DSAN FIEGO PADRES

Inside Petco Park – Arty 84 Baseball Park Reviews

Stadium Name: Petco Park

Team: San Diego Padres

League: MLB – National League West

Years Visited: 2011

Opposing Team: Atlanta Braves

Date Opened: 2004

Date Closed: NA

Overall Rating: (1-10) 9

Beer Price Rank (2016): 25th highest in the MLB

Ticket Price Rank (2016): 25th highest in the MLB

Baseball, Bars & Bedlam Rank: 5 out of 33

Baseball, Bars & Bedlam Visit Order: 23 out of 33

Notable Award: The historical landmark Western Metal Supply Co. building was renovated and included in the stadium design in an example of adaptive reuse. Building is a portion of the left field seating.

Review:

I went to Petco on my first west coast road trip back in 2011. When I started my tour, this was one of the parks I really wanted to see the most. The city of San Diego is a great place. Perfect weather all year round and plenty to do. This first time I went to San Diego, I couldn’t get a hotel downtown, so I stayed in an awesome beach town of La Jolla. Since I enjoy to drink a few drinks, I decided that public transportation would be the best bet to the game. Well if you are going to do this, expect it to take over an house to go 10 miles and the last train leaves around 11PM, so no time for post game fun. I had to take a combination of buses and light rail to get there.

The Park was great. My favorite feature is the use of the historical landmark Western Metal Supply Co. building hat was renovated and included in the stadium design. Easy to navigate through the park. A little baseball diamond is out in the outfield grass area for the kids. Building is a portion of the left field seating. In right field, there is a giant lawn area to sit and watch the game. You can see the park from all the buildings around it and it is a stones throw from the Gas Lamp District.

I didn’t really see anything about the stadium I didn’t like other than a few blind spots. Odd think is they seemed to take the away teams bullpen an move it to the right field foul space in stead of where I think it should be to the right of center field. Instead that space is a beach pit. Speaking of the beach It’s so close to the ocean you can smell it and from the upper deck see the seaport. The Naval ships and large bridges are a great site and if your in town for a convention, the convention center is right across the street. Nice use of the ivory throughout the park on the walls and walking bridges.

Odd think is they seemed to take the away teams bullpen an move it to the right field foul space in stead of where I think it should be to the right of center field. Instead that space is a beach pit.

According to Statista, the Padres are #25 for highest ticket prices in 2016, see link for all MLB teams prices. They are also the 25th highest in beer prices according to business insider, see link for all MLB teams prices. If you are in the San Diego area, this stadium is a must see. Arty tip: Ticket prices are cheap, so the box office could be your best bet for good seats. Also the stadium is a stones throw to the Gas Lamp District full of places to eat and drink. Basic pizza and bar def was a great place to eat.