Ballpark Review - Petco Park

It's difficult to do a ballpark review without actually attending a game there. Some might say it's not all that fair. Well that, my friends, is the liberty that I get with reviewing a stadium for a blog. Screw you if you want a game, you're going to get my review from a walkaround and walkthrough of the ballpark on gameday. I personally preferred cheap margaritas and good Mexican food than seeing a riveting Padres-Twins interleague game (raise your hand if you think interleague should be limited to local "rivalry" series).

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This is the view from leftfield at Petco from the team store, where you can buy such beautiful items as this:

or this

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However, despite the array of largely hideous apparel from one of the most offensive teams to ever grace the uniform world (hello Paul Lukas), the team store does give access to a pen in the leftfield corner while the game is not going on.

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The team store is housed in the old Western Metal Company building which is built into the leftfield line and gives Petco its signature quirk.

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The terraces along the Western Metal Supply Company building offer seating. What you see in the foreground are the seats in the "park in the park." This is Petco's version of standing room only. For a few bucks on the day of the game, you get access to the park just behind the centerfield seats, a few in-stadium food vendors, and access to this grassy berm with backless bleacher seating. However, the bleachers are curved conveniently for one's ass to fit in.

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In the background of the picture above, you can see arguably the most important thing about Petco... a large highrise representing the revitalization of the Gaslamp Quarter neighborhood of San Diego. Petco stands along the San Diego Bay at the southern end of Gaslamp. Gaslamp is about a twenty-square-block area of vibrance. Gaslamp separates Petco from the downtown business district. On game nights, the bars in Gaslamp along 4th and 5th streets are hopping, especially after games let out. From locals in San Diego, I hear that Gaslamp used to be an area of urban decay. If this is true, then Petco really is proof of how a ballpark can revitalize a downtown area.

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The weather for games in San Diego can't be beat. However, even for a game in late June, it's going to be in the upper 50s or low 60s by the end of the game, with a fairly strong breeze outside since you are right near the water. Bring a jacket, even in the dead of summer.

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As stated, Petco benefits from beautiful weather. Petco also benefits from easy access by mass transit from San Diego's light rail system. However, my gut reaction is that Petco is like the guy who is reasonably talented at hoops and has a good jump shot, but is obsessed with trying to be the guy with all the talent and the flashy game and never will be that guy. Don't get me wrong... Petco is nice. It's certainly nicer than Angels Stadium. However, it tries to pull off the retro look somewhat unsuccessfully. The building that juts into leftfield is an unadulterated rip off the Warehouse at Camden Yards. The outdoor scaffolding of the stadium though is very much like Nationals Park - exposed steelwork. The stadium backs to San Diego Bay so that the Bay is roughly behind home plate. Like Nationals Park, Petco Park was placed on a plot of land that handicapped it from maximizing the benefit of the city's skyline.

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I've heard that Petco has excellent food options. I can tell you from walking past exposed menus on the shuttered vendors that those food options are RIDICULOUSLY expensive, only eclipsed by maybe Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, and Fenway Park. Bottom line, nice stadium, very clean, nice accessibility, great rehab of a neighborhood, and a hell of an upgrade over Qualcomm Stadium.

FINAL GRADE FOR PETCO PARK: B+