GlobeStadiums

(on satellite photo stadium is under construcion)

PETCO Park is an open-air stadium in downtown San Diego, California. Opened in 2004, it replaced Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of the San Diego Padres. It also hosts the USA Sevens international event every year. The stadium is named after the animal and pet supplies retailer PETCO, which is based in San Diego and paid for the naming rights. Since the retailer spells its name in all capital letters, mere initial capitalization as “Petco Park” is not correct. The construction cost of over $450 million was partially funded by the Centre City Development Corporation, the San Diego Redevelopment Agency, and the stadium is intended to be part of a comprehensive plan to revitalize San Diego’s aging downtown, particularly the East Village area east of the Gaslamp Quarter. The stadium is located across Harbor Drive from the San Diego Convention Center.

PETCO Park differentiates itself from other MLB ballparks built in the same era by eschewing “retro”-style red brick and green seats. The stadium is clad in Indian sandstone and stucco; its exposed steel is painted white and the 42,445 fixed seats are dark blue. The design is meant to evoke the sandy color of San Diego cliffs and beaches, the blue of the ocean, and the white sails of boats on the nearby bay.

Architect Antoine Predock’s design pulled restaurants, administrative offices and other amenities away from the seating bowl itself into other buildings surrounding the bowl. As a result, the ballpark’s concourses are open not only to the playing field but also to the surrounding city. Unlike most outdoor ballparks, in which the batter faces in a northeasterly direction, in this ballpark the batter faces due north, and fans in the grandstands are treated to a view of San Diego Bay and the San Diego skyline beyond the left field seats, and a view of Balboa Park, which contains the San Diego Zoo, beyond center field.

[Source: Wikipedia]