Nov-2017

126 127 “In addition to those projects, we’ve also created some unique group social spaces. We renovated an area in center field and created a two-tiered deck that imitates a boardwalk found along San Diego’s beaches – we call it the ‘Sun Diego Pier.’ We created another large group space underneath our left field video board for about 300 people. We’ve also constructed a Padres Hall of Fame, which opened up in July of last year, right before the All- Star Game. It’s part of our ongoing effort to tell the story of the club’s history, as well as baseball in San Diego. It’s a state-of-the-art experience that features an in-depth timeline, memorabilia, video, and other interactive, mul- timedia elements. So, we look for opportunities to create more group spaces, more communal spaces, based on our demographics and based on how our fan base prefers to enjoy Padres baseball and Petco Park.” At Petco Park, there are few “down days.” “I would say our off-season is busier than our regular baseball season,” Guglielmo admits. “We continue to schedule PETCO PARK non-baseball events between October and the start of the upcoming season. We have great weather; we’re located in a downtown, urban en- vironment surrounded by the convention center, hotels, restaurants, so it’s a great opportunity for us to capture a large audience on a year-round basis. “For example, once our season ends in Sep- tember, we have a partnership with Callaway and we convert the ballpark into a nine-hole golf course for target golf, and we’ll do that for a week and a half, followed by several corporate events down on the playing field. This fall, we scheduled several instructional games with our minor league teams. So, we have a lot going on, including internal sales events to either reward existing season ticket members or to try to capture new ones. In November, we host a large charity event called ‘Padres Pedal The Cause,’ which is two days of bike racing throughout San Diego County that starts and finishes at Petco Park. We also book the traditional off-road ‘dirt’ events in mid-January and early February. So, our schedule during the off-season is very constant as it relates to non-baseball events.” Guglielmo says that scheduling events during the baseball season is doable but has its chal- lenges: “When we go through the planning process, as it relates to the baseball field, we ask ourselves, ‘Can we return the field in such a way that it’s safe and playable and aesthetically pleasing?’ And the first two criteria – player safe- ty and playability are first and foremost. If we can’t do that, we won’t schedule the event. But if we feel confident and ensure that we can pro- vide a field that is both safe and playable, then we’ll consider those events. Recently, Metallica played here in August, between home stands. We