When staying in La Jolla my wife and I decided to catch a ballgame at the new PETCO Park in downtown San Diego, home of the San Diego Padres. The Padres were playing a team from my hometown, the New York Mets. (By the way, I am a huge Yankees fan and was rooting for the Padres the whole game!) PETCO Park was completed in 2004 and is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to.

The Padres do a great job of keeping children entertained from before the first pitch is thrown until the final out in the ninth. Behind the outfield fence PETCO Park built another field onto the grounds. The second field is used as a wiffle ball field. Padres employees play, teach and coach kids and their families on how to play ball. Very cool! If that wasn’t enough, the fence in right-center field is made of Plexiglas. Behind the Plexiglas is a beach (sand pit) complete with shovels and pails. This is great, the parents can watch the game from the bleacher seats and the kids can play in the sand. You will also see the Padres mascot along with the Dog and Cat (Petco’s mascots) walking around and taking pictures with fans. To experience the perks you can walk into the stadium up to 2 ½ hours before game time.

Another nice aspect to the park is the old brick building in left field, the Western Metal Supply Co. building. The building is now restored and holds the Padres team offices, a restaurant, has rooftop seating, and is also a Padres souvenir store. The corner of the building also serves as the left field flag pole.

We sat behind home plate in Club Seats that I bought on E-Bay. All seats in the stadium have cup holders built in with ample leg room. The Club Seats come with waiter/waitress service, but we decided not to utilize this perk. Why pay more money at your seat when you can walk fifty feet and buy your own snacks? The stadium had a decent variety of food to choose from including pizza, BBQ, veggie and hot dogs, burgers, Chinese food, and the local favorite fish tacos. The chain Rubio’s sells the fish tacos in the Stadium. I devoured five of them, very tasty.

If you are visiting San Diego during baseball season I highly recommend visiting the ball park and catching a Padres game. My wife and I had a great time and we will definitely visit PETCO Park for a second time. If you can’t make a game at the Park, the Padres also offer tours at varying times throughout the day.

You haven't seen PETCO Park until you've gone behind-the-scenes on one of the guided tours. The tour is great for getting to know the ins and outs of the stadium. This is a great stadium to take a tour of. Some of the things you can expect to see on one of these tours are one of the exclusive lounges, and luxury suite, and let me tell you they are very cool, the press box which is filled with tons of computers and other electronics, the dugout warm-up track, bull pen, and other features of the park.You will get to view what is called the beach and this is located just off to the right field fence, The Beach sand area is a unique part of the PETCO Park experience, it allows guests to see the major league players up close during batting practice.Another thing they will show you on the tour is the park at the park or the little league field and the grassy area that is opened 2 ½ hours before the game so you can catch batting practice and enjoy the park before the game starts and fills up with people.Also on the tour you will be able to see the amazing views that surround the stadium and also the historic metal supply building that is built right into the stadium and allows people to buy seats for the game.You will also end your tour at the gift shop where you can buy shirts, hats and other gifts to remember you trip and tour. We purchased a little shirt for out soon to be born son.The park offers tours Tuesday - Sunday:
10:30am / 12:30pm / 2:30pm

Prices are
$9- Adult
$5- Children 12 and under.

PETCO Park has something very unique about it that makes it different than any other park I have ever been to. PETCO offers a park pass. This pass cost $5 and allows you to get into the game. You do not have a seat but you can come and watch the game and spend the day, or evening in the Padres baseball field and watch a game for a small price.These seats are in the grassy area right in center field. There is a huge jumbo tron so you will not miss any of the action and lots of space to sit and watch the game. You can still see the stadium from these seats but it is hard. However, with this pass you are able to wander around and enjoy other areas of the park as well.There is an entrance very close to this grassy area and also a kids park right by the area. I noticed this area being filled with several kids and families with small children. I think this is a great idea, having a young one myself and taking him to a Ranger game recently I know that it is nearly impossible to sit and watch a game with them. In fact, I think we sat for one inning in our seats and the rest of the time we just walked around. This is great that they would offer this and at a cheap fee so you can still come and see the game and enjoy a night out with the kids.

PETCO Park is spectacular in every way, combining the best sight lines in baseball with breathtaking views of San Diego. Architecturally magnificent, it celebrates the sea, the sky, the natural beauty, cultural diversity and unique spirit of the region. Innovative design features evoke the timeless traditions of baseball in an intimate setting, with state-of-the-art fan amenities to suit every taste and budget.

Concourses are spacious, open and airy. Signature towers and terraces offer panoramic views of the Bay, the downtown skyline, Balboa Park and the mountains on the horizon of America’s Finest City. The stadium allows fans to be lower and closer to the action. The playing field is asymmetrical, with charming features that accentuate traditional baseball values.

The seating bowl is divided into distinctive "neighborhoods." All 42,000 fixed seats are comfortable, with cup-holders and extra leg room. Seats down the lines are angled to the infield. The two upper levels are built on extended cantilevers, with the front of the Terrace Level only 34 feet above the field, creating a sense of intimacy reminiscent of the great old ballparks, but with outstanding sight lines from every seat and no obstructed views.

This stadium is truly a comfortable and welcoming. Compared to Dodger Stadium and all the problems we had with it this one is great and worth the experince.

Parking at this stadium can be a little bit of a problem since the field sits right in the heart of downtown San Diego. We had to park at the convention center which was not too far away but parking is limited so try to get there early. The fact that the park was in downtown was great to me. I like the feel of it and how surrounded by other things such as dinning and activites it was. Not to mention that the Corondo Bridge and bay were the back drop for part of the stadium.

My favorite part of the stadium was the section that was built right into a building that was part of down town. There is a seating section that was an old metal supply building and the stadium is built right into that. It really is cool to see.

The stadium is easy to get around and there is tons to do and see through out the whole park. There are several entrances to the park which makes a great convience to the downtown area and in the outfield there is a grassy area for seating. These tickets are $5 and you just come and sit on the grass.

Overall a great experience, and I highly recommend seeing a game at PETCO if you go to San Diego.

PETCO Field. My husband loves The Padres! The new stadium is great. Nothing beats a live game. The breeze comes through the walkways. It's close to the tour boats.