Petco Park in San Diego will turn 20 years old when the 2023 MLB season begins.
And it only takes a few aerial photos from before 2004 to realize how desolate and underutilized the current downtown San Diego neighborhood was until the Padres secured their “forever home.”
These days, the adjacent Gaslamp District is part of the fan experience before, during and after Padres games.
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This neighborhood had a wealth of potential prior to Petco Park, such as historical structures and proximity to downtown. All it needed was the stadium to be the catalyst for improvement, access, and existence. Which is not entirely different from Jack London Square.
All of this is extremely interesting from an Athletics' perspective.
Oakland, like San Diego, already has lost professional NBA and NFL teams. Oakland, like San Diego, is getting extra years from the Coliseum like the Padres did at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium (before it was recently demolished in 2020-21).
And Oakland, like San Diego, probably wouldn’t get another shot at MLB if their team relocated.
Oakland Athletics
Petco Park currently is nestled in a place where people live, work, and play. One walk around this ballpark neighborhood and it’s clear to see what pride and energy it has brought to the immediate blocks and beyond. And that’s with a baseball product that hasn’t largely been successful until the 2022 season.
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Seeing what San Diego and the Padres have done since 2004, it’s not far fetched to understand Petco Park is easily a blueprint for what the A’s could enjoy at Howard Terminal in Oakland.