Padres Hold Town Hall MeetingPadres, public officials, fans come togetherfor preview of Petco Park Thursday, February 19, 2004 |
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Padres Hold Town Hall MeetingPadres, public officials, fans come togetherfor preview of Petco Park Thursday, February 19, 2004 |
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by Vincent Martin
El Cajon, California — The San Diego Padres held the second
of a series of four “Town Hall Meetings” this evening to present their
plans for parking and transportation, and offer construction updates. The
event was free, and open to the public.
| Members of the public were
greeted
by Padres executives and staff as they entered the spacious El Cajon Community Center. |
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The Photographer with…
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Hall of Famer and Padres executive, Dave Winfield. |
| Erik Judson,Padres Vice President
of Ballpark Development. |
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Dick Freeman, Padres President. |
The program begins…
| Mark Grant, Channel 4 Padres
broadcaster, chaired the event. |
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San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dianne Jacob, an East County resident, welcomed the audience to District 2, which she represents. Mark Grant looks on. |
| Dick Freeman, Padres President gave an overview. |  |
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Erik Judson,Padres Vice President
of Ballpark Development, brought the fans up to date on the construction. |
| A multimedia presentation
included this
breathtaking aerial view of Petco Park as it is now. |
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Richard Andersen, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Petco Park Management, spoke of parking management and traffic flow through the downtown area on game days. |
| Mark Grant and Padres outfielder, Brian Giles, listened as Padres executive Dave Winfield compared Petco Park with other new ballparks: “…this one's a beauty…” Grant asked Giles, “What's it like working out in the new park?” Giles [who may well be patrolling the gargantuan right field] quipped, “It stinks, it's too big! I might have six home runs this year.” |  |
In a Question and Answer period this photographer
asked the following questions, posed to me by visitors to this website:
Q. “Can you tell us about the progress on the interior of the Western Metal Supply Co. building, specifically the fourth floor restaurant and the first floor Padres Store?“Dick Freeman, Padres President responded: A. “Whoever asked that question has been down there [um — you could say that…], because these are a lot of the same questions I have every day. [laughter] We are sure that the Park at the Park will be ready, definitely by opening day. We believe it will be ready for the exhibition games [April 3-4) but we're not sure yet. It's very possible that opening day will be the first day. That is our plan. In fact we are going to put Park passes on sale on February 27. As to the Western Metals building, it will be done. The fourth floor is late in this process, but it is undergoing work right now and should be completed too. There are a lot of different things in that Western Metals building — everything from a retail store on the first floor, to group sales areas on the second and third floors, up to the fourth floor, which we are going to call the Padres Hall of Fame Bar and Grill — so it will be a lot of fun to go up there.” |
Complete schedule and locations of Town Hall Meetings:
| Chula Vista: | Thursday, February 12, 7:30 p.m.
Southwestern Community College, Student Union East (610 Building), 900 Otay Lakes Road |
| East County: | Thursday, February 19, 7:00 p.m.
El Cajon Community Center, 195 East Douglas Avenue |
| Escondido: | Monday, February 23, 7:00 p.m.
Escondido Performing Arts Center, 340 North Escondido Boulevard |
| Oceanside: | TBD, but occurring during the first week of March |
For more information, please call Tim Katzman,
the Padres Director of Corporate Communications,
at (619) 795-5230.