SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Padres fans will get their first chance to see the team play live since the 2019 season during spring training at the team's Peoria, Ariz., facility this season.
The team says Spring Training tickets will go on sale starting Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 8 a.m. Season ticket members had first crack at games during a Tuesday presale.
This season, adjustments have been made due to the pandemic. Tickets will be available to buy for single seats or in pods of two, three, or four seats in the seating bowl. Options for two-, four-, or six-seat pods are available for berm seating in the outfield lawn area. Tickets can be purchased online here.
Fans over the age of two will be required to wear a face covering at all times, except when eating or drinking in their seats; practice social distancing; and limit any unnecessary movement throughout the ballpark.
Other changes to spring training this season include:
- Players will not be able to sign autographs before games
- Bags will not be allowed into the stadium
- Games may be shortened from 9 innings to 7 or five if agreed upon by managers
- Fans cannot access team practice fields
- No spitting (tobacco, sunflower seeds, etc.)
The stadium will also be utilizing cashless systems and offer a limited menu. Hawkers will not be in the stands for concessions.
Padres fans were split on whether they would be willing to go to Peoria for Spring Training.
Jamie Meronoff, a season ticket holder, said he would very much like to head to Arizona with his dad and brother, per family tradition.
"The opportunity to go and see the most exciting team in baseball, who happens to be my childhood team, I don't care if I'm sitting behind the left-field foul pole, I just want to be in the stadium, hear the crack of the bat and eat a hot dog," he said.
Meronoff said he felt more at risk going to a local grocery store than sitting outside at a baseball game.
But Joseph MacRae, a die-hard fan who has gone to Spring Training before, said he felt uncomfortable given the looser social distancing restrictions in Arizona.
"My friends, nurses, doctors, have told me so many things that I'm just going to respect their opinion on this because they're the professionals," said Macrae. "I will see baseball. I can wait one extra month or whenever it happens in San Diego, but I am going to have to pass on Peoria right now."
The Peoria Sports Complex will only allow in enough fans for 16% capacity, or about 1,960 fans. The team and league will be enforcing safety protocols in accordance with the state and local protocols. More information on the facility's protocols can be found online here.
The team's first game will be on Sunday, Feb. 28 against the Seattle Mariners.
