Executive Vice President, Planning and Development
During her 11 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Janet Marie Smith has overseen the large-scale improvement/expansion projects at Dodger Stadium and Campo Las Palmas, the club’s home in the Dominican Republic. From modernizing the stadium to incorporating the club’s rich history into the ballpark experience, Smith’s fan-friendly touches have helped keep Dodger Stadium - the third-oldest ballpark in major league baseball - one of the premier venues in all of sports. Her latest project, a brand-new Centerfield Plaza serving as Dodger Stadium’s first-ever “front door,” was an immediate hit with fans. Completed in 2020, the Centerfield improvements also included renovations to the right and left field pavilions and a vertical circulation path around the building made up of new escalators, elevators, and bridges. Smith initially joined the club as a senior vice president in 2012 and was promoted to her current role as executive vice president of planning and development in 2020.
Smith is well known in baseball for her work on Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which set the standard for a new wave of ballparks after its opening in 1992. Smith worked for the Baltimore Orioles from 1989-94 as vice president of planning and development during the design and construction of the park. She later re-joined the club from 2009-12 to direct renovations and expansion of the Orioles’ spring training facility in Sarasota, FL., and upgrades to Camden Yards.
From 2002-2009, Smith served as senior vice president of planning and development for the Boston Red Sox, overseeing the preservation and expansion of Fenway Park. Smith was president of Turner Sports and Entertainment Development and vice president of planning and development for the Atlanta Braves from 1994-2000, when she helped transform the 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field and she oversaw the development of the Philips Arena (now State Farm Arena), home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Outside of baseball, Smith has worked on development projects including Battery Park City in New York, unfulfilled plans for Pershing Square in LA, redevelopment of former industrial buildings on Baltimore’s waterfront as well as renovation plans for the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, CA.
In 2023, Smith and Fran Weld, formed “Canopy” a woman-led company devoted to the design and management of sports projects and their surrounding developments.
Smith holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Mississippi State University and a master’s degree in urban planning from City College of New York. In 2021, she was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Smith resides in Baltimore with her husband, Bart Harvey.