Petco Park

Introduction

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The San Diego Padres had shared a stadium with the San Diego Chargers for many years and after proving their success by making it to the World Series in 1998 the Padres were granted their own stadium. It took four years of construction to finish but in 2004 the Padres played their first game at Petco Park. This field is located at the intersection of Tony Gwynn Drive and Trevor Hoffman Way, both of which are named after former players. Padre fans have since been able to enjoy their summers watching their home team play at Petco Park.

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Backstory and Context

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The voters of San Diego approved the building of a new stadium for the San Diego Padres after they made the World Series in 1998 when they were still sharing a stadium with the San Diego Chargers. Construction on the stadium started in 2000 and was halted that very year. This was due to some heavy financial problems including bond insurance issues and multiple lawsuits. Two years later construction continued after large donations from both the city and the Padres combined for over $300 million.

The Padres did not play in the first baseball game at this ballpark. San Diego State hosted Houston and won 4-0 on March 11, 2004. The San Diego Padres played their first game nearly a month later on April 8 against state rivals, the San Francisco Giants. The Padres came out with a win and it was Brian Giles who got the first hit. It took one week for the Padres to hit a home run in their new ballpark, but Mark Loretta was the one to do it on April 15.

Petco Park cost $411 million to build and has a seating capacity of 42,000. Both the city of San Diego and the Padres organization own the stadium with the former owning 70% and the later owning 30%. Petco, a pet and pet supply chain, owns the rights through 2026 and pays $2.7 million per year. Unfortunately for the taxpayers, this stadium is both publicly and privately funded with the public paying more at 57%.

The Padres have been calling this park home since 2004 and have lived through many historic moments. Two NL divisional series have been played in both 2005 and 2006. They hosted the MLB All-Star Game in 2016. Other memorable events include Chipper Jones 300th home run, Jake Peavy winning Cy Young in 2007, Trevor Hoffman becoming the first pitcher to record 500 career saves in 2007, and the unveiling of the statues Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman. The main entrance of the park faces an intersection of Tony Gwynn Drive and Trevor Hoffman Way.

Sources

Snider, Jeff J. . Retired Numbers: San Diego Padres, Baseball Essential. January 19th 2016. Accessed April 12th 2020. http://www.baseballessential.com/news/2016/01/19/retired-numbers-san-diego-padres/.

Postseason Results, San Diego Padres. Accessed April 12th 2020. https://www.mlb.com/padres/history/postseason.

Weisberg, Lori . Petco Park Timeline: 20 yrs of MLB, The San Diego Union-Tribune. September 5th 2016. Accessed April 12th 2020. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/sdut-petco-park-tenth-anniversary-timeline-2014may09-story.html.

Petco Park, Ballparks of Baseball. Accessed April 12th 2020. https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/petco-park/.

Wilson, Bernie . Cool Intersection: Tony Gwynn Drive & Trevor Hoffman Way, USA Today. September 28th 2018. Accessed April 12th 2020. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/09/28/cool-intersection-tony-gwynn-drive-trevor-hoffman-way/37982131/.