Watch live: Los Angeles Dodgers parade draws thousands of fans after World Series victory
The first Dodgers parade in nearly 40 years is happening, and before the sun was even up, fans started to line the downtown Los Angeles parade route Friday morning, ready to cheer on their World Series champions.
Players will ride double-decker buses through the streets of downtown LA, celebrating in the city's first Dodgers World Series parade since the team defeated the Oakland Athletics in 1988. Starting at 11 a.m., at Gloria Molina Grand Park across from City Hall, the 45-minute procession will travel south on Spring Street, then west on First Street, south on Grand Avenue and west on Fifth Street, ending in the area of Fifth and Flower streets.
After defeating the Yankees in Wednesday night's game, the Dodgers landed at LAX following celebrations that started back in New York inside the locker room, where World Series MVP Freddie Freeman said he was looking forward to celebrating with fans Friday.
"We're gonna celebrate this for a long time because this is hard to do in this game — win championships," Freeman said. "We get to have a parade finally for LA. I can't wait."
Along with the parade, the team will host a ticketed event at the same time. The Dodger Stadium Championship Celebration will feature food and live entertainment with team gear being sold at the stadium. Players are expected to arrive to the event around noon following the parade. Parking gates at the stadium opened at 8:30 a.m.
Thousands descend on downtown LA
With the parade expected to draw thousands of people, crowds began forming during the early morning hours Friday, some leaving other parts of Southern California several hours early to make it in time.
With City Hall's glowing blue lights in the background, in the dark before dawn, one excited fan said she grabbed her front-row seat behind the street barricade after leaving her home at 2 a.m. "We went to bed at 8, got up at 12, left Oxnard by 2, and we're here," she said.
Katie from Rialto joined the proud and faithful fan group and brought her five children, decked out in Dodgers gear. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the kids, it's something they are always going to remember," she said.
City buildings closed, officers deployed as city prepares
Crews worked to clean the sidewalks and cleared tents at Grand Park Thursday, getting the area fan-ready.
The Los Angeles police and fire departments prepared safety plans, with a highly visible officer and paramedic presence throughout.
"I again want to urge Angelenos to celebrate responsibly," Mayor Karen Bass said during a Thursday news conference. "Violence of any kind will not be tolerated."
Along the route, some workplaces transitioned to work-from-home schedules. Due to the celebration, the county Hall of Administration and the Hall of Records will both be closed on Friday, as will all downtown Los Angeles Superior Court buildings.
Traffic concerns amid the festivities
With thousands making their way into downtown LA, and street shut down, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation is deploying 100 white-glove officers to manage car flow and establish specialized routes to and from the venues.
Metro spokesperson Jose Ubaldo encouraged fans to use public transportation to get to the parade. The transit agency released photos of passengers fully decked out in Dodgers gear crowding into trains.
"We are offering the best transportation option today for all the people who want to go see the parade in downtown LA, and also to the Dodger Stadium," he said.
Metro has four lines, A, B, D, and E that get passengers from all areas of the county to the Dodgers celebrations. Metro will also operate its Dodger Express to Dodger Stadium for the ticketed celebration that will follow the parade, beginning at 12:15 p.m.
The parade will be aired on KCAL News Channel 2 and 9 and streamed on CBS News Los Angeles. It will be hosted by KCAL's Pat Harvey, Jim Hill, Jamie Yuccas, and Rudabeh Shahbazi.