San Diego Padres

Photo © Courtesy of Joanne DiBona

Road Trip to Petco Park

The new Petco Park, replacing the not-at-all-for-baseball Qualcomm, is a major league step up in baseball experience. From the location (location, location) in the Gaslamp district for the most of touring fun, to the open designs, comfortable seating, good concessions - you name it - Petco is a fine ballpark. Now, the bullpens were built too small, but that's the pitchers' problem, isn't it? On right field there is a huge sandbox, with a chainlink fence to the field, so parents can watch the games while the little ones play. Another playground features a very large screen video for watching the game. If you have general admission tickets, then one option is to go to the back of the main souvenir shop, go up the ramps, and there's a see-through fence to left field. Food: let's face it though, west coast ballparks are the best for cuisine choices, if hot dogs and hamburgers aren't your top choice. You can still get the great fish tacos they had at Qualcomm. Adding a ballgame at Petco to any San Diego itinerary is a no-brainer.