Petco Park 10 year anniversary marked by Petco

Petco, the giant pet store company based in San Diego, this weekend commemorated a decade of the Padres playing in the ball park they bought the naming rights to.

The ballpark saw its first Padre game on April 8, 2004, with the home team defeating the San Francisco Giants in a 10-inning game by the score of 4 to 3. The Padres had moved downtown after almost 30 years sharing what is now called Qualcomm Stadium, (previously San Diego and then Jack Murphy Stadium), with the San Diego Chargers. After Petco Park was constructed the entire East Village area of downtown San Diego was revitalized and almost completely re-built with multi-story living spaces, hotels, clubs at ground level and the spectacular new Central Library.

Petco Park is bordered by 7th and 10th Avenues, with J Street to the north. On the southern side of the park is the San Diego Trolley line and then Harbor Drive. K Street between 7th and 10th is a pedestrian-only street and gives way to the entrance to the Park at the Park located behind center field. Petco has entrances on Park Boulevard at Imperial; and on K Street, at both 7th and 10th. At the time it was constructed, Petco was unusual among the new ballparks being built in that it did not have a “retro” look, but rather was built of stone rather than brick, and used a color scheme reflecting the beach and ocean aspects of San Diego.

As part of the celebration, and in a show of gratitude for Petco’s business success over the past ten years, the Petco Foundation presented the San Diego Humane Society with a $10,000 check. In addition, one row was selected and the 25 fans in the lucky row were awarded gift cards worth $100 each.

In an inspiring ceremony prior to the anniversary game against the Miami Marlins, Lorraine Hutchinson, Deputy Chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and one of 31 honorary Major League Baseball bat girls, was honored as a breast cancer survivor.