Bryan Stow jurors take surprise Dodger Stadium tour

The jury in the Bryan Stow civil case toured Dodger Stadium Thursday morning, the Los Angeles Superior Court judge presiding over the case told the Los Angeles Times.

Judge Victor E. Chavez said he made the arrangements after a juror requested to see the stadium up close.

“I decided it would be a good idea,” Chavez said.

The stadium is so vast, he said, that he wanted the jurors to get an idea of its layout. “Otherwise they have no concept of it,” he said.

On Wednesday, Chavez announced that court would be adjourned until 1:30 p.m. the following day. However, jurors and attorneys were seen inside the courthouse Thursday morning.

Attorneys for both sides said they could not comment on whether a stadium tour took place.

But after testimony ended Thursday, Chavez said outside the courtroom that he, the attorneys and the jurors had boarded a bus at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles about 9 a.m. and headed for Dodger Stadium.

The group, which Chavez called “a nice, diligent group of people,” visited the right field pavilion where Stow was sitting when he attended the March 31, 2011, Opening Day game.

They then walked to Parking Lot 2 and the location where Stow was beaten after the game.

Counsel for both sides wrote out statements of facts they agreed could be made during the trip, Chavez said.

The jury is made up of eight men and eight women — four of whom will be chosen as alternates before deliberations.

The suit filed by Stow that accuses the Dodgers of negligence in his attack has made for a “difficult” case, Chavez said.

He praised the attorneys.

“They fight fiercely on both sides but in terms of cooperation I couldn’t ask for any more.”