Elon Musk’s infrastructure business, The Boring Company, has proposed building an all-electric underground tunnel system that would transport fans to Dodger Stadium in less than four minutes.
Boring published plans on Wednesday for the “Dugout Loop,” a zero-emissions, high-speed public transportation system from the Los Feliz, East Hollywood, or Rampart Village neighborhoods to the stadium.
The expressed purpose of the 3.6-mile line is to help reduce traffic in Los Angeles during games and concerts. The Boring Company would house a terminal on private property located within the vicinity of the city’s Metro Red Line station.
The tunnel would house concrete shelves that would essentially serve as tracks, or guides, for the autonomous electric vehicles that would carry between eight and 16 passengers, traveling at between 125 and 150 miles per hour.
The proposed tunnel would only operate when there are events at the stadium and would reportedly cost passengers roughly $1. Riders would be able to reserve seats in advance similar to the way they might reserve a particular spot at a movie theater. Boring estimates that rides would be limited to 1,400 people per event, which is just 2.5 percent of Dodger Stadium’s capacity. Throughout the year, the Dugout Loop could transport up to 250,000 people to events.
The tunnel would be located roughly 40 to 44 feet below the ground and would run beneath public right-of-way and private land owned by The Boring Company.
SportTechie Takeaway
Traffic is a nightmare in LA and can be a huge headache for Dodgers fans traveling across town. Improving transport links to the stadium would have a positive impact both for fans riding the Dugout Loop and even for those who aren’t, since that would reduce overall demand.
However, this announcement comes at a time when Musk has been facing investor backlash related to his publicly traded company, Tesla Motors. On Wednesday, the SEC reportedly subpoenaed Musk over public comments he made on Twitter about taking Tesla private. Those comments had initially led to a large spike in Tesla’s stock price.
Some have criticized The Boring Company as existing simply as a distraction from sluggish growth at Tesla, but the company has nevertheless picked up contracts for ambitious underground construction projects. Earlier this year, Chicago selected The Boring Company to build a multibillion-dollar transit system between O’Hare International Airport and the city’s downtown. In its proposed plans about The Dugout, Boring Company says it is working with a number of Los Angeles government agencies and estimates that construction might take up to 14 months.