Where to Sit at Petco Park

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Petco Park is a three-level bowl: the 100s at field level, the 200s (the Toyota Terrace) in the middle, and the 300s up top. Wrapped into it are two things you do not get at most parks: the seats and rooftop built into the 1909 Western Metal Supply Co. building down the left-field line, and Gallagher Square, the outfield lawn that is the cheapest way in and the best spot for families.

At Petco, how far back you sit matters more than which side you pick. Either sit in the upper deck, where the downtown skyline opens up over the outfield, or if you spend up for the lower bowl, keep your row close to the field. Past about row 25 in the lower bowl you slide under the upper-deck overhang, which closes the view off and kills the open-air feel. Also, the main concourse here is unusually wide, so getting to and from your seat never turns into a scrum the way it does at tighter parks.

On a sunny day or for the sunset, the third-base side (the even-numbered sections) keeps the sun at your back. The first-base side looks into the sunset, though that side also looks toward San Diego Bay.

Verify before you go: section numbers, tier names, and premium-club inclusions shift year to year, and the section detail below is best-available from a fan source. Confirm specifics against the official Padres seating map and A-Z guide on mlb.com/padres within 30 days of your visit.

The seating bowl

Petco opened in 2004 with a three-level bowl plus the outfield lawn.

Field Level (100s). The lower bowl is the closest level to the action and the most expensive, and it wraps from the left-field corner around home plate to the right-field corner.

Toyota Terrace (200s). The middle level, with the premium and club zones. Sources break it into Toyota Terrace VIP (around sections 201 to 204), Toyota Terrace Infield (around 205 to 210, above the dugouts, with in-seat service), Toyota Terrace Reserved (around 211 to 217), and the Toyota Terrace Pavilion (around 218 to 225). Sections on this level top out around 15 rows, so even the back of the Terrace stays close.

Upper Level (300s). The upper deck, wrapping the bowl. No confirmed official branded name (the team and most sources just call it the upper deck or upper level). This is where the skyline view pays off.

When you are buying, know that at Petco, odd-numbered sections are on the first-base / right-field side and even-numbered sections are on the third-base / left-field side. Row 1 is closest to the field, and seat 1 in a section is the seat closest to home plate.

The Western Metal building

The signature seats at Petco are built into the Western Metal Supply Co. building, the four-story 1909 brick warehouse whose corner forms the left-field foul pole, 336 feet from home plate. The team preserved the building and wove seating into it: suites on the second and third floors, a restaurant, the Budweiser Loft, and a party deck on the roof, all looking down the left-field line.

Most fans miss this, but you do not need a suite to get up there. Any fan can visit the Budweiser Loft and the Western Metal rooftop for a drink and some lounge seating, and the rooftop was rebuilt for the 2025 season with covered seating, heaters, and better sightlines. It is one of the better places in the park to stand with a beer for an inning or two. You can find more about the food and drinks in our What to Eat section and about the building’s history in our History section.

Gallagher Square (the lawn)

Behind the outfield wall, inside the gates, is Gallagher Square, a roughly 2.8-acre lawn that is open to anyone with a ticket. A general-admission lawn ticket here is the cheapest way into the park, and the seating is what you make of it: bring nothing, sit on the grass, and watch the game on the field or the giant video board. You see part of the field, the skyline, and the palms. It is a relaxed-atmosphere spot, not a pitch-by-pitch sightline.

It is also the family hub (playground, wiffle ball, the climbable bat, the Tony Gwynn statue) and a real pre-game scene on Fridays. You can find more about the family hub and the Friday scene in our Around the Park and First-Timer Guide sections. Gallagher Square opens about two hours before first pitch.

Sun, shade, and the marine layer

The field at Petco runs almost exactly due north from home plate. The sun therefore comes up over the first-base side and goes down toward the third-base and left-field side, which gives you a rule that holds all season:

• Third-base side (even-numbered sections) keeps the sun at your back. The seats that do not stare into the sunset at a night game.
• First-base side (odd-numbered sections) faces the sunset. You take the low sun in the eyes for a couple of innings, and that same side looks out toward San Diego Bay. Whether that is a fair trade is up to you, and plenty of people take it.

One caveat on the day games, because the rule above does not carry over to them. At a 1:10 start in July the sun is 76 degrees up at first pitch and still near 40 at the end, and at that height it puts nobody in shadow. The upper levels and the back rows under the lower-bowl overhang are shaded because something is above them, not because of which way they point. On a summer afternoon the side you pick buys you a view, not relief.

A night game in May is a short glare window, four or five innings in and the sun is behind the third-base stands and done. San Diego’s marine layer also takes the edge off: the ocean air keeps things cooler than you would expect from an inland park, and on a June day the morning clouds can stay gray into the early afternoon.

The upper-deck overhang

If you remember one thing about buying a seat at Petco, make it this. The lower bowl is split by a cross-aisle, and the rows behind that aisle slide back under the upper-deck overhang. Those seats feel closed off from the rest of the park, the open-air-ballpark feeling goes away, and the view of the sky and the skyline goes with it.

So either sit in the upper deck, where the view of the city is the whole point and the seats are a genuine value, or if you are paying up for the lower bowl, keep your row in front of the cross-aisle, roughly row 25 or closer to the field. A close lower-bowl seat at Petco is a great place to watch a game. A deep one under the overhang is the one to avoid, and it is an easy mistake to make when you are shopping on price alone.

Best-value sections

• The upper-deck infield (300s). The money-saving pick that still gives you a clear view of the game plus the full skyline. For a fan who likes seeing the whole park and the city, this is the best value in the building.
• The Gallagher Square lawn. The cheapest way in, and a fine choice for a relaxed day or for families who want room to move. You trade a fixed sightline for flexibility and price.
• Lower bowl in front of the cross-aisle (roughly row 25 or closer). If you want to be close, this is where to spend, and the third-base side adds shade and no sunset glare. Skip the rows behind the aisle.

Before you commit, check the row, the sightline angle, and any obstruction notes for your seat in the Padres’ seat-selection tool on mlb.com/padres.

Premium and club seats

The premium tiers at Petco, names and inclusions subject to change year to year:

• Lexus Home Plate Club. Field level, the most exclusive seats in the park, closer to home plate than the dugouts.
• Premier Club. Field level behind home plate, around sections 107 and 108.
• Western Metal suites and the Budweiser Loft. Built into the 1909 building down the left-field line (the Loft is open to all fans for drinks).
• Toyota Terrace VIP and Infield. The premium end of the 200 level, with in-seat service in the infield sections above the dugouts.

Family and accessible seating

Families gravitate to Gallagher Square, where the lawn, the playground, the wiffle-ball area, and the big climbable bat give kids room to move with any ticket. It is the most forgiving place in the park for a restless kid. You can find more about Gallagher Square in our Around the Park section.

Accessible seating comes in three types: wheelchair-accessible, semi-ambulatory (extra legroom), and transfer (armless aisle seats). Accessible rows sit at the top of most sections, companion seats are sold adjacent, and the team offers a complimentary escort from the gate to your seat. Buy accessible seats through Padres ticketing at 619-795-5555.

How to find the right ticket

Demand at Petco Park depends mostly on the opponent and the day of the week.

• The Dodgers series tends to be the biggest draw on the Petco calendar. Add those games to your watch list.
• Weeknight games against weaker opponents are usually quieter.

If you would rather skip the alert and shop directly on the marketplaces:

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