Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (112 page)

Sections 126 to 134 in left field not only offer fans the hope of catching a home run ball, but the chance to sit near legendary superfan Harry “the Heckler” Maker, and Josh’s wife’s cousin Michael Hernandez, a certified bleacher bum and Heckling Harry’s protégé. If you see Michael at a game, buy him a hot dog and a beer and he’ll be your friend for life.

Just past Section 134 and above the Padres’ bullpen is a section known as the Picnic Terrace. This is a specialty ticket section for private parties only, with unprecedented access to the bullpens (which aren’t really pens at all, but simply a place for the relievers on a bench at ground level). Fans in this section sit behind long tables and well-manicured garden boxes. These seats are okay (they’re still outfield bleachers) but they’re reserved for groups.

If your kids wish you’d taken them to the beach instead of the ballpark, there is a large sandy area below the Bleachers to the right of the batter’s eye in right-center called “The Beach” where kids can build sand castles while mom and dad watch them and the game beyond. These seats are cheap, have well-formed seat backs and have a decent view. They represent more of what Petco does well, which is provide cheap seating options. Beware, though: The Beach section offers about as much protection from the sun as the actual beach. So bring the sun-screen—especially for afternoon games. For a few dollars more, you can sit in your own beach chair in the “Beach Club” section of the Bleachers.

At fifteen rows deep, the Club Level contains more than five thousand seats, many of which come complete with wait service. The level also houses four lounges. In our book, though, an afternoon spent in the outfield bleachers easily trumps any Club experience. Although, we must admit this is a low Club level that offers excellent views. And peeking in through the glass of the outer concourse, the food looked pretty good too.

Sections 225 to 235 are located in the second deck in home run territory in right field, while Sections 226 to 230 are in homer territory in left. Although these sections are on the Club Level, they do not come with Club privileges. The seats in right field seemed far from the action to us. And the foul pole blocks the view of the plate for many of the seats in Section 225, 227 and 231.

The ballpark designers went to great lengths to ensure that fans have room to linger and lounge at Petco, whether by choice or necessity in the event of a sellout. Petco can accommodate fifteen hundred standing-room ticket holders in designated standing areas on all three levels. Our favorite general admission area is the bank of bleachers on the roof of the Western Metal Building, some eighty feet above the field. Most of the seats inside the historic Western Metal Supply Company building belong to the suites on the second and third floors, and the Hall of Fame Restaurant on the fourth. On the roof is a pricey bleacher area for large groups and then a bleacher space for some commoners like you. Your only shot of getting on that roof is by waiting in the often long line that forms on the left-field side to access this area. Expect to stay only a short while, three innings at most, as they keep the line moving so that as many people as possible may have a chance to experience the signature element of the ballpark in all its glory.

Since the ballpark is a full three levels, the upper deck is pushed pretty high into the stratosphere. The seats directly behind home plate in Sections 300–306 are definitely the best. If you’d like to call balls and strikes, stake out a spot in Section 300, directly behind (and above) home plate.

Sections 307–312 are okay, but we would avoid anything beyond the light towers (315–328), as there are underhang issues that will compromise your view of the game. The worst seats in the house are in Section 328 where the Western Metal Building blocks most of left field and you have underhang issues as well.

The most unique seating in the upper decks are the Tower Lofts (Sections 313 and 314). These sections are built right into the large light towers that give the ballpark part of its distinctive look. These seats are a bit gimmicky and don’t feel as close as those in either section directly beside them, but if you want to tell your friends you climbed the light pole to get a better view, then have at these seats.

The first several rows of Petco Park’s upper deck are called the Upper Boxes. These sell for a bit more money than seats in the Upper Reserved (Rows 7–27) located behind the concourse. We suggest throwing down the extra couple bills to sit in one of the deck’s first rows. You won’t even be able to get a Friar Dog with the difference in price if you disregard our advice and the seats down low offer much closer views.

The midlevel concourse is sunken adequately to allow fans in the first few rows of the Upper Reserved to see over the walkway traffic. The railings of the stairways leading to the Upper Reserved, however, present something of an obstruction for fans seated in Rows 9 through 11.

The bleacher section in right-center field is actually called the Beachers, and provides benches in one of the deepest parts of the outfield. These are also behind “the Beach” party area. Situated as they are, these are exceptionally far from the infield. Heck, they’re not even that close to the outfield. While usually we counsel fans to get as low to the action as possible, in this park we recommend upper-level seats on the infield rather than the Beachers.

The grassy park beyond the outfield fence has room for twenty-five hundred fans. This is a great area for families, especially those with younger kids who can’t sit still for the full nine innings. A very nice miniature baseball field for the little ones, complete with real dirt and chalk-lined base paths, is a nice touch to get kids more actively involved. Adults are encouraged to watch the action from outside the little fences. Josh refrained from running the base paths, or should we say he was held back by Kevin, his brother Sean, Kevin’s cousin Erin, and our friend Jordan—all of whom had joined us for the day.

Fans can spread out the picnic blanket or throw a Frisbee, let the kids play on the playground equipment, and see a bit of the game. There was even a stage set up with a live band playing for this section. However, we wouldn’t call the views from this part of the park “great.” But there is a grassy knoll that improves the view a bit—it looks like it’s made of Astroturf, yet it’s actually real grass. We also appreciate the see-through outfield fences that maximize fans’ views of outfielders chasing deep fly balls, as well as the mini JumboTron on the back of the batter’s eye for fans who actually care about what is happening on the field. Fans can visit the ballpark to watch away games on this screen as well.

The city’s strictly enforced anti-scalping laws keep the ticket hustlers at bay. But don’t worry, the laws of capitalism apply, and where there is demand, there is supply. Fans and scalpers just have to be a bit sneakier than usual. Don’t look for the ticket hawkers within a one-block radius of the ballpark;
rather, head two blocks away—where you can’t see the park itself—and you’ll find them. The corner of L Street and 5th Avenue and the corner of J Street and 7th Avenue are good places to start.

The city of San Diego and its voters agreed to finance the lion’s share of the new ballpark in the hope that it would anchor a massive urban revitalization effort. The newly minted Ballpark District consists of twenty-six blocks that just a few years ago represented one of San Diego’s seediest neighborhoods. Keep in mind, however, that a “seedy” neighborhood in America’s Finest City is still nicer than 75 percent of the urban hoods in the country.

We’re happy to report that Petco Park, its legions of fans, and the money contracted to the development of the area have indeed paid dividends, and the revitalization of the neighborhood has occurred in full force. The Ballpark District and the Gaslamp Quarter represent the second best pregame neighborhood environment we’ve come across—second only, of course, to Wrigleyville.

Josh:
Fenway? It’s better than Fenway?

Kevin:
Sorry, my friend. Objectively, San Diego gets the nod.

Josh:
Oh, right. You West Coasters are always objective.

The ballpark is accessible from five major freeways: Interstate 5, Interstate 805, Interstate 15, Highway 163, and Route 94. The intersection of Route 5 (which runs north and south) and Route 94 (east and west) is about a mile northeast of the ballpark. As part of the new ballpark initiative, San Diego marked all of these roads with signs pointing fans in the direction of Petco. The ballpark is adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center, bordered by 7th Avenue, K Street, Harbor Drive, and 10th Avenue. L Street serves as a game-day pedestrian mall between 7th and 10th Avenues.

On-site parking is limited to five thousand spaces, which seems like a low number. Chalk it up as the price fans pay to have their ballpark located in an actual city neighborhood. Private lots provide another eleven thousand spots within the Ballpark District. The cheapest lot we found was on Imperial Street between 13th and 14th Streets. The lot is on a triangular plot and it’s much smaller than the two bigger and more expensive lots across the street, so get there early. The larger lots do have better tailgating going on, however.