San Diego has a wide range of live sports for families to enjoy. But rooting for the Padres, catching a hometown soccer game or even cheering on the local hockey team can get expensive. Here are a few ways to save some money if you’re taking kids out to a game.
Sticker shock
To watch one of the major sports teams in San Diego, the cost of tickets alone starts around $25. Those prices can easily creep up to and above $100 dollars per seat. That doesn’t include the cost of parking or transit, food or merchandise. It's common to spend over $60 per person when you factor in all the expenses. But there are ways to save some money.
Ways to save on baseball and transit
1. Watch the Padres from Gallagher Square instead of the stands
The cost of taking a family of four to a Padres game can vary widely. As of this spring, seated tickets to a weekend game start around $25-30. The closer you are to the field, the more expensive the tickets get — up to over $300 per person for the best seats in the house.
One popular option is Gallagher Square, the lawn and playground area on the north side of Petco Park. There's no seating, but people can bring blankets or soft seat cushions to sit on. Tickets for that area tend to be cheaper and range from $30 to $65, according to Petco Park Insider. The area also hosts games, face paint and other kids’ activities two hours before the first pitch at Sunday games.
Petco Park also offers free admission to children under 36 inches in height, provided they are accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. They must sit in the lap of the accompanying adult and not occupy an additional seat.
2. Bring your own food to Petco Park
If you don’t want to spend $8 on a hot dog, you can bring outside food into Padres games as long as it’s wrapped, bagged or inside a container. Sealed, soft-sided plastic water bottles, milk containers and juice boxes are also allowed. Don’t plan to bring in a potluck, though – any food brought into Petco Park must be for individual consumption.
Pro tip: If you still want that ballpark feel, Costco’s hot dog and soda combo has remained $1.50 since 1985, and the Costco closest to the ballpark is about four miles away in the Mt. Hope neighborhood. But you have to be a member, and since Petco Park policy says soda can't come in with you, drink it ahead of time.
3. Take public transportation
In September, the City of San Diego quadrupled the price of street parking near Petco Park during Padres games and other special events. Within a half mile of the park, rates went up from $2.50 per hour to $10 per hour during events that draw 10,000 people or more. Lots near the park charge between $50 and $80 on game days.
Public transit is a cost-effective alternative. There are two MTS trolley stops a block away from Petco Park. The Green Line stops at the Gaslamp Quarter stop, while the Blue and Orange Lines stop at 12th and Imperial. If you’re taking the bus downtown, the Rapid 215, 225 and 235 buses stop at City College, where you can get on the Orange or Blue Lines.
Adult fares on the Trolley are $2.50 for one way and $6 for a day pass.
Those who live further north can take the North County Transit District’s Coaster as far as Santa Fe Depot, and then transfer to a trolley line. Coaster fares are zone-based. They range from $5.00 (round trip, 1 zone) to $13.00 (round trip, 3 zones) for adults.
Each paying passenger may bring two children under five years-old for free. Public transit is also free for youth 18 and under if they have a youth PRONTO app or card on all MTS and NCTD routes. There are also reduced fares for people who qualify and purchase tickets as Senior/Disabled/Medicare riders.
Fans also have transit options to get to Pechanga Arena to catch a San Diego Gulls hockey game. MTS’ Route 8 bus has a stop at the arena along its route between the Balboa Avenue and Old Town Transit stations.
And if you’re a San Diego Wave FC and/or San Diego FC fan who wants to avoid paying $35 to $60 to park on site at Snapdragon Stadium, there’s a trolley stop there too.
In fact, MTS offers 33% discounted all-season transit passes for both soccer teams, to and from the stadium.
Soccer tips and family/kids' deals
4. Tips to take advantage of fútbol fever
Speaking of soccer, the FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to kick off across the U.S., Mexico and Canada this June. While there won’t be any games in San Diego, there will be many just up Interstate 5 in Los Angeles. Most World Cup tickets range from the mid-hundreds to thousands of dollars per person.
(Pro Tip: Try FIFA Collect if you’re bargain hunting for more affordable World Cup tickets and are willing to take a few extra steps and travel.)
But there are cheaper ways to get into the fútbol fever. Locally, San Diego Wave FC, the women's soccer team, began playing at Snapdragon Stadium in 2022 and came out of the gates with immediate success. San Diego FC, the men's soccer team, had a similarly explosive start in their inaugural 2025 season.
Standard Wave tickets this season start around roughly $37 and SDFC tickets start around $45.
There are discounted tickets for those who sit in the dedicated general admission/supporter section. Note: This is a very loud and in many cases standing-room-only area.
For Wave FC games those tickets start around $26.50, and they do offer some seated tickets.
As for SDFC games, you need to be a member of the supporter union to take advantage of the discount. The fee to join is $15 and you have to agree to a code of conduct. Single game tickets for those seats are listed as low as $35.
Both SDFC and Wave FC allow children two years and younger to be admitted for free, but they must sit on a ticket holder’s lap.
Wave FC and SDFC also offer groups of 10 or more special group pricing and exclusive group experiences.
5. Look out for family and kids’ deals
The San Diego Padres said souvenir cups are eligible for free refills for the entire event on the day it’s sold, but fans are not able to bring cups back into the building for refills for future events.
The team also offers a “Pizza Port discounted bundle for a ‘Little Kids Meal’ (pizza and a choice of nonalcoholic beverage) and a ‘Big Kids Meal’ (pizza and a beer).”
Some giveaways at Padres games are just for the first 10,000 kids aged 14 and under. This year, kids can get a team water bottle on July 12, a keychain on Aug. 23 and a lunchbox on Sept. 20.
The San Diego Gulls offer a family four-pack starting at $135. It includes four tickets to certain weekend games, four hot dogs, four bags of chips, four sodas and a parking pass. Otherwise, weekend tickets range from around $35 to $85 depending on the seat.
SDFC held their kids night this March with a similar promotion to the Padres’ lunchbox offering.
San Diego Wave FC has previously offered a free kid’s ticket with a paid adult ticket during Kids Free October. Officials with the team said they plan to offer that promotion again this October.
There are also deals available in college sports. San Diego State University offers a $35 Aztec Kids Club membership that includes admission to all volleyball, baseball, softball and women’s basketball home games. Kids must be in eighth grade or younger.
Merchandise/other live sports options
6. Get your merch secondhand
San Diego’s thrift stores are great places to find T-shirts, jerseys, bags and hats for both kids and adults. Stores like Target, Walmart and DICK’s Sporting Goods have Padres, Wave FC, SDFC and Aztecs shirts for around $20 and up.
But team merchandise is a fraction of the price at Goodwill, the Salvation Army or Veterans Thrift Stores. Plus, you might find something vintage to help you stand out in the crowd.
7. Other sports in town
While the Padres, Wave FC, SDFC and the Aztecs are the big players in town, there are other local sports teams you can watch in-person that may save you some money.
We already mentioned the region’s hockey team, the Gulls. There's also the region’s indoor soccer team, the San Diego Sockers and the region’s lacrosse team, the San Diego Seals. Plus, San Diego has a new professional volleyball team, the Mojo. And don't forget all the other collegiate athletics in town, like the teams at UC San Diego, CSU San Marcos and the University of San Diego.
South of the border, there are the successful and popular Liga MX’s Club Tijuana men's and women's soccer teams and Mexican Baseball League’s Toros de Tijuana that offer generally more affordable ticket prices. Be sure to factor in the cost of border wait times if you need to go back and forth!
8. What other San Diego-Tijuana live sports tips do you know?
Let us know if we missed anything so we can collect the best ideas to save some money watching our favorite sports teams in San Diego and Tijuana.
_
