country to install spotlights, similar to an NBA experience.
They installed a total of 12 spotlights in the offseason, which has the ability to blackout the entire field to spotlight players.
And things will sound different too, they’ve replaced their 25-year-old sound system with more speakers for a surround sound experience.
“People will say, oh my gosh it will be so much louder, it will be clearer, it will be easier to hear, it will be louder for the players on the field when you’re down on the field because it was hard to hear which they’re excited about, to kind of pump them up and give them some home field advantage,” Daum said.
Fans are asked to be in their seats early Friday, 50 minutes before first pitch for opening ceremonies.
“We’re really just excited to bring fans into Oracle Park to introduce the 2024 team,” Rachel Heit, Chief Marketing Officer for the Giants said. “We have such amazing players, John Kahului, Jordan Hicks will be pitching today so we’re really looking to put on a great show both on and off the field.”
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Platinum artist Montell Jordan is expected to sing the National Anthem, with a secret special guest throwing out the first pitch.
“The first pitch if you’re a Bay Area sports fan, you will not be disappointed!” Heit said.
And while you can still get your classic hot dog and a beer, the stadium is highlighting San Francisco’s culinary talents too from Fuku spicy chicken by world renowned chef David Chang to their fan-favorite crazy crab sandwich.
“Since we’ve opened our ballpark, we’ve been known for our food offerings and really to be reflective of the city itself and the region so we’ve got items for everyone,” Daum said.
This year, the Giants are making things faster for fans to get inside of the ballpark than ever before.
Oracle Park is now one of four US stadiums that will start offering free “go-ahead entry,” similar to going through CLEAR at the airport.
“So, you go to the ballpark app, you upload a selfie and then all you have to do is walk through, you don’t have to take out your phone, you don’t have to find your ticket, you and everyone in your group can just walk right in,” Heit said.
Outside of Oracle Park, a soft opening is being hosted at China Basin Park, a 5-acre waterfront park across McCovey Cove from the ballpark that is part of the planned Mission Rock neighborhood.
Gates open at 10:35 a.m. for Friday’s game, the first of three between the Giants and Padres this weekend. On Saturday, the first 15,000 fans at the ballpark will receive a bobblehead of Camilo Doval, the Giants’ closer, while on Sunday the first 7,500 children ages 14 and under will receive a Giants sliding glove and all children will be able to run the bases after the game.
The Giants also plan to honor longtime announcer Renel Brooks-Moon, who will no longer be on the mic, by naming the PA booth after her. The team will be rotating through a number of people to fill in and there is no timeline for hiring her replacement.
San Francisco is off to a slow start so far in the 2024 season with a 2-5 record.
Bay City News contributed to this story.
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