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Petco Park
is a baseball only stadium and home to the San Diego Padres, a
Major League Baseball team. Petco park brings together the best
sight lines in baseball with awesome views of San Diego. In
January 2003, Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. purchased the naming
rights for $60 million over 22 years, thus the ballpark was named
Petco Park. The San Diego Padres played there first game at Petco
Park on April 8, 2004 against the San Francisco Giants. The $411
million ballpark is built of stucco, brick, and steel. Petco Park
is a baseball only stadium and has a grass field. Leading up to
the entrance of the ballpark, fans pass by a palm court, water
walls, and jacaranda trees. Once inside the new ballpark, all fans
have an excellent view of the field. All of the 46,000 blue seats
are close to the field and are angled toward the pitchers mound. A
three tier grandstand extends from the right field foul pole
around to homeplate and to the left field foul pole. At the left
field foul pole, a San Diego landmark, the Western Metal Supply
building is part of the left field wall and foul pole. The Western
Metal Supply building houses the team store on the first floor,
that has an opening that allows fans into a standing room area in
left field. On the second and third floors of the building are
party/luxury suites and the fourth floor contains a restaurant.
Located on top of the building are 800 bleachers that provide
tremendous views of the ballpark. These bleachers can be retracted
in order for the area to be turned into a party area for fans. The
main scoreboard sits above seats in left field. Another scoreboard
makes up part of the right field fence. Additional seating can be
found above the right field wall where there are two levels of
seating. Directly behind the centerfield fence is the Padres
bullpen and the 'beach' where fans can relax stretching out of the
ground watching the game. Some 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.
Several unique 200 foot towers supporting the grandstand and
extending above the main grandstand support the lights for the
playing field and housing luxury suites and lounges. A Padres Hall
of Fame, 250 seat auditorium, kids entertainment zone, and theater
are also located at Petco Park. Fans of all ages and the Padres
will more than likely enjoy coming to Petco Park for many years to
come. The ballpark has standing room and lawn seating
opportunities that allow a true capacity of close to 46,000.
Several standing room areas distributed throughout the facility
give approximately 1,000 fans the opportunity to watch games for a
small admission price. The "milling around" theme of the ballpark
is further enhanced by an estimated 2,500 lawn seating
opportunities in an elevated grass park located directly behind
the outfield wall. Appropriately named the "Park at the Park",
this area significantly enhances the baseball experience for fans
of all ages. The Architecture and construction was undertaken by,
HOK Sport, Antoine Predock (design), Spurlock Poirier (landscape)
and ROMA (urban planning), San Diego Ballpark Builders (a joint
venture of Clark Construction Group Inc., Nielsen Dillingham
Builders Inc. and Douglas E. Barnhart Inc.) respectively. The cost
for Petco Park was $456 million, $285 of which went to the
ballparks construction and $171.8 went to the land Acquisition and
infrastructure. |