OLD IS NEW AGAIN AT DODGER STADIUM UPGRADES INCLUDE ORIGINAL LOOK OF VENUE.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Frank McCourt didn't get the VIP treatment the first time he came to Dodger Stadium. About a year before he purchased the team, he visited Chavez Ravine unannounced, entering the stadium at its highest level behind parking lot two.

What he saw that day he'll never forget.

``It was one of those gorgeous, clear Los Angeles days and as I stepped foot in the stadium it seemed like I could see forever,'' McCourt recalled Wednesday. ``In front of me were mountains and a clear sky for miles and miles and miles. Then I turned to look behind me, and I had a clear, beautiful view of downtown L.A. The word that comes to mind is awestruck.''

That image has stuck with McCourt during the two years he's owned the Dodgers, serving as a mental blueprint as he goes about improving the franchise, on and off the field.

We'll find out Monday the type of strides the team on the field has made when the Dodgers open the 2006 season against the Atlanta Braves. But it was obvious Wednesday, McCourt cares just as much about his stadium.

McCourt hosted a group of reporters on a guided tour of Dodger Stadium to highlight improvements made during a multi-million dollar offseason construction project. Like a proud homeowner who invited all the neighbors over for a tour of his new digs, McCourt beamed as he explained all the new improvements.

Among the highlights:

-- Replacing all of the seats within the primary seating bowl.

-- Returning the stadium's original color palette, repairing and conducting maintenance in the concrete and structure within the seating bowl area.

-- A traditional yet modern box seat area adjacent to each dugout.

-- The addition of a new terrace outside the Loge Level seating entrance.

The Dodgers invested more than $20 million in the most recent renovation, the second phase of a six-phase project McCourt has planned. His ultimate goal: To modernize Chavez Ravine without compromising its historical uniqueness.

``This is the fourth oldest stadium in baseball,'' McCourt said. ``And when the new Yankee Stadium goes up we'll be third along with Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston.

Fans who visit the park this year will immediately recognize two major renovations: The box seat areas and the original color scheme. In fact, for anyone who grew up attending Dodgers games in the 1960s, it might seem like they traveled back in time as soon as they see the new seats.

Ironically, McCourt and his work crew didn't plan on restoring the seat colors to their 1962 palette until someone stumbled upon some seats saved from the last major renovation more than 30 years ago.

When McCourt looked at the uniquely Southern California pastel shades, he immediately knew what he had to do.

``Sometimes you realize how perfect an original concept really is,'' McCourt said.

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Dodgers owner Frank McCourt rests in one of Dodger Stadium's renovated seats, which will have the venue's original color.

(2) Frank McCourt studies Dodger Stadium's renovations, which cost an estimated $20 million.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer