DAY TRIP San Diego Padres’ PETCO Park

PETCO Park opened in 2004 as the new home of the San Diego Padres, replacing Qualcomm Stadium. The stadium uses natural stone and stucco for its exterior design. It is an open-air ballpark with 42,445 fixed seats. An interesting aspect of the stadium is the incorporation of the Western Medical Supply Company Building. The building was renovated and is now attached to the left field foul pole and the 98-year-old building is now used for the Padres team store, party suites and a restaurant.

The stadium’s dimensions are 336 feet down the line in Left Field, 396 feet from home plate to center field, and 322 feet down the line in right field.

The stadium features modern amenities, good sight lines and food to match the budget of any visitor.

GETTING THERE

Take the I-405 South for about 11 miles to the I-5 South. Follow the I-5 for about 80 miles until the Imperial Avenue exit. Take that exit and merge onto 17th Street. Turn right at Imperial Avenue. Turn left at Park Boulevard.

An alternative route would be to take the San Diego Freeway, the I-405 South, to the CA-73 South. Be advised: The CA-73 is a toll road. Exit onto the I-5 South and take it for about 70 miles. Take the Imperial Ave exit and merge onto 17th Street. Turn right at Imperial Avenue and then left at Park Boulevard.

ADMISSION

PETCO Park tours for individuals are $9 for adults, $6 for seniors 60 or older, $5 for children 12 and younger, and $8 for military with ID. Groups of 25 or more receive a $1 discount on all individual ticket prices, and groups of 100 or more receive a $2 discount.

Tickets to a San Diego Padres baseball game range from $5 (park pass) to $69 (Premium Toyota Terrace Infield). If you want to take a trip the day of a game, bleacher seats are $10 at the gate and tickets for seats that are not premium range up to $55. Tickets bought in advance are cheaper than tickets purchased day of the game.

HOURS

Tours run April through September at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. If there is an afternoon home game, there will be no tours on that day. On days with evening home games, there will be no 2:30 p.m. tour.

SCHEDULE

The Padres have 11 home games left in April and have 13 home games in May. They play the Dodgers April 4 through April 6, the Colorado Rockies April 15 through the 17, the San Francisco Giants April 24 and 25, the Arizona Diamondbacks April 25 through 27, the Rockies again May 9 through 11, the St. Louis Cardinals May 19 through 21, the Cincinnati Reds May 22 through 25, and the Washington Nationals May 27 through 29.

THE TEAM

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team that play in the National League’s West Division. The team features legendary pitcher Greg Maddux, top pitchers Jake Peavy and Chris Young, and young stars Adrian Gonzalez and Brian Giles. The team was formed in 1968 as an expansion team in the National League. The team’s first game was played in 1969 at San Diego Stadium versus the Houston Astros, winning 2 to 1.

— Daniel Tedford