Petco Park

San Diego Padres, National League

9/10

I remembered to grab a quick snap of the outside before heading in.

This show shows both "the park in the park" as well as how Petco is nestled right in the middle of Downtown San Diego.

                          

The scoreboard, but also a shot of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.

Bonus Shot: We returned in 2014 to watch the Padres take on the Dodgers.

I went to Petco Park for my first visit in 2011, to see the 2nd last game of the season, between the Chicago Cubs and the Padres. I drove out earlier that day from Phoenix. It was a relatively easy cruise down I-8. The park itself is located in downtown San Diego, right on the edge of the Gaslamp Quarter, the center of local nightlife.

I enjoyed Petco on the whole. Firstly, the park is seamlessly woven into downtown, to the point where it was constructed around the "Western Metal Supply Co." building in left field, which now houses some team offices. It's resourceful how a potential nuisance was turned into arguably the most distinctive feature of this park.

This is a pitcher's park, probably at one point the most-pitcher friendly park in baseball. But recently, the fences were moved in and the Padres, not very surprisingly, began hitting more home runs. Still, the moist sea air blowing in means not many balls are hit out of this one.

I remember food being somewhat expensive and getting cash at the park turned out to be a bit of a chore, but it was of good quality.

The atmosphere was baseball first, San Diego seems to be a football town first, especially since LA is only an hour and a half up the road, without a team, so, it's really only baseball sort of people that show up. There were lots of rooters for the visiting Cubs and it put a bit more life into the 2nd last game of the season between 2 teams long eliminated from post-season contention. I originally gave Petco an 8, but now feel that was a little harsh and have put it up to a 9, as it really is a fine ballpark.

Other than that, I don't remember a whole lot about Petco. The good news is that I am headed back in 2014 and will spruce this review up a little bit then.

Update 2016: I did get back here in 2014 for an Opening Day game against the LA Dodgers. This place has a pleasant atmosphere. It isn't rabid by any stretch, but people who come to watch the Padres seem to like it. The park itself is very well laid out, has the metal supply building as it's calling card, plus the "park in a park" in center. Further to that, it's smack dab in the middle of the Gaslamp quarter, which we explored a lot more than my first game here and it was great, I'd recommend finding a hitching post here if you're able, just an all around nice city to visit. Under the new ratings, I'd give Petco a 9, with the pluses being the building and atmosphere.

Linescores:
2011-09-27
                          123   456    789   R H E
Chicago Cubs      000    100   032  6 11 0
San Diego             020  000   000  2  6   0
Temp: 66F   Time: 3:28  Att: 39,058


2014-04-01
                                      123     456    789   RHE
Los Angeles Dodgers        200    100    000    371
San Diego                        000     110    000   262
Temp: 62F  Time: 3:38   Att: 35,033