Padres Put Outfield Shift In Motion

PADRES MISSION: The reconfigured Western Metal Supply Company Building will include a new staircase to connect the fifth-floor, 1,000-capacity Budweiser Loft to the Rooftop deck atop the historic structure, which dates to 1909. (Rendering courtesy Gensler)

Upgrades Include Staircase to Rooftop Deck

Boosting revenue and building a better experience for fans and special event attendees is the name of the game at Petco Park, where work is underway renovating the iconic Western Metal Supply Company Building that frames part of the 20-year-old stadium’s left field. The $10 million project will open for the 2025 season.

Gensler is partnering with Shawmut Construction on the $10 million redevelopment, with Garrett van Leeuwen and Ane Rocha handling finished interior design.

It’s the same team that worked on the $20 million upgrade of the park’s Gallagher Square, which opened for the 2024 season and proved to be popular with fans and accountants alike.

The reconfigured Western Metal Supply Company Building will include a new staircase to connect the fifth-floor, 1,000-capacity Budweiser Loft to the Rooftop deck atop the historic structure, which dates to 1909. That brings total capacity to 1,500 in that space, according to the Padres.

The remodeled rooftop will encompass a 4,000-square-foot raised deck with new sight lines, new private restrooms, a covered trellis, new premium lounge seating and two new 16-by-9 foot video boards. The field-facing side of the Rooftop will light up for celebratory moments.

Groups of 300 or more will be given priority for leasing the space for private and game day events.

The renovation includes the expansion of the New Era Team Store inside the Western Metals Building by approximately 1,000 square feet of new floor space, more checkout locations and improved lighting and displays.

“What we’ve learned over the first 20 years with that team store is that it gets a little congested on game days,” said Erik Greupner, San Diego Padres CEO, of the expanded and improved Gallagher Square. “We were able to declutter, optimize and increase the amount of usable floor space within the team store, add additional points of ingress and egress. We can  accommodate more people at one time in that space, which is going to increase retail sales and make it a better experience for our fans.”

The stadium’s Sony Entertainment Suite and exterior deck, an existing space situated in the left field corner of the playing field and part of the Western Metals Building, is used by groups of 16 or more and will include an expanded exterior deck, new furniture and access renovated semi-private restrooms.

Apart from that project, Gallagher Square’s new concert layout strengthened Petco Park as a flexible venue for outdoor concerts in downtown San Diego.

“It expanded the capacity of the ballpark by approximately 3,000 fans at peak capacity, and allowed us to set every attendance record this year (after) coming off of a franchise attendance record in 2023,” Greupner said.

“It’s become an even better concert venue,” Greupner said. “It’s been reformatted in a way where we can accommodate more people more comfortably with better sight lines for concerts. We go up to 10,000 in that space; it’s downtown amphitheater and we’ve received rave reviews ever since we unveiled it.”

New concessions and merchandise stands and new restrooms were part of expanding Gallagher Square.

“We’re able to increase overall the amount of food, beverage and merchandise and apparel we’re selling because of the additional points of sale,” Greupner said. “We’ve been at peak capacity now for several years in a row; this is the third year consecutively, that we’ve set a new franchise attendance record. Points of distribution really matter if they’re needed, given the number of fans that we’re drawing, whether it’s a baseball game or a concert.”

For the 2024 season, Gallagher Square added a new Daktronics videoboard that’s triple the size of its predecessor behind the stage.

“We’ve noticed that it allows the fans that are in Gallagher Square during the game to feel much more connected to the game,” Greupner said. “We send our camera crew out there, which is something we have not historically done, and show them on both the main video board in the ballpark, but also the video board Gallagher Square, so they feel like they’re more integrated into the game experience.”

For concerts, the videoboard is used as a main production element by most acts that play Gallagher Square, and the Padres spent $2 million to install a new sound system more in tune with amphitheater dimensions. As a result, it’s more of a turnkey production for the acts, he said.

Greupner sang the praises of the designers of both projects.

“Gensler works with a lot of different venues and sports properties and they have a good sensibility, as an organization, when it comes to what is cutting edge,” he said. “They understand premium hospitality. Garrett van Lewin and Ane Rocha. Ane is one of the best finished interior designers. The highest compliment I can give to Ane is that she receives the least amount of feedback from you when she presents her vision for the design.”

Greupner said he gets closely involved with renovation projects, going back to his days as Padres president.

“It’s a area of great interest and passion for me, and so I am very hands on,” he said. “I give a lot of initial vision, and then I also give a lot of feedback.”