SAN DIEGO: Going to Padres games doesn't have to break the bank

Going to games doesn't have to break the bank

By JAY PARIS - Staff Writer | Sunday, April 20, 2008 1:56 PM PDT ∞

Despite being in a long Petco Park concession line, the kids were smiling.

Despite being in any Petco Park concession line, their dad was smiling, too.

"We've got three people and we're going to get in and out of here for under $40,'' said Temecula's Joe Hubarth, inching closer to the Friar Shack stand window. "And that includes the tickets.''

Admission and grub for two $20 bills? At Petco, where the fans go and the bucks stay?

"Hey if people want to come to the game and spend a couple of hundred dollars, we will take their money,'' one Padres official said. "But they don't have to.''

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The price of attending a baseball game has skyrocketed with owners seeking every available revenue stream. Often that sends fans up the creek with a thin wallet, digging deeper and deeper for a night out at the ball yard.

Gone, it seems, are days of modest admission prices and cheap hot dogs.

But with a little effort and ingenuity, going to a Padres game isn't as costly as leaving the bases loaded in a one-run game.

"Our goal since we opened Petco is to provide a variety of entertainment options for our fans,'' said George Stieren, the team's director of business public relations. "That goes from clubs seats with in-seat service to sitting on the grass.''

Where you park your backside is usually the most costly decision.

For a designated premium game, it's $69 for the Toyota Terrace Infield seats, with a courteous waiter or waitress at your beck and call.

For that same game, it costs $7 to recline in the Park at the Park. The nearly 3-acre rolling patch of grass behind the bleachers, to some, is called Cheapskate Hill.

To others, it makes the game affordable.

For a non-premium game, it's $5 to lay out a blanket and soak it in without getting soaked.

"It's great for $5,'' said Vista's David Beal, as his son, Dyllan (CQ), raced around the adjacent Wiffle ball field. "You can watch the kid and watch the game.

"It's not the greatest view, but you have the big screen here and you don't miss anything.''

Neither, though, do the Padres.

While bragging about his ticket and eating from a Del Taco bag, Beal and his wife, Marlene, were enjoying two beers.

"They were $9 each,'' he said, glumly.

There's no avoiding the inflated alcohol prices at Petco as this isn't a BYOB fling. Factory-sealed, bottled water approximately 20 ounces or less and soft-sided single juice or milk containers are the only outside beverages permitted inside.

Fans can tote in food, which considerably lowers the game-day tab. There's a Subway sandwich shop on K Street that's a hit, less than a block from the Tony Gwynn Drive entrance. It's crowded before the first pitch with fans buying $5 foot long sandwich to bring inside.

Don't dig sandwiches? Try Valentine's Mexican restaurant at 9th and Market streets. The Pollo Asada Burrito is $3.99 -- $7.25 with rice and beans.

At Taco Del Mar at 10th and Island Avenue, a large quesadilla goes for $3.99.

Across the street at Dirty Del's, a huge sign brags its ballpark special is "great to take to the game.'' A turkey and cheese sandwich, with a side order and a 20-ounce drink, is $10.76.

"You can bring in food,'' Stieren said, somewhat reluctantly. "Some stadiums are much more regulated than we are regarding that.''

But back to our Temecula family bellying up to the snack stand. The Friar Shack, which caters to youngsters, is a bit under the radar behind the bleachers. But it should be front and center for any group with tykes and a tight budget.

There's about a dozen items on its menu -- even peanut butter and jelly sandwiches -- and none are expensive.

Gaby Hubarth, 7, ordered popcorn and fruit punch for $3; her brother, J.D., 5, stuck with the $1.50 popcorn.

"It's a very good place for the kids,'' Joe Hubarth said. "No doubt you can't beat the prices.''

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Your stomach is done growling and it's time for Padres baseball. But sitting some 500 feet away in the Park at the Park -- while economical -- isn't connecting you to the game.

So, get moving.

A Park at the Park ticket allows customers to roam nearly anywhere. Keen fans head for behind home plate, in the standing-room area at the top of aisles 101 and 102.

From there you can read the pitches and enjoy replays on the overhead monitors -- all at a fraction of the area's seat prices, which range from $48-57.

The least expensive assigned seat is in the bleachers at $9.

But frugal Friar faithful can also stand in the left-field corner, above aisles 122 and 124. There is also a little cubby-hole outside the souvenir shop that hugs the left-field fence.

"We want to make it so fans can enjoy the experience at the ball park and the game,'' Stieren said, "without breaking the bank.''