San Diego is hiking parking rates near Petco Park
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Petco Park during Comic-Con 2025. Photo: Chris DELMAS / AFP
Parking near Petco Park for big events is about to get much more expensive.
The big picture: Officials this year balanced the budget in part by increasing parking rates and other fees across the city — including game-day and special event parking downtown.
State of play: Starting Sept. 1, all parking meters within a half-mile of the ballpark will increase to $10 an hour, quadrupling current rates, starting two hours before any event expected to draw more than 10,000 people.
- The elevated rate would last a total of six hours.
- City crews are installing 400 "special event zone" signs in the affected area.
- The city this month is also extending active meter times by two hours citywide.
The intrigue: The Padres in a statement to Axios criticized the city for making it more expensive for fans, workers and residents to park near the ballpark.
- ""The city made this decision without meaningful input from key stakeholders, including the Padres organization," the statement reads. "We have not yet received information regarding how the new parking revenue will be reinvested locally but look forward to better understanding the city's plan."
Caveat: Most yellow commercial zones in the city are in effect until 6pm, meaning they often offer a useful option before a game or concert.
- Green zones, which are typically available for short stints only, also usually expire at 6pm.
Between the lines: Seventeen September events are expected to qualify — 14 Padres games, two Savannah Bananas games and a Chris Brown concert.
- How is a resident supposed to know if an event's attendance is expected to cross 10,000? The city will update its website with qualifying events, and a QR code on the new signs will direct people to the site.
- Gallagher Square concerts have a 6,000-person capacity, so those will never trigger the special pricing.
What's next: The City Council last week also created a parking district on service streets around Balboa Park, a necessary step as it executes its plan to end free parking in the park.