The San Diego Padres have broken ground on its $20 million renovation of its stadium-adjacent Gallagher Square (formerly Park at the Park) inside downtown's Petco Park.
"Our plan is to bring new and improved community amenities to Gallagher Square to help commemorate the 20-year milestone," said San Diego Padres CEO Erik Greupner in an interview with another publication."And in addition to expanding the amenities, we’re also incorporating a more sustainable design. And all of it is built upon our continued promise to deliver more than a ballpark, which was the original campaign promise for Petco Park, by continuing to invest into East Village through economic development and job creation."
Plans include moving the children's ball field to the northwest corner of the lot; building a concrete gathering space and sloped amphitheater-style seating area facing the Sycuan stage and a new video board; replacing the grass with artificial turf; constructing a top tier, baseball-themed playground with a 35-foot baseball bat statue; and the addition of a fenced in, off-leash dog park, new bathrooms, a temporary pickleball court, and an expanded entrance on Ninth and J Streets. There will also be a new, elevated platform for the Tony Gwynn statue atop the hill, which will be dubbed "Tony Gwynn Terrace" and have its own viewing deck, tables and concession stand. The Tony Gwynn statue will be positioned to face the Trevor Hoffman statue to create the appearance of an imaginary face-off between the two Padres Hall of Fame legends. The statues will be connected with a walkway tentatively named "The Stitch."
"It's kind of an iconic feature of this renovation," continued Greupner. "So you can now see along that stitch, and you have the direct alignment where Trevor will actually be pitching to Tony, which engendered a lively debate within our front office as to whether Trevor could strike Tony out with his changeup or (whether) Tony would get a hit."
Following a voter-approved Ballpark District ordinance in 1998 and after several delay caused by legal issues, Petco Park unveiled for the 2004 season as a partnership between the city of San Diego and Padres ownership. The downtown stadium replaced Qualcomm Stadium as the home of the Padres. The construction cost of more than $450 million was partially funded by a public-private partnership which included the Center City Development Corporation and the San Diego Redevelopment Agency.