Bill's Journal Entry #13

Qualcomm Stadium

Date: July 23, 2002

Location: San Diego, California

Opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers

Travel companion: Matt Glover, a friend

Link to my photos: http://cards.webshots.com/cp-30848358-wRRD-album/45278734YukMEM

Game Result: Powered by a three-run dinger by Paul Lo Duca (who, coincidentally, was a Little League teammate of Matt, my travel companion for this game), the visitors established a 6-2 lead. But this game was far from over, as the Padres scored four in the sixth to tie it up. But the comeback was short-lived, as LA got another pair in the seventh, and the Dodgers bullpen shut down San Diego for the rest of the game.

Stadium Summary: Man! This is a pretty nice football stadium! Oh wait -- this is a baseball tour. Scratch that. Yes, this stadium suffers significantly from being a football/baseball combination, like all combo stadiums do. However, this one has a bit more going for it than most of those. For one, because the football field runs down one sideline, rather than across the outfield (as it does in Oakland, for example), far more of the baseline seats are able to be closer to the field, for both sports. However, most of those seats are facing straight out, rather than towards the infield, primarily because the infield is just an end zone for football. Another thing that is done better here than in some of the combos (like Minnesota, for example), is that the home run fence looks like a more traditional home run fence, with some palm trees thrown in just past the fence for an extra, nice aesthetic touch. And finally (time to pick on Oakland again), the primarily football stands located in the outfield are built in the same architecture of the rest of the stadium, rather than just looking like an extra block of concrete dropped in just to appease California’s migrant NFL owner, with no consideration to what the rest of the stadium looks like. But all that said, this is still a football stadium first and foremost, with only enough baseball amenities to appease the Padres during their time-share stay.

Best thing to do during a Padres game at Qualcomm: Review the construction plans of the Padres new stadium, being built in downtown San Diego, and scheduled to be ready for the 2004 season. A couple of displays around the outside of the seating area show artistic projections of what the stadium will look like, and between-inning video highlights show actual construction progress. The still-to-be-named stadium will have a number of unique features. Two of my favorites are the lawn seating area in the outfield, and the fact that there will be no left field foul pole. Instead, the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building, an existing historic building that is being incorporated into the stadium architecture, will be the foul pole. If a ball hits the building and bounces left, it’s foul. If it goes right, it’s a homer. Even without the creative nuances like this, the new park looks like it should be a winner.

Second best thing to do during a Padres game at Qualcomm: Eat fish tacos. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of these.  I was picturing a traditional taco, with the beef replaced by shredded fish. And I wasn’t sure I would enjoy that. But I needn’t have worried. The fish taco is more like a fish sandwich than a beef taco. A batter fried strip of fish, in a soft taco shell, with lettuce and a just-slightly-tangier-than-usual tarter sauce. The lines for these delicacies were long, but I got lucky.  Just as I was approaching the one-and-only stand in the place that sells them, a new window opened, and I was able to be served immediately. But after trying one, I realized that it would have been well worth the wait.

Most surprisingly impressive public transportation: The San Diego trolley system, which is basically a more friendly name for their train system. OK, I might not have that much to compare it to so far. But I’ve been on the “L” in Chicago, the MARTA train in Atlanta, and New York City subways before, and in all of them, you need to pass through guarded turnstiles to access any station, and those stations ranged from “dark and dank” to “well kept but out of date”. The stations in San Diego, though, were unbelievably open. You walk right up to the train, without ever passing any turnstile or gate. There are a couple of signs up telling you that to be in the station area, you either need to be in possession of a ticket or be in the process of obtaining one. But we boarded and departed the train without ever being asked for our tickets, nor did we see anyone else checked. It almost seemed like the trolley was being run on the honor system. And if that works, my compliments go out to the entire population of San Diego on their ethics and honesty. The only thing cleaner, more up to date, and more attractive than the trolleys were the stations themselves.

The new streak continues…: Ron Gant’s second inning home run marked the second straight home team on my tour to homer. And I’m now twelve-for-thirteen, with just one blemish to the perfect streak. @#$%ing Dodgers.

Stadium grade: D+   The Padres don’t deserve a ballpark this poor. The Chargers don’t deserve a football stadium this nice.

Overall grade of my experience at the game: D+   Be patient.  2004 and the new stadium aren’t that far off.

-- Bill Verkuilen  biggbill@hotmail.com 

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