SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants may not have home run king Barry Bonds to pack the seats this season, but the ball club does have a new luxury box experience that is as close as one can get to the action.

Chiseled into the outfield wall next to the old-style scoreboard, the new suite has a sweeping view of the outfield and a line of sight so close you'd swear you were standing right behind the right fielder or in the opposing team's bullpen.

"There's off the wall and then there's in the wall," said Jorge Costas, vice president of ball park operations.

Called the "McCovey Cove Loft," the new box holds 40 people and is part of a $3.5 million improvement package to the facility for the upcoming season.

"It's a unique feature in baseball and people talk about the romance of Wrigley Field, the rooftops," Costa said. "It's really a combination of those two items."

Across the way on the club level, construction is also going on around the clock on the new 'Legends' luxury suite. It's bigger -- seats about 120 friends or co-workers -- and will cost in the neighborhood of $17,000 a game.

"It's for one-time only events," said Giants President Larry Baer of the suite. "There is always a reason whether it's a 50th wedding anniversary, 21st birthday -- People want to splurge for the big events."

Appealing to the luxury audience may appear to be risky in the current economic environment, but the team believes it has tapped into a profitable niche.

With so many questions surrounding the quality of the Giants team this season, the boxes have already been booked for about half of this season's home games.

"We're very mindful of the economy," Baer said. "We have not raised ticket prices in any of the traditional areas."

The Giants open the 2008 season at home on April 7 with a 1:35 p.m. game against the San Diego Padres.