How To Get to Petco Park (Sanely, and On Time)

Not all of the action goes down at the Convention Center. In fact, some of the most fun ways to fan out are open to the public and don’t require a badge. Here’s just a sampling of the best badge-less things to do, for geeks of all ages and predilections.

The Experience at Comic-Con

Where: Petco Park’s Lexus Premier Lot

When: July 19-22

What was known as Petco Park’s Interactive Zone is back with a new name but the same concept of a “pop-culture playground.” Three acres of Petco Park’s parking lot will host the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters, a very hungry Sharkzilla, and a semi-truck equipped with gaming pods equipped with Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox One X, and a lot more. Did we mention food trucks?

Hulu’s Castle Rock House

Where: Front Street and Island Avenue

When: July 19-22

There will be no pause button when you get freaked out at this real life house at Front Street and Island Avenue. The house will embody scary stuff from the Hulu original series Castle Rock, based on the work of Stephen King.

Family Con

Where: Liberty Public Market

When: July 18, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Though parents are probably the real superheroes, kids get to strut their stuff while dressed as their favorite superhero in this costume parade through Liberty Public Market. Scooped ice cream shop will reward the best-dressed groms with free ice cream scoops (while parents can find their own boozy milkshakes at Mess Hall Bar). There’s also a petting zoo.

The Movie Music of John Williams 

Where: Jacobs Music Center

When: July 18, 7:30 p.m.

Hear the rousing soundtracks of Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars in the setting they were intended: a symphony hall. The concert will be preceded by a costume contest. Because Comic-Con. Tickets are $30 to $45.

4 Fun Things to Do at Comic-Con 2018, No Badge Required

Comic-Con International in San Diego | Photo: Kelly Kennedy

A seat inside Petco Park is a great place to watch the Padres March 29 season opener—but it’s far from the only place. San Diegans have a long list of spots to fan out on their home team, all while availing themselves of the craft beer that’s rightfully become world famous, and the homegrown cuisine that’s getting there. These places are among your best options for watching every game, and with one exception, you won’t need a ticket to do so.

Wonderland Ocean Pub

What could be more San Diego than watching a Padres game from a bar that’s closer to the beach than the pitcher’s mound is to home plate? Ocean Beach’s Wonderland is the place for that. Located on the second floor of a building literally across the street from the O.B. Pier, the pub’s huge windows retract fully, letting in the sea breeze, afternoon light, and quintessentially beachy tableau below. Did we mention their numerous TV screens, solid craft beer list, and menu?

The Rabbit Hole

Crawl into Normal Heights’ The Rabbit Hole for upscale bar food, ample screens tuned in to Padres games, and a “High Five Hoppy Hour,” featuring $5 select local drafts, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Try the Cajun-spiced prawns in garlic butter beer broth, and the Cubano sandwich with slow-roasted pork, Black Forest ham, and gruyere. During the 7th inning stretch, you can retreat to the back patio for a round of corn hole.

Working Class

Diner-meets-sports bar is the vibe at this new North Park watering hole and kitchen with giant Jenga and other games on the patio. Early game time? No problem—they open at 9 a.m. for breakfast, serving eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and the like. The rest of the day you can fuel your fandom with burritos, burgers, a must-try Salisbury steak, and local craft beers aplenty.

Social Tap

You’d have to be inside Petco Park to get any closer to the action than this ballpark-adjacent sports bar equipped with more than three dozen TVs up to 110-inches placed around the bar and its three patios, one of which overlooks the field. The full menu sports salads, poke, truffle fries, braised short rib tacos, and more.

Petco Park Tailgaiting

Although loud music playing and games with balls and other projectiles—like the glorious pre-game pastime of corn hole—are verboten at the park, tailgaiting is very much an option. Stake out your spot, bust open your cooler, and create your own customized fun way of enjoying baseball season.

5 Best Places to Watch the Padres Season Opener

Petco Park is just one of many excellent places around town to catch the game.

Luxury Therapy

Picasa

1. Capsule Collection

This month, La Jolla’s Madison Gallery welcomes London-based artist Mauro Perucchetti and his exhibition, The Power of Love. The artist creates lighthearted works with a hint of social commentary. Example: Luxury Therapy (pictured) is a composition of resin pills encapsulating Swarovski crystals. August 24–September 24, 1020 Prospect Street

Old Town Theatre

2. Sondheim in the House

If the name “Stephen Sondheim” hasn’t been on your lips since he wrote the lyrics for West Side Story in 1957, get with it. His Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods, which debuted here at the Old Globe in 1986, will be adapted for the big screen in 2014 starring Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep. Meantime, his 1970 musical Company, about single 35-year-old Bobby who can’t commit, was one of the first musicals to deal with adult relationships and is playing at Cygnet’s Old Town Theatre now through August 18. Get to know Sondheim again. You’ll be in good company. cygnettheatre.com

Girl on the Go! Night Spa

3.Night Spa

What working woman has time for a mani-pedi on a weekday? And who wants to get waxed during lunch? Girl on the Go! Night Spa (830 25th Street, Golden Hill) came up with the genius idea to stay open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on the weekends. It offers organic skincare, waxing, massage, acupuncture, manicures, pedicures, and airbrush tanning. It’s a beauty of an idea.

4. Home Brewers, Pitcher This!

Ballast Point and the Padres are holding their second annual home brew contest, with entries due at the Home Brew Mart in Linda Vista by August 3. (Be sure to read the rules—no sours! No 8 percent ABV, either.) The winning brew will be produced and sold at Ballast Point locations, and its maker will get to throw the first pitch at the Padres–Pirates game August 19. padres.com/homebrew

Fitwall

5. Wall Workouts

With all the boot camp, barre, and boxing workouts out there, it’s easy to be skeptical about a new fitness trend. But Josh Weinstein, CEO of the new La Jolla gym Fitwall, isn’t worried. “We offer strength, flexibility, and cardio,” he says. “Where else can you get all three in 40 minutes?” The workout is done vertically on a wall, using more balance and muscle than exercises done on the floor. The gym’s 15 walls are equipped with iPads, giving you instant feedback on how hard you’re working. Weinstein plans to expand to Del Mar, Hillcrest, and other neighborhoods; then beyond to L.A., NYC, Boulder, and Portland. Be the first to climb aboard. 7710 Fay Avenue —Claire Trageser

Lane Field in the North Embarcadero served as the very first home of the San Diego Padres, originally a Pacific Coast League team. The 8,000-seat stadium was built in early 1936, when William Lane moved his Hollywood Stars south from LA’s Wrigley Field due to a losing record and a stadium rent hike. The Works Progress Administration, FDR’s New Deal agency, helped get Lane Field built in time for the season. This photo shows the last year the Padres played at Lane—1957. (Baseball fans sure looked different—when’s the last time you wore a suit to opening day? And note that only two women are visible in this photo.) That same year, the Pads moved to Westgate Park in Mission Valley. But from the Murph to the Q to Petco Park, the Padres have never left us. And Lane Field, which has been a parking lot for cruise ship passengers since the 1960s, is looking at a $115-million, 400-room hotel development project, with retail and restaurants, and a 2-acre public park. Whatever happens to that parcel of land, at least we still have the Pads. Don’t miss their home opener against the Dodgers on April 9.

Find out which players to watch this season »

Lane Field 1957

Peoria Sports Complex

» If you go…

STAY

Just down the road from where the Padres train/play in Peoria, Arizona, is the Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa (9495 West Coyotes Boulevard). If you really want to pamper yourself, stay at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North (10600 East Crescent Moon Drive), or, if you desire something wilder, lounge poolside at the funky Hotel Valley Ho (6850 East Main Street, Scottsdale).

EAT

Order yourself a juicy steak at the venerable Pink Pony (3831 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale). And you can’t go wrong with a Wiseguy pizza (roasted onion, smoked mozzarella and fennel sausage) at Pizzeria Bianco (623 East Adams Street,Phoenix). Need a postgame beer? Try the back patio at O.H.S.O. (4900 East Indian School Road, Phoenix). Also, dogs are welcome. For cocktails, try a drink at sunset at Degree 270 (Talking Stick Resort, 9800 East Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale) with a free, breathtaking view of the Sonoran landscape.

PLAY

Take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s expansive campus, Taliesin West (12621 North Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, Scottsdale), for a look at his distinctive architectural style. If nature is your thing, swing by the Desert Botanical Garden (1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix). Work off those poolside margs with a hike up Camelback Mountain. Don’t forget sunscreen and water! Best spot to watch a game? Try the nearly new Salt River Fields stadium complex at Talking Stick in Scottsdale. Look for the free sunscreen dispensers.

SPA

Unwind with a massage at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley (5700 East McDonald Drive, Scottsdale). Want to go all out? You can have your own two-bedroom spa villa for the day with a flat-screen TV, private patio, and soaking tub at Royal Palms Resort and Spa (5200 East Camelback Road, Phoenix). Padres, what?

5 Padres To Watch

Yonder Alonso

Scott Wachter

1B Yonder Alonso hopes to follow up a big rookie season that saw him hit 39 doubles. With Petco bringing in the fence, it could mean more hits.

Yonder Alonso

Scott Wachter

3B Chase Headley won a 2012 Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and led the league with 115 RBIs. What will he do in 2013? And will he get a contract extension?

Carlos Quentin

Scott Wachter

OF Carlos Quentin, the local kid, is signed through 2015. He’s cut some weight and is hopeful his surgically repaired knee allows him to stay on the field more in 2013.

Bud Black

Scott Wachter

Bud Black, the man who holds it all together. Manager of the Padres since 2007, Black—who is an SDSU grad—has command of the clubhouse and the respect of his team.

Brad Brach

Scott Wachter

RP Brad Brach had a nice rookie year in the Padres’ bullpen. A durable kid with a bright future. And, he’s dating Nashville singer-songwriter Jenae Cherry.

Can’t make it to AZ?

FOX Sports San Diego will air 10 games during spring training, March 3–30. First up: Sunday, March 3 vs. White Sox, 12:00 p.m. This year, four of the five San Diego cable providers will carry FOX Sports San Diego, up from two last season. Come on, Time Warner! Why are you holding out on us?