OPENING DAY; DODGERS SCORE WITH FIELD FACE LIFT.

Byline: Steve Carney Staff Writer

As Dodger Stadium exemplified Friday, Opening Day in baseball is about tradition and renewal - the promise of a new year built upon the legacy of seasons past.

And then there is the tradition of skipping work or ditching school on a weekday afternoon, all for a baseball game.

But not just any game: the first game.

``I'm a CPA, and the end of the tax season is this weekend. And I'm here,'' said Robert Chacon, 46, of Long Beach, who has been attending Dodgers games since 1959. ``I wait all winter for this. It's like I'm a little kid again. This is the most exciting day of the year.''

Adding to the promise of a rebirth at Chavez Ravine was a $50 million face lift for the park, adding field-level seats, luxury boxes and new concessions to the park that opened in 1962.

The fans lucky enough to see the game from the new luxury boxes and field-level seats - where some patrons are even closer to the batter than the pitcher is - offered rave reviews.

``It's awesome. It's just so close,'' said Matt Klink, 33, of Hancock Park, who was sitting on the field behind home plate with two friends he's known since they played T-ball together as kids. ``It's a totally different perspective on the ballgame. You can hear the ball popping into the mitt. You can hear everything.

``For $50 million, you can hardly tell,'' because the additions didn't change the character of the park, said Klink, a political consultant.

The 33 new corporate sky boxes, with their video monitors, couches, ergonomic chairs, wet bars and food service, were the hit among those groups that had them for the afternoon.

``This is nice,'' said Vanessa Yuan of Irvine, whose company, Storage Networks, was entertaining clients in the box. ``I'm not going anywhere else. It's more relaxed. And the chicken wings were good.''

The new concessions available throughout the stadium were even more popular with all the fans. Subway, King Taco and Krispy Kreme all made their Dodger Stadium debuts Friday, with the doughnuts selling out by the sixth inning. Apparently a sellout crowd of 53,223 can down a lot of crullers. Some people, however, stuck to the basics.

``I'm a purist,'' Klink said. ``I have a Dodger Dog and a beer or a Coke and peanuts.''

``I love King Taco. I've been going there for years,'' said his friend, Paul Ryan, a 32-year-old surgical sales specialist.

``But did you have one today? No,'' Klink retorted. ``You had a Dodger Dog and a beer.''

And not everyone believed glazed doughnuts and major league baseball go together.

``Those Krispy Kremes don't belong here. But I guess you have to keep up with the times,'' said Chacon, wearing a Dodgers cap and a Sandy Koufax jersey.

``They're good, but at a ballpark?'' said his friend, Stan McDougal, 48, of Carson. ``Maybe if they were having games at eight o'clock in the morning.''

Suzanne Taylor, 32, of Covina was continuing a family tradition by bringing her sons Christopher, 7, and Anthony, 6 months.

``I remember when I was 4 years old, my mom had me tagging along. (Dodger Stadium) is my home away from home. It's a thrill to come back every year.

``It's family, it's neighbors. You see the same people every year. You grow up with them. It's really neat,'' she said, as Christopher held her leg. He was missing first grade for the day. ``Even the teacher said have a good time.''

The game entertained even more than the new-look park, as the Dodgers beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds 8-1. Beloved veteran pitcher Orel Hershiser returned to his former team to get the win for the Dodgers, while holding in check the awesome talent of Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., considered by many the best player of his generation, but who went hitless for the afternoon.

While grudgingly preparing to leave their choice seats after the game, Klink, Ryan and Joseph Birthistle reminisced about how long they've been coming to Dodger Stadium and why they keep coming back - on Opening Day in particular.

``My dad used to take me to games, and someday I'm going to take my son,'' Ryan said, adding that his first trip to the park was inside his mother's womb.

``It's Opening Day. Baseball,'' Klink said, as if the importance of the afternoon should be obvious to anyone with more intellect than a Dodger Dog. ``It allows you to touch your youth. It doesn't get any better than that.''

``Tommy Lasorda used to call it Blue Heaven,'' added Birthistle, a 32- year-old management consultant from Hancock Park. ``It really felt like that today.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Newly acquired Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green signs autographs for fans before the team's home opener Friday.

(2) Joe Scibelli, 3, of Los Angeles munches on a pretzel while watching Opening Day action from his front-row seat at Dodger Stadium on Friday. The Dodgers won the game, 8-1.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer