Located in the southern area of the downtown core, close to San Diego Bay, Petco Park is the home of the San Diego Padres, who used to share Qualcomm Park with the San Diego Chargers before moving into their new home field. This stadium was constructed after nearly four years of work, with ground breaking on May 3rd, 2000, before finally opening on April 8th, 2004. 

This facility cost $450 million to build, and involved numerous delays as a political scandal that resulted in legal action had to be dealt with before the stadium was completed. By the time another vote was taken to confirm the public’s wishes to fund and build Petco Park, two additional years were added to the timeline for completion. Ultimately, the City of San Diego ended up paying for 70% of the park, while a private partnership payed for the rest.

Another delay was caused by the Western Metal Supply Co. building, which was designated as an historic landmark during the late 70s. Rather than destroy the landmark, they ended up using it as part of the ballpark design, similar to other modern stadiums that attempt to capture the aesthetics of the popular Oriole Park in Baltimore.

San Diego Padres Stadium

The San Diego Padres have fielded sub-par teams over the 2014 and 2015 season, which has lead to sub-.500 campaigns in both years. However, in 2014, the Padres showed a strong affinity for playing at home, earning a record of 48-33 at Petco Park, nearly 20 wins more than they got while on the road. Their 2015 campaign was more balanced in terms of performance, as they have performed poorly regardless of where they played.

Petco Park results in an average rate of runs produced at this venue compared to the rest of the league, as well as an average amount of hits and doubles at the park. Home runs are hit at a rate than ranks in the top third of stadiums while triples rank in the bottom third.

One of the best fan features of this stadium is the “Park at the Park”, which is a gently sloped hill of grass that fans can sit on to watch the game for a modest fee. During off-days, this place serves as a public park that may be enjoyed by all.

Stadium Vitals

Date Opened: April 8, 2004 

Construction Cost: $450 million

Architect: Populous; Antoine Predock; Spurlock Poirer; ROMA; Heritage Architecture and Planning

Ballpark Type: Retro Modern

Capacity Attendance: 41,164 

Playing Surface: Bullseye Bermuda

Previous San Diego Padres Stadium

Qualcomm Stadium

Other Major Events

2016 MLB All-Star Game

The 2016 MLB All-Star game will take place on Petco Field on July 12th, 2016, drawing many of the best players from around the league. Home field advantage for the World Series will be determined by the winner of this game, which is a controversial aspect of the all-star game that makes it the best among all North American professional sports leagues.

Comic-Con International

Due to the popularity of the San Diego Comic-Con International Convention, which draws huge amounts of comic book, anime, sci-fi and video game fans from around the world to the area, Petco Park was recruited to host some of the festivities starting with the 2010 Comic-Con. In addition to the usual panels, awards and parties, this location has been the start of the Zombie walk that begun in 2012.