Hundreds of Padres fans turn Petco Park into a remote office
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Working hard or hardly working? Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
Petco Park isn't the most productive place to work, but it was San Diego's most fun office space Wednesday afternoon.
Why it matters: The vibes were high. Focus level, not so much.
Inside the stadium: We set up our Axios office in section 324 to see the Padres' "Remote Work Wednesday" in action.
- The area was packed with dozens of other fans with laptops open, including a handful of diligent employees who seemed to be actually working.
- A few were simultaneously sipping on tall boys.
- Many told Axios they kept their bosses out of the loop. Others showed up with their higher ups and some got tickets from their companies.
The vibe: Beers, Friar Franks, Airpods and unanswered Slack and Teams messages.
- "Some of us are getting emails done, the WiFi is a little glitchy, but it's OK," Andrea Osuna, a project manager, told Axios.
- Real estate agent Tal Lotzof, who we met in a concessions line with laptops in hand, said "we'll see" when we asked if he was doing more than monitoring messages.
- Yes, but: One woman we tried to talk to cut us off, saying "I'm on a call."
State of play: Fernando Tatis Jr. also came to work at Petco, hitting a walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Padres a 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Catch up quick: The theme game grew out of viral social media stunts by a local content creator.
- Scotty Muirhead has built a following showing off ridiculous places he's working remotely, like on the bluffs of Sunset Cliffs, at a spa in Encinitas or paragliding at Torrey Pines.
- "I thought it'd be funny to take my desk down to the beach because I can technically work from anywhere," said Muirhead, who works for DGW, a promotional merchandise company out of Dana Point.
- People started commenting they wanted to join, so he hosted a meetup at a local beach, then a dive bar. Now: Petco Park.
Muirhead set up his signature desk and office chair on the field, threw a pitch, and tuned into a video call from the stands.
Between the lines: You can actually work from Petco Park any day.
- Laptop bags and cases aren't allowed, but you can carry it in a clear plastic bag.
- There's free WiFi throughout the ballpark, but it's best to bring a mobile hotspot for important meetings or bandwidth-heavy work.
What's next: Muirhead is working with the city to get a permit to host another meetup at a beach later this month, followed by a beach cleanup.
The bottom line: We had a blast, and will circle back tomorrow.
