Qualcomm Stadium & Lane Field
San Diego, California
Groundbreaking: May, 2000
First National league game: April 8, 2004 (S.D. 4, S.F. 3)
Architects: Antoine Predock and HOK Sport
Construction: Clark Construction
Cost: $449 million
-Ballpark: $294 million
-Land/Infrastructure: $151 million
Financing: City of San Diego: $206 million; Padres/Private: $146 million; CCDC: $76 million; Port of San Diego: $21 million
Owner: City of San Diego 70%; Padres 30%
Seating Capacity: 42,445 fixed seats plus 3,500 permitted for General Admission
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 334 ft.
LF alley: 367 ft.
Center field: 396 ft.
Deepest right-center: 411 ft. (2004); 402 ft. (2006)
RF alley: 387 ft.
RF foul line: 322 ft.
Height of Fences:
Left field to right-center: 7 ft.; Right field: 12 ft.; RF corner: 10 ft.
Hosted World Series: Never
Hosted All-Star Game: Never
In October of 2000, just five months after its groundbreaking, construction suddenly ground to a halt. There were no funds because the city had not sold bonds approved in the election, and at the same time, had to defended itself against several lawsuits brought by tax protesters. The ballpark construction site sat idle for an entire year. Eventually, in November 2001, the City of San Diego approved a $166 million bond in order for construction to resume, however the delays pushed back the stadium’s opening from 2002 to 2004.
Petco Park doesn't try to copy the neo-classic parks like Camden Yards or Coors Field. Architecturally, it has its own personality. From the Italian sandstone, to the white girders, to the downtown location, Petco Park is decidedly a reflection of San Diego. The clean-edged, sandstone-clad buildings echo Torrey Pines bluffs and mesas in color, texture and soaring height. Some have steeply sloped sides and flat roofs reminiscent of Mayan pyramids. Pipe railings and the off-white, exposed steel structure that cradles the seating bowl recall oceanliners, and a curtain of water splashes down a prominent wall. San Diego's Mediterranean climate inspired the notion of "garden buildings," which sprout flowering plants from ledges and edges of terraces, palm trees from a roof and a mix of greenery in large planters throughout the park.
Petco has several unique features - some nice and some just plain weird. The nice includes the Western Metal Supply Co. Building. Built in 1909, the red-brick building and its employees were instrumental in supplying metal goods to the Southern California region, taking advantage of the new Santa Fe Railroad system. Today, it serves as the signature of PETCO Park and its southeast corner is the left field foul pole. The Padres Team Store makes its home on the first floor. The second and third floors offer party suite balconies that overhang the field. The fourth floor hosts the Padres Hall of Fame Bar & Grill and additional rooftop bleachers for groups is available up top. Unfortunately, the building itself is dwarfed on either side by a mammoth scoreboard to its left and a large grandstand to its right. The impact of this historic structure seems minimized - like the world's tallest man standing between two California Redwood trees.
Another nice feature located just beyond the outfield bleachers is the 2.8 acre "Park at the Park." On non-game dates, it functions as a neighborhood park for the East Village and as a special events venue. The Park at the Park features a big video screen on the back of the batters-eye, a Little League infield, Picnic Hill, a kids play area, and a grove of trees. Picnic Hill serves as a spot where guests can relax and picnic while enjoying Padres baseball.
Then there's the sandbox in centerfield. It's a contrived reference to the beaches. It doesn't work. All it does is push the bleachers back 15 ft. farther (unnessarily) from the field and create a nice "safe" place for toddlers to play in the sand - just waiting to be brained by a home run ball.
But all-in-all Petco Park is a real winner. It blends seemlessly into the downtown district as well as any facility in baseball, in fact looking beyond center field, one is hard pressed to tell where the ballpark ends and downtown begins - they just seem to flow together. The park really feels like San Diego without it feeling intentionally designed to do so - with the obvious exception of the sandbox.
The good: Moderately extended cantilever decks - providing great sightlines and closer proximity to the field. Too bad Detroit and Philadelphia didn't use this concept. Also, stunning views of downtown from the grandstand and bay views from the concourses.
The bad: The sandbox... It's just wrong.
The ugly: Kudos to the Padres for now allowing a $5 park pass to get into the centerfield park instead of requiring a regular game ticket.
San Diego Padres
100 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 795-5000
FIELD BOXES $36 - 40
FIELD RESERVED $30 - 34
UPPER BOXES $20 - 26
UPPER INFIELD RESERVED $16 - 18
UPPER RESERVED $12
LEFT FIELD UPPER BOXES $20 - 26
LEFT FIELD LOWER BOXES $18 - 20
LEFT FIELD RESERVED BOXES $12
RIGHT FIELD LOWER BOXES $20 - 26
RIGHT FIELD LOWER RESERVED $15 - 18
RIGHT FIELD UPPER BOXES $14 - 16
RIGHT FIELD UPPER RESERVED $10 - 12
PICNIC BLEACHERS $8
PARK PASS $5
Seating Chart
Purchase Tickets
TV: 4SD (cable)
In-park dining choices: Rubio's, PCL Club, Padres Hall of Fame Bar & Grill, Club 19, Baja Bistro, Coronados, Wind & Sea Lounge
Signature concession item: Rubio's Fish Tacos!
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By Bill Center - UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 22, 2005
Major League Baseball has approved the Padres' request to shorten the distance to right-center – a change that will knock 11 feet off the distance to the deepest point of the right-field power alley.
The change will be accomplished by bringing in the see-through fence in front of the "beachers" in right-center. The realigned fence will run directly from the corner of the right-field scoreboard to the right-field corner of the green-canvassed fence in front of the batter's eye.
The fence will be moved in time for the inaugural World Baseball Championships March 18 and 20.
"We did some computations which showed the change would have resulted in perhaps a dozen more homers last season with a net positive of around five homers for the Padres," said Sandy Alderson, the club's CEO.
"We wanted to address the concerns of some left-handed hitters without making a radical change to the ballpark. And I wanted to eliminate the easy triple where the ball just kept rolling toward that 411-foot sign. Fast guys will still get their triples."
Petco Park last season yielded 118 homers, the third-lowest total in the National League and the majors.
What will be a small change in the outfield dimensions could lead to much bigger changes to the stands beyond the right-center field fence in 2007. The Padres will study that part of Petco Park during the 2006 season with an eye on redesigning the "beachers" without altering the Park at the Park.
"Part of Sandy's vision for the area is to enhance sight lines and amenities for fans," said Richard Andersen, the Padres' executive vice president for ballpark management. "The only option that is out is raising the height of the seats in that area to interfere with the views from the Park at the Park."
The first row of the "beachers" will be 18 feet behind the new fence. And the "beachers" themselves are facing more in the direction of the right-field foul line rather than home plate.
"We're going to use this season to determine what is going to be the best way to redesign and utilize the area," said Andersen. "We've talked about a lot of options, including a picnic area and a sunken food court. The area gives us a lot of opportunities."
Alderson said there wasn't time to make the changes to the "beachers" area before the start of the 2006 season.
"The area presents a lot of interesting opportunities," said Alderson. "We certainly want to clean up the sight lines and bring the fans closer to the action."
Said Andersen: "Bringing in the fence the distance we are talking about is not going to greatly change the way Petco Park plays. There is still going to be a lot of territory to cover in the power alleys. But the change will offer a balance."
"It will help the left-handed hitters and the center fielders," said Padres General Manager Kevin Towers. "It will be fairer."
From Joe Mock:
Perhaps the most famous brick at any ballpark is embedded in the walkway of the Palm Court Plaza near the left-field entrance to the PETCO Park. One of the 10,839 engraved bricks was surreptitiously purchased by PETA, sworn enemy of ballpark naming sponsor Petco. The brick says Break Open Your Cold Ones. Toast The Padres. Enjoy This Champion Organization. Now look at the first letter of each word (i.e., treat this as an acronym) and see what it spells.
The Padres bullpen is located beyond the outfield fence, but the visitors is on the playing field along the right field line.
The seating bowl opens toward the skyline instead of the bay mainly because Major League Baseball dictates that no batter shall face the setting sun. Had the ballpark been turned 180 degrees, the view would have been dominated by a snarl of railroad tracks, not the bay. And, the Padres wanted the Park at the Park, the 2.7-acre public park adjacent to the outfield, to seem like the ballpark's "front door."
You can actually watch the game from the outfield warning track - enter through the Padres store.
The Padres Power Alley is a family entertainment area open to all guests. Located on the concourse beneath the right field grandstand, the Padres Power Alley includes a number of interactive games including a batting cage and Fast Pitch area.
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