The Dodgers today plan to unveil their most extensive stadium renovation yet, a project that would transform the area behind the outfield to an entrance promenade featuring restaurants, shops, club offices and a Dodgers museum and add two parking garages to help replace the 2,000 spaces lost to construction, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In a letter sent Wednesday to season-ticket holders, owner Frank McCourt and President Jamie McCourt said the improvements would “give the stadium a chance to remain viable and perhaps see its 100th birthday.”

The Dodgers would not confirm the project cost or other specifics, but a news release from the office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa put the cost at $500 million. The McCourts purchased the Dodgers — and their stadium and surrounding parking lot — for $430 million four years ago.

The McCourts’ letter did not detail the renovations, but the plan would enact a vision Frank McCourt outlined when he bought the team in 2004 — to transform at least part of the parking lot into an area offering dining and shopping for fans who arrive early and stay late, avoiding pregame and postgame traffic.

The Dodgers would generate additional revenue as well, not only on game days but from year-round use of the new facilities. The Dodgers briefed civic leaders and community groups this week on the project, targeted for completion in 2012.

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