Petco Park named second-best MLB stadium
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Not a bad view at sunset. Photo: Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres via Getty Images
Petco Park is the second-best ballpark in the MLB for the 2024 season, per the USA Today Readers' Choice rankings released yesterday.
Why it matters: The recognition for the San Diego Padres' iconic stadium offers a bit of redemption from the sixth-place ranking by USA Today Network baseball reporters and editors earlier this month.
The downtown ballpark, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this season, can turn practically anyone into a baseball fan with its downtown skyline views, robust food and beer selection and Gallagher Square (currently undergoing a $20 million renovation).
The latest: The remodeled Gallagher Square is on schedule to be unveiled at the sold-out Padres FanFest on Sunday, a Padres spokesperson confirmed to Axios, though construction is still ongoing.
- It will feature a larger gathering space and a tiered, amphitheater-style seating area on turf with a new video board at the Sycuan stage to watch the action.
- A new elevated viewing deck will showcase the Tony Gwynn statue and fans' engraved bricks, plus concessions.
- There will also be a new playground, upgraded and relocated kids' ball field, and off-leash dog park.
What they're saying: USA Today baseball reporters and editors called Petco Park "the most aesthetically pleasing baseball facility ever built," with a nod to the late architect Antoine Predock who designed it.
- "The ballpark's exterior and concourses would be at home in a museum and its landscaping in a topiary hall of fame," they wrote.
What's next: Get tickets to the Padres' opening homestand against the San Francisco Giants next week.
