SAN DIEGO (CNS) - With more than 35,000 people expected at Wednesday's parade and Holiday Bowl, authorities will close roads around Petco Park and are urging people to take public transportation to the game.
The Holiday Bowl parade along the embarcadero starts at 10 a.m. and will feature balloons, floats and marching bands. Then, at 5 p.m., with gates opening at 3 p.m., the favored Louisville Cardinals will play the USC Trojans, followed by the KGB Sky Show. The first 10,000 fans entering the gate will be given one-day SeaWorld San Diego tickets.
Wednesday, several roads along San Diego's waterfront will be either closed or severely impacted in the morning for the Holiday Bowl Parade and 5k Run/Walk.
The main closure will be along Harbor Drive from Grape Street to the intersection with Pacific Highway near Ruocco Park. Stretches of Pacific Highway, F Street and West G Street will also be closed for the parade route's marshaling and disbanding areas.
The grandstand and TV area will located across from Waterfront Park in the parking area next to the Maritime Museum.
With these road closures, several bayside parking areas, including the B Street Pier, ABM and Navy Pier and USS Midway Museum parking lots, will be blocking vehicles from entry or exit between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. while the 5K and parade are underway.
Stadium parking will be available starting at 9 a.m. at Tailgate Park and Padres Parkade for those driving to the game. Parking passes for these lots start at $50 and can be purchased on Ticketmaster ahead of time.
For those wishing to avoid parking in downtown or traffic congestion, the Metropolitan Transit System will be running extended service all day Wednesday along all three of its trolley lines providing direct service to and from Petco Park.
Those coming from North County or South Bay can take the UC San Diego Blue Line, while East County residents can use either the Green or Orange lines to head downtown. Trains will depart all stations every 15 minutes for most of the day.
Fans using the trolley's Green Line can get off at the Gaslamp Quarter for easy access to Petco Park. All lines have a stop at 12th & Imperial Avenue, where fans can disembark to get to the game.
For those headed to the pre-game Holiday Bowl Parade, the Orange Line will drop off fans at Courthouse Station, just a short walk away from the parade route. The Blue and Green lines will make stops along the route at the County Center/Little Italy and Santa Fe Depot stations.
After the game, service will continue running every 15 minutes on all lines for about 45 minutes, according to the MTS.
Other things game attendees should know:
- All game tickets are digital and accessible via the MLB Ballpark or Ticketmaster apps.
- Petco Park concessions and retail areas do not accept cash; credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Padres pay are accepted
- Gates for attendees will open at 3 p.m.; the first 10,000 fans will receive a free SeaWorld San Diego ticket
For more gameday-related information, visit https://www.mlb.com/padres/tickets/events/holiday-bowl
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