Visiting Petco Park

My goal this year is to visit every major league ballpark in California at least once, and to visit as many of the minor league parks as I can.  To that end, during a recent visit to San Diego, I took a tour of Petco Park, and attended a game against the visiting Diamondbacks.

Petco is made of imported Indian sandstone, and includes this nifty waterfall at the main gate.

Me, in the press box.

Visitors' dugout.

Batting cage under the park.  I don't know who was taking batting practice here, but during the tour, we got to watch for a short time.

This is the Padres' pitchers' warmup bullpen.  Note the flowers, the cushioned seats.  The visitors' pitchers' warmup bullpen has a couple folding chairs, no flowers.  

The Padres' organization has a strong military connection.  Servicemen and women receive discounted tickets, and throughout the park, the team acknowledges and celebrates the military.  This wall includes a Padres' Veterans Hall of Fame, with portraits of Padres who'd served.  Another wall featured the names of every ball player who ever served, along with a scale model of an aricraft carrier.

I've never seen a ballpark so dedicated to growing plants wherever possible.  There are more than 10,000 plants in the park, and some grow more successfully than others.  These bouganvillia (sp?) hang down three stories.