Petco Park

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On Deck -- The Setting

Since San Diego and Philadelphia both opened new ballparks in 2004, it's only natural that Petco Park and Citizens Bank Park will be compared with each other.  Concerning the location of the parks, our West Coast entry wins hands down ... and I'm not saying this just because San Diego is a more pleasant city to visit.  It's the locations within the cities that are incredibly different.

Instead of merely dropping the new ballpark in the parking lot of the old one (like in Philadelphia), the city of San Diego wanted to do something special, something that could invigorate another part of town.  In this regard, the decision to build the new park in the East Village area of downtown was made with the hope that the outcome would be similar to Baltimore, Denver and Cleveland, and like is occurring more slowly in Houston and Phoenix.  Out of fairness, it has not happened as hoped in Atlanta or Arlington, but this won't be the case in San Diego.

Here's why.  The new stadium is part of a larger project, one that designates 26 blocks of East Village as a "Ballpark District."  The agreement with the team required that the Padres and their development partners commit to at least $311 million in new construction within the district.  Indeed, construction abounds on the west and north sides of the ballpark -- areas with rundown buildings and vacant lots before -- and at last count, the investment in construction has approached $600 million.

This will make the park's surroundings nicer as time goes along ... but it is still very impressive today.  One reason for this is that a wonderful area of downtown is adjacent to the new park.  The Gaslamp Quarter, which has been designated as a National Historic District, is a 16-block area of shops and great restaurants that is on the west side of the ballpark.

Just to the west of the ballpark is the 16-block historic area known as the Gaslamp Quarter.  On the right, fans are entering the ballpark from the southeast at the main gate.  From the concourse of the park, you can look down upon this scene, as well as the San Diego Bay and massive Coronado Bridge.

San Diego's beautiful Convention Center is only a couple of blocks from the park, and it borders the lovely Bay, with all of its sail boats, cruise ships and Navy vessels.  

Does this location mean that the ballpark offers fans a great view?  Pretty much.  From the seating bowl, you see some of the high-rises of downtown beyond left field, and (even better) the hill on which Balboa Park is located in the distance beyond right field.  And as is the case in Seattle, there are wonderful views from the upper concourses, as you can look out at the San Diego Bay.

So the location is quite nice, but you know what I like best about it?  It treats the sport of baseball the way it's supposed to be treated:  special.  San Diego didn't simply toss the new facility in a spot off an Interstate exit in the middle of a sea of asphalt parking lots.  No, Petco is a throwback to the way things used to be, when the sport was played in a neighborhood ballpark.

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