PETCO Park

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PETCO Park

Location:	San Diego, California
Opened:	April 2004
Owner:	City of San Diego (70%) San Diego Padres (30%)
Surface:	Grass
Architect:	HOK Sport Antoine Predock (design) Spurlock Poirier (landscape) ROMA (urban planning).
Current Capacity:	46,000
Build Cost:	$456.8 Million
Tenants:	San Diego Padres (2004 - Present)

1 Stadium History
2 Trivia
3 Field Dimensions
4 Wall Height
5 External Links

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Stadium History

On November 3, 1998 the voters of San Diego approved Proposition C, which approved the city's share of a new $411 million dollar downtown ballpark for the Padres. The ballpark is a part of a larger Ballpark District, featuring offices, retail, hotels, and residential units that promises to transform a derelict section of downtown into a popular year-round destination.

However, in October of 2000, construction stopped because of a lack of money. There were no funds because the city had not sold bonds approved in the election while it defended itself against lawsuits brought by tax protesters. Construction began again, but the delays pushed the stadium’s opening from 2002 to 2004.

PETCO Park differentiates itself from other MLB ballparks built in the same era by eschewing "retro"-style red brick and green seats. The stadium is clad in Indian sandstone and stucco; its exposed steel is painted white and the 42,445 fixed seats are dark blue. The design is meant to evoke the sandy color of San Diego cliffs and beaches, the blue of the ocean, and the white sails of boats on the nearby bay.

An excellent example of adaptive reuse, the Western Metal Supply Company Building, a hundred-year old structure that had been scheduled for demolition to make way for PETCO Park, was saved and incorporated into the design of the ballpark. The building was renovated and contains the team store, private suites, a restaurant and rooftop seating. The corner of the building serves as the left field foul-pole.

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Trivia

Seats feature computer technology.
On March 18 and 20, 2006, the ballpark hosted the Semi-Finals and the Finals of the first World Baseball Classic.
The stadium's first concert came on November 11, 2005, when it hosted The Rolling Stones.

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