Nov-2017

128 129 have an excellent grounds crew that is proficient at maintaining our field. We had a window of ten days in which we were able to schedule the concert, and once the concert ended and loaded out, we re-sodded a portion of our outfield and got it back to baseball-ready.” Guglielmo adds that during the offseason is generally when all capital projects, and any ma- jor deferred or preventative maintenance is per- formed. “During the 2017 offseason, we’re sched- uling a solar project for the ballpark,” he reports. “We’ll be installing solar panels on top of our rooftop canopy that will equate to approximate- ly 330 kilowatts of power. We’re always looking for opportunities where we can manage this facility in a very energy-efficient fashion.” In fact, improving energy efficiency at Petco Park has always been, and continues to be, an ongoing initiative. Guglielmo elaborates: “In addition to all our energy efficiency projects, like the LED lighting, we’ve converted our hot water loop to variable speed flow; we’ve implement- ed HVAC supply air temperature reset based on our energy load; we’ve upgraded our HVAC fan coil motors; we’ve installed occupancy sensors and implemented scheduling and setback for office spaces; we’ve replaced ballpark ice ma- chines with Energy Star units; we’ve installed demand-controlled, variable speed drives for kitchen hood exhaust fans; we’ve installed temperature on/off controls for all exhaust fans; we’ve installed plug load controls to shut down equipment in concession stands during night events. “In addition, since we opened up the ball park in 2004, we implemented a very elaborate waste diversion program in which we recycle all our plastic, aluminum, and paper products. We also PROUD TO BE THE EXCLUSIVE EMS PROVIDER FOR THE SAN DIEGO PADRES AND PETCO PARK PETCO PARK n American Medical Services www.amshealth.com PREFERRED VENDOR do e-waste and we recycle our cooking oil. We have a very ambitious green waste pro- cess whenever we re-sod our playing field; we donate the old sod to golf courses or parks to allow those entities to repurpose the used sod.” All of these amenities, improvements, and upgrades have likely contributed to Petco Park being named the Number One Ballpark in America by USA Today, this past summer. In fact, the only thing that one can say is lacking at the stadium is a championship baseball team. In franchise history, the Padres have only won two NL pennants – in 1984 and 1998 – and they’ve never won a World Series. But baseball people are ever hopeful, as players, fans, and owners alike always look to next spring to begin anew. “Our ownership group is really focused on providing a team that is championship caliber and that will have a strong presence in post-season play,” Gugliel- mo declares. “We hope that will begin in 2019 or 2020. Last year, they invested close to $100 million in the amateur draft and internation- al signings, and are focused on building this organization at a grass roots level through our minor league system and player development, and we hope to bear the fruit of that work sooner or later.” Meanwhile, Petco Park will continue to be an event-filled, public asset for the greater San Di- ego Community. And, no doubt, the Padres will “get ‘em next year.”