Petco Park is the current home of the San Diego Padres, the local Major League Baseball team. The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood. Construction of the stadium was part of a plan to revitalize downtown San Diego. Petco Park is across the street from the San Diego Convention Center, and its main entrance is two blocks from the downtown terminal of the San Diego Trolley.
The first baseball game was played at Petco Park on March 11, 2004. It was part of a four-team NCAA invitational tournament hosted by the San Diego State University Aztecs baseball team. Retired Padres player Tony Gwynn was the head coach. The game enjoyed the highest attendance in college baseball history. Petco Park has become a popular venue and has hosted a variety of events and sports over the years, but its most known for being the home of the Padres. Last summer, the stadium achieved an attendance record for baseball during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a crowd of over 47,500 people. I played a little softball during my childhood, but it wasn’t my favorite sport. Too much pressure. All eyes staring at you as you swing the bat, hoping to connect with the speeding ball. Success or failure. Hero or goat. The professional players must have nerves of steel. We took our kids to some baseball games when they were younger, but they seemed more interested in the food and giveaways than the ball game. We never managed to snag a foul ball, but we did snag some fun family memories. My husband was recently given some baseball tickets at work for a game that falls on my birthday. I told him I’d accompany him to the game, but concession food did not qualify as a “birthday dinner.” Go Padres!
