Petco Park

(continued)

Sliding into Home -- In conclusion

In moving from Qualcomm Stadium, a football field that has hosted the Super Bowl, to Petco Park, the Padres saw the seating capacity drop by more than 20,000.  This is by no means a bad thing, especially in this "less is more" era in which we live, as fewer seats can often mean increased demand.  The key factor in the decreased seating capacity, though, is that it makes the Padres' new ballpark what it should be:  intimate.  As intimate as Fenway, Wrigley or PNC Park?  No, but more intimate than perhaps the other 26 parks currently in the Majors.

This intimacy is one facet of the "special" nature of this park, and this is very important to me.  Baseball is at its best when its venue specifically accommodates the National Pastime.  That's one reason multi-use "doughnut" stadiums lost their luster long before the buildings themselves became obsolete.  Make no mistake about it:  Petco Park gets an "A" for making sure the setting and the facility are perfectly suited for baseball.  In fact, the fans of San Diego should feel enormously proud of their new ballpark, as it is near the top of the heap of all of the new facilities in the Majors. 

Frankly, other than charging less for the seats, food and souvenirs, I'm not sure how Petco could be improved upon. That's why it was named BASEBALLPARKS.COM's Best New Ballpark for 2004! The plaque shown above is being presented to Padres' president Dick Freeman in a pre-game ceremony on September 6th.

Go to 2004 Major League Ballpark Changes page