PETCO Park Stadium

Petco Park is not like other recently constructed baseball-only-facility. It possesses its own unique personality and is architecturally stupendous. It has a fantastic downtown location and is explicitly a reflection of San Diego . Located in downtown San Diego , California , the ballpark was built to replace the aging Qualcomm Stadium/Jack Murphy Stadium. The San Diego Padres after spending more than three decades at Jack Murphy Stadium inaugurated the state-of-art facility in 2004. Built at the cost of $450 million, the stadium was built as a part of a revitalization plan to renew San Diego 's aging downtown, particularly the East Village area east of the Gaslamp Quarter. The development project includes hotels, retail, and housing, all within walking distance of the San Diego Convention Center and the popular Gaslamp Quarter. Moreover the Padres were fed up of reluctantly sharing Murphy Stadium with the San Diego Chargers. On August 16, 2004 , Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones's blasted his 300th homerun at the Petco Park .

In the late 1990s, the Padres started influencing the officials to build them a new ballpark. After the team's appearance in the 1998 World Series, the San Diego voters agreed to get them construct a new ballpark. Originally the stadium was scheduled to open in 2002, but due to the lack of the funds the construction of the ballpark got delay. For more than a year, the construction was halted. The City of San Diego approved a $166 million bond to resume the construction of the stadium. The stadium is named after Petco Animal Supplies, Inc, which paid $60 million over 22 years in January 2003 for the naming rights. The 70% of the stadium is owned by City of San Diego and rest of the 30% is owned by the San Diego Padres.

The Padres inaugurated the stadium on April 8, 2004 and played their home-opening game against the San Francisco Giants. The ballpark is built of striking Italian sandstone, stucco, brick, and steel. The ballpark has Spanish Mission-style exterior the main selling point of Petco Park is its intimate ambiance. It has remarkable landscaping, with a relaxed yet lively atmosphere that truly reflects the San Diego lifestyle. The entrance of the ballpark has a palm court, water walls, and jacaranda trees. Designed by HOK Sport all of the stadium's seats are angled towards the pitchers' mounds. The stadium has lots of open areas for walking around, so fans can get a view of the action from several different angles throughout a game.

The stadium has a seating capacity of 46,000. The most fashionable area of the park is the 200-seat Dugout Seats area located directly behind home plate. The concourses are spacious, open and well-ventilated. The third base side of the concourse offers plentiful views of the field. The Omni Hotel, located west of the Ballpark on L Street is linked to the main concourse of the stadium through a pedestrian sky bridge. The top ten levels of the hotel have condominiums. The three tier grandstand extends from the right field foul pole around to homeplate and to the left field foul pole. 200 foot towers support the grandstand and extend above the main grandstand that supports the lights for the playing field and housing luxury suites and lounges. Outside of the stadium is the "Park at the Park," where fans can watch the game without spending any penny. The scoreboard is located above the left-field seats and the top levels of the stadium are cantilevered to place them closer to the action on the field. The high-priced seats at Petco Park feature computer technology that allow fans to surf the Internet, check out their favorite players stats, or order food from their seats. A 30-by-53 foot LED video board, displays high-resolution replays and graphics, even in direct sunlight. Atop FriarVision in the left-field stands is a 34-by-80 foot Matrix scoreboard.

At the left field foul pole, a San Diego landmark, the 90-year-old historic Western Metal Supply building has been renovated and incorporated into the Ballpark. The building has a team store on the first floor featuring a door that opens onto a standing-room area in left field. On the second and third floors of the building are party and luxury suites. Atop the building are 800 bleachers that provide an incredible view of the ballpark. The 5,000-seat Club Level features 1,500 Field Club seats, with box rails, located on the Field Level. Both the Club Level and the Field Club feature their own lounges and open-air terrace dining area behind home plate. Directly behind the centerfield fence is the Padres bullpen and the 'beach' where fans can relax stretching out on the ground watching the game.

The fans can commute via car, Trolley, the Coaster, bus and future water taxis. The parking here is available in plenty.