petco park tours san diego

Petco Park Tour: Tickets & What To Expect

Posted in 2023 in FAQ

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Behind The Scenes Tour

In general, there will be a tour of Petco Park almost every day at 10AM, 12PM and 2PM with some restrictions (for example, concert dates , Comic Con , holidays), graduations , Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). All subject to change. Check availability .

Book your tour through GetYourGuide. Reserve now and pay later . Cancel up to 24 hours in advance.

Petco Stadium Tours on Padres Game Days

When the Padres are in town, the stadium tour schedule bends to accommodate the fluctuating game times. For the last tour right before the Padres game, a ticket to the game is required. The earlier tours are open to the public with no game ticket required.

The behind the scenes tour of Padres stadium lasts about an hour and a half, and covers 1.5 miles of the stadium! It’s a great field trip for students, sports teams and other youth groups, seniors as well as corporate trips.

Tour Tickets

Tickets can be purchased here . Additionally, tour tickets can be purchased at Petco Park at the Western Metal Building Ticket Windows starting 30 minutes prior to each tour. First-come, first-served.

Tour Gift Cards

Pre-game tours.

Note: Game tickets are required and must be purchased separately.

Starting Times Pre-game tours starting times vary, but start approximately 3-4 hours before first pitch.

En Español? Vamos! Tours de Parque Petco .

Private Tours are also available on game days and non-game days. Reach out to the Padres for information, reservations and pricing.

Tips & Helpful Hints

Make the most of events and baseball games at San Diego's Petco Park. Join the conversation ( @PetcoParkSD ) or contact us about info posted on this website . For tickets and stadium experience inquiries, contact the Padres at 619–795–5000. Petco Park Insider is independently operated and reader-supported , unaffiliated with the Padres organization or Petco Park. These pages contain affiliate links through which we may receive compensation from advertisers if you choose to purchase certain products, at no additional cost to you. It is paid by the advertisers and helps keep our site running. Thank you!

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San Diego: Petco Park Stadium Tour - Home of the Padres

About the activity

Explore America's #1 Ballpark on one of Petco Park's daily guided tours.

• Free cancellation Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
• Instant confirmation & Mobile tickets Receive your ticket right away. Use your phone or print your voucher.
• Live guiding English
• Start times - Available from April 15, 2024 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM
• Duration 80 minutes
• Tour of the stadium
• Food and drinks
• Get a behind-the-scenes look at Petco Park
• Visit the Padres Hall of Fame presented by Motorola and the Breitbard Hall of Fame
• Go to the Visitor's Clubhouse, Major League Dugout, Press Box and more
• Experience the ballpark as only players and staff do
• Shop with 10% off at the Padres Team Store on your scheduled tour date

Description

Visit Petco Park and experience a side of the ballpark that is usually reserved for the players and staff. Stops include Field Warning Track, Cutwater Coronado Club, Padres Hall of Fame Presented by Motorola, Press Box, Private Luxury Suite, and the Breitbard Hall of Fame. Meet your guide at Petco Park and get a behind-the-scenes look into the ballpark. See the press box, also known as writers’ row, and peek inside the Home Plate Club. During your visit, you’ll learn about the history of Petco Park and the San Diego Padres. Visit the Padres Hall of Fame presented by Motorola and learn about the history of baseball in San Diego. Afterward, head to the Breitbard Hall of Fame, which honors athletes in San Diego and native San Diegans who achieved athletic fame outside of San Diego.

• Tours are approximately 80-minutes long and include climbing stairs and walking ramps
• All tours are wheelchair and stroller accessible, however, wheelchairs are not provided
• Tours take place rain or shine
• The Ball Park is near public transportation
• Service Animals allowed
• This tour has a maximum of 20 participants

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Petco Park Tours

Go behind the scenes at america's #1 ballpark.

Explore America's #1 Ballpark on one of our daily guided tours. Experience the ballpark as only players and staff do. Led by a tour guide, this historical, behind-the-scenes tour allows guests to experience the ballpark while learning about the history of Petco Park and the San Diego Padres.

Neighborhood: Downtown

PETCO Park 100 Park Blvd San Diego, CA 92101

Contact Info

619.795.5011 [email protected]

Date & Time

May 26 - ongoing Recurs every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Starts at $28

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At Petco Park, Watch A Baseball Game Like Never Before

Petco Park is home of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres, who have competed in the National League’s West Division since their establishment in 1969. Though they’ve never won the World Series, the Padres are still a beloved part of the San Diego community, and their home, Petco Park, is a treasure of the sports world. Widely rated one of the best ballparks out there, it’s a wonderful place to take in a baseball game, go for a guided tour, or enjoy a live music concert.

Save on your visit to the Tour of Petco Park! Tour of Petco Park is included on the Go San Diego Pass . Save an additional 5% on the Go City Pass with Coupon Code: GO5CMANTIS The discount stacks on top the current sale prices! Promo expires on February 29th.

Petco Park History

When the San Diego Padres became an MLB franchise in 1969, they played their home games in Jack Murphy Stadium, and they would continue to do so (even as the stadium underwent a series of name changes due to shifting sponsorship rights) until 2003. In 2004, the Padres would move into shiny new Petco Park, which took over three years to build and cost just under $500 million to construct. Petco Park was designed by the architectural firm Populous (who were at that time known as HOK Sport), the company responsible for such legendary sports arenas as Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the new Wembley Stadium, and Fiserv Forum, just to name a few of their many acclaimed projects.

Petco Park is one of those special stadiums where the cliché is true: there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. An intimate arena, Petco Park was designed so that many seats have not only terrific views of the field, but also the surrounding skyline, cityscape, and ocean.

What’s at Petco Park

Perhaps the most indelible feature of Petco Park’s design is the iconic Western Metal Supply Building standing along the stadium’s left-field foul line. This four-story building was the site of an actual local metal business that got its start in the late 19 th  Century, eventually opening this 50,000-square-foot headquarters during the first decade of the twentieth century. Instead of demolishing the elegant brick structure, which had been named a historic landmark in 1978, the architects incorporated the building into Petco Park’s floorplan. Now, when baseball fans the world over picture the Padres’ home stadium, this is often the first thing they think of.

Formerly known as Park at the Park, Gallagher Square is a nearly three-acre green space that’s an essential part of the Petco Park experience. Located just beyond the outfield wall, Gallagher Square contains a little league-size infield and plenty of spots to spread out on a blanket and enjoy a beautiful San Diego afternoon. It’s also where you’ll find Tony Gwynn Plaza, the centerpiece of which is a statue of Mr. Padre himself. You’ll definitely want to snap a selfie or two on this hallowed ground.

If the Padres are out of town when you’re visiting San Diego—or your trip falls in the middle of baseball’s five-month-long offseason—consider going on a tour of Petco Park. In fact, even though nothing compares to experiencing a live sporting event in person, a tour of Petco Park will grant you numerous unforgettable opportunities that you wouldn’t otherwise have. These include the chance to see behind the scenes, walk on the outfield warning track, stroll through the press box, check out a luxury suite, and more.

Tips for Visiting Petco Park

• If you are seeing other sights while in San Diego you can save some money if by getting a Go San Diego Pass . The Tour of Petco Park is included as are many other great San Diego Attractions .
• For the record, tours are available on days when the Padres have a home game, too, you’ll just find that certain parts of the stadium are off-limits due to the nature of it being a game day. This will cut down on the number of behind-the-scenes areas you can access.
• Gallagher Square is free and open to the public when the Padres are not playing a home game. When the Padres are in town, Gallagher Square is transformed into a general admission seating area. Sightlines of the field aren’t the greatest from here, but the vibe is amazing, the ticket prices aren’t bad compared to more conventional seats, and there’s a big-screen television showing the game.
• There are three major parking areas just southeast of Petco Park that are affiliated with the Padres, where parking will cost you anywhere between $30 and $50 per vehicle. There are also a number of garages and lots within a several-block radius of the stadium. However, given that this is a densely populated area of the city, those options won’t be cheap either. If you’re staying in the area, consider walking to the game or riding public transportation. It’ll save you money and be less of a hassle. If you must for any reason drive to the stadium on a game day, it’s recommended you purchase your parking pass ahead of time online.
• If you’re interested in biking to Petco Park, be advised that there are bike stands available around the stadium at the following Gates: Home Plate, Park Boulevard, Gaslamp, Downtown, and Balboa.

Check out videos on hundreds of California adventures

Touring Petco Park in Downtown San Diego

San Diego is a baseball city with a stadium right in the heart of downtown. If you happen to be there when a game is going on, then be sure to grab a ticket as it is electric being in the city during a game. If your not there when the Padre’s are playing, it is still a lot of fun to take a tour of the historic stadium and see many of the areas you wouldn’t usually get to see on game day. Here is all the information so you can check it out yourself.

• Cost: $17 for adults, $12 for kids
• Tours offered on most days; you can buy tickets here
• Location: 100 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101
• Read about all of my favorite places in San Diego here
• This information is from my visit in 2018

Getting There

Petco Park is located right in the heart of Downtown San Diego. You can drive there or access it via public transit. The best parking structure for the tour is on 7th and K St, and it is only a dollar an hour, making it a great spot to park if you want to explore downtown San Diego after as well.

After checking in for the tour, you can head to the company store and look around until it starts.

The tour is about an hour and a half long, with lots of stops all around the stadium.

Our guide was great as he knew a ton about the park’s history and the Padres. I learned a lot on the tour and enjoyed it even though I am not a baseball fan.

The tour started with the half of fame on the outskirts of the stadium. Less then half the teams in baseball have a hall of fame, so it was fun to check out.

From there, we headed inside the stadium and took a tour of the private suites first.

They were pretty epic, and I would love to watch a game in one.

From there, we walked around the old Western Metal Supply Co. building that made up the leftfield line and was built in 1909. Our guide said it is the oldest thing in baseball as this building precedes Fenway Park by three years.

The tour continued into the impressive bar space with pool tables and other games. Outside of that was a section called “The Rail,” where you can watch a game from while sitting in barstool like chairs.

After that, we headed to the press box, which had a great view of the field. Unfortunately, the field was dirt from a motocross event the previous day, but it was still cool to see.

Next, we went down to the locker rooms and then into the dugout. The dugout was a fun part of the tour, and if you are a fan, I imagine this being pretty awesome.

After about an hour and a half, the tour was over, and we were back to where we started. Even though I am not a baseball fan, it was still a great place to explore and a fun tour to go on in the city. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.

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Musical pals Billy Joel and Sting set to team up Saturday at Petco Park

The versatile music legends and longtime friends will share the stage Saturday at Petco Park in San Diego, where they are likely to team up for a song or two.

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A distance of 3,177 miles separates New York, where Billy Joel was born in the Bronx and grew up on Long Island, from Newcastle, England, where Sting was born and grew up.

But the two legendary singer-songwriters — who will perform a joint concert at Petco Park on Saturday — share more than a few things in common, no matter how different their musical styles and places of origin.

Both have won multiple Grammy Awards, are Kennedy Center honorees and have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Joel in 1999 as a solo artist, Sting in 2003 as a member of the band The Police.

Both worked day jobs before being able to devote themselves to music, Joel pumping gas and Sting as a school teacher.

Both cut their teeth playing in bars and nightclubs as members of obscure bands, Joel with The Hassles, Sting with the Phoenix Jazzmen and Last Exit.

Both went on to become international superstars, with multiple sold-out tours, a slew of hit albums and such classic songs as “Piano Man,” “New York State of Mind,” “Every Breath You Take” and “Fields of Gold” to their credit.

Both are avid jazz fans who have collaborated with such greats as Freddie Hubbard, Phil Woods and Toots Thielemans (Joel) and Miles Davis, Branford Marsalis and Christian McBride (Sting) .

Both have made highbrow literary references in their songs, including to such esteemed authors as Nabokov, Jung and Shakespeare (Sting) and J.D. Salinger, George Santayana and Jack Kerouac (Joel).

Most notably, both are baby-boom-bred heroes — Joel is 74, Sting 72 — who have been an intrinsic part of the pop-music firmament for most of their adult lives. And both now count a new generation of pop stars among their generations-spanning fans.

Olivia Rodrigo an ‘Uptown Girl”

Multi-Grammy-winner Olivia Rodrigo, 21, joined Joel at his February 2022 Madison Square Garden concert. Together, they performed his 1983 hit, “Uptown Girl,” and her 2021 hit, “Deja Vu,” which includes the couplet: “I’ll bet that she knows Billy Joel / ‘Cause you played her ‘Uptown Girl’ / You’re singing it together.”

“Biggest honor ever still crying thank u Billy!!!!!!!” Rodrigo subsequently wrote on her social media pages.

Singer-songwriter Jacob Collier, 29, who performs May 18 at SDSU’s Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, proudly posed for photos with Sting backstage at a 2022 concert in Luxembourg.

“When I think of my primary building blocks as a human being; the people who shaped my very essence as a musician, there are few who I hold closer to my heart than Sting,” Collier subsequently wrote on his social media pages.

“(Sting’s) creative output as a storyteller, singer, bassist and musical shapeshifter have inspired and sustained me since my earliest childhood days. I can remember (his albums) ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’ and ‘Mercury Falling’ soundtracking my life since before I could even walk,” Collier wrote.

Neither Joel nor Sting have had a significant pop hit in two decades or more, although both have had Broadway musicals — Joel’s Twyla Tharp collaboration, “Movin’ Out,” ran from 2002 to 2005, while Sting’s more contemplative “The Last Ship” had a three-month run that concluded in January 2015.

With or without any recent hits, Joel and Sting continue to thrive.

Both draw capacity audiences to their concerts, where many fans sing along, word for word. Their respective catalogs of instantly recognizable songs are reflected by their worldwide album sales — about 100 million for Sting and 85 million for Joel, who has not released a new pop album since 1993’s “River of Dreams.”

Sting’s most recent album, “The Bridge,” was released in late 2021. Joel’s first single since 2007, “Turn the Lights Back On,” was released Feb. 2, two days before he performed the song during the Grammy Awards. Joel closed the telecast with his 1980 hit, “You May Be Right.”

“I never wanted to be an oldies act, but I suppose I am,” Joel said in a 2016 Union-Tribune interview. “I never wanted to be a nostalgia act, but I suppose I am. But I listen to Beethoven, and that’s really old stuff. Is that nostalgia? To me, that music is as alive as it ever was.”

Billy Joel talks life & music in revealing interview

Music’s legendary “Piano Man” on songwriting, his legacy, his short-lived heavy-metal duo, sneaking into a Jimi Hendrix concert, and much more.

May 7, 2016

Perhaps not coincidentally, Joel and Sting have both delved into classical music.

Joel’s most recent album, 2001’s “Fantasies and Delusions, Op. 1-10, Music for Solo Piano,” features pianist Richard Joo performing a dozen Joel compositions inspired by the work of Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Grieg and others. It topped the U.S. classical album charts and was later reworked into a concerto for live performances.

“I only listen to classical music; I don’t even listen to pop on the radio,” Joel said in his 2016 interview. “I find myself listening to (classical) music and decoding what the composer was saying. I do that with Beethoven a lot. And, I suppose, I do it with my own music. I tend to write in sonata form.”

Sting topped the classical-album charts in 2006 with “Songs From the Labyrinth,” his collection of voice and lute music by the 16th-century composer John Dowland.

Sting turns to symphonic pop

Concert tour, album a bold move in rocker’s musical journey

June 13, 2010

In 2010, Sting released “Symphonicities,” which featured reimagined orchestral versions of songs from his solo career (including “I Hung My Head” and “Why Should I Cry for You?’) and his tenure with The Police (including “Roxanne,” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”). He also did a 2010 North American “Symphonicities” tour with London’s Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra that included a local stop at what is now North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista.

“There’s this whole universe of music that is simply limitless,” Sting said in a 2010 Union-Tribune interview. “When you think you know everything about music, you discover you can’t get to the end...”

New vistas?

This year is the first time Joel and Sting have performed co-headlining concerts together, starting with their Feb. 24 show at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. But it is not the first time they have shared a stage.

In November 2014, Sting joined Joel for a duet on Joel’s jazzy 1986 song, “Big Man on Mulberry Street.” Prior to that, Joel guested at seven of Sting’s “Rock for the Rainforest” benefit concerts between 1995 and 2008.

The two also did “Mulberry Street” together at their recent Tampa show, along with The Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” Saturday’s Petco Park gig is their second co-headlining date of 2024 and marks Joel’s first San Diego concert since his sold-out 2016 show at the same downtown ballpark. He and Sting will next re-team for a Sept. 27 performance at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Billy Joel scores hit after hit at Petco Park concert

Pop’s famed ‘Piano Man’ Saturday delivered a crowd-pleasing show, his first San Diego concert since a 2001 double-header with Elton John

May 15, 2016

Their upcoming San Diego concert comes in a year that promises many new things in store for both musicians.

After their Petco Park show and some additional April dates with his one-woman, five-man band, Sting will launch his “Sting 3.0” tour in May in Europe. A U.S. leg will follow in the fall. Both will team him with his longtime guitarist, Dominic Miller, and former Mumford & Sons tour drummer Chris Maas on what appears to be Sting’s first concert trek in a trio format since The Police’s reunion tour concluded in 2008.

That Police reunion tour grossed a reported $360 million. It culminated with a show at Madison Square Garden. Joel first performed there in 1978, a year after The Police band was formed. He began a record-setting monthly concert residency at Madison Square Garden in January 2014.

Joel will bring this chapter to a close on July 25 with the 150th concert of his career at the famed New York City venue. The 100th show of his current 10-year Madison Square Garden residency took place March 28 and will air next Sunday night as a TV special on CBS.

As of early last year, Joel’s decade-long gig at the Garden had grossed more than $200 million and been attended by more than 1.6 million people from all 50 states and more than 120 countries.

Those tallies seemed to even awe Joel last June when he announced this year’s wrap-up of his decade-long Madison Square Garden run.

“I’m kind of flabbergasted that it lasted as long as it did,” he said in a statement at the time. “My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but 10 years, 150 shows — all right already!

“I do remember the first time we played Madison Square Garden (in 1978), it was the pinnacle of my career. I thought: ‘My God, I’m headlining Madison Square Garden.’ Everybody in the world knows when you play The Garden, it’s not just New York.”

According to Billboard magazine, Joel’s concert ticket sales since 1986 have earned him a staggering $1.05 billion, with 14.2 million tickets sold.

Last year’s announcement of the Garden residency wrap-up came just weeks after reports that Joel was putting his 26-acre waterfront property on Long Island up for sale for $49 million. It includes a 20,000 square-foot main house, a 3-bedroom beach house, a pool, a bowling alley, a putting green, a helicopter pad, a temperature-controlled wine cellar and a two-story fireplace.

Sting, as of 2005, owned at least seven homes — one in New York, one in Los Angeles, two in London, two in the English countryside and a 20-room, 600-acre estate in Tuscany, Italy. In 2022, he sold the rights to his songs for a reported $300 million to Universal Music Publishing.

A devoted road dog, Sting performs so often that Saturday’s concert here with Joel will be his third San Diego show in the past 16 months. Joel, conversely, is content to perform an average of two concerts a month. It remains to be seen if that number goes up or down after he concludes his Madison Square Garden residency this summer.

Review: Sting’s San Diego concert an arresting, full-circle family affair for the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer

The veteran solo star and co-founder of The Police sounded thoroughly engaged in his two-hour performance with his one-woman, five-man band. His son, Joe Sumner, opened the show and returned to lend vocal support to his dad on two songs

Oct. 5, 2023

The wealth that Joel and Sting have amassed would easily have allowed both to retire years (make that, decades) ago, had either been so inclined. That they continue to perform and make records indicates their passion for doing so has yet to be diluted by their sky-high bank accounts. Here’s hoping that continues to be the case for a good time to come.

The Jimi Hendrix connection

Billy Joel and Sting have both cited Jimi Hendrix as a key musical inspiration. Here’s what they said about the late electric guitar innovator in previous interviews with the Union-Tribune.

Jimi Hendrix’s musical legacy being saluted anew by ‘Experience Hendrix’

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Sting, 1991: “I must’ve been 14 and Jimi Hendrix played at the Club A-Go-Go in Newcastle. I’d never seen a Black man before, let alone a Black man who was 6 feet tall with an Afro haircut and a sort of 17th-century military costume. I’d never seen anyone play left-handed guitar or destroy his amplifier and his guitar during a song. I’d never seen anybody play like that. It was terrifying, traumatic, an epiphany! I said, ‘This is what I want to aspire to. I’ll never be Jimi Hendrix, but I can do something.’

“The Jimi Hendrix Experience was the first, what we call in England, ‘muso’ band; they were real virtuosos. Seeing Hendrix got me into jazz, into looking beyond Hendrix. ‘Where did this virtuosity come from?’ So, it was quite a natural transition for me to try to discover the roots of this music.”

Billy Joel, 2016: “I would have liked to do what Hendrix did with a piano. But I didn’t ... I went to see Hendrix back in the late 1960s. He was playing at what is now Flushing Meadows Tennis Stadium, where they have the U.S. Open. I went with a friend and made believe I was one of Hendrix’s roadies. I had on a baseball cap and wrapped some (electrical) cable around my shoulder. I started to try to talk with an English accent: ‘Jimi’s got these cables I need to take to him.’ I made my way closer and closer inside the venue, and I finally got close to backstage.

“Then, Jimi’s famous roadie, Keith Robertson, motioned to me, and said: ‘You, come over here! You’re pretty good. Now, I’m going to put you to work.’ He had me lug Hendrix’s huge Marshall (speaker cabinets) onstage. ... I spent the entire concert on the edge of the rotating stage, watching Hendrix perform — and watching my friends in the audience. I couldn’t believe it, and neither could they! I did that (phony roadie) thing a number of times.”

Billy Joel and Sting

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Petco Park, 100 Park Blvd., downtown

Tickets: $69.50-$349.50, plus service fees

Online: ticketmaster.com

[email protected]

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