At a glance: Padres games at Petco Park are a San Diego summer favorite. But prices for tickets, concessions, and everything else that goes into catching a game can run up the bill, especially for a family. KPBS went to a game at Petco Park to tally up the cost, and that total had reporter Jake Gotta looking for another –possibly cheaper – way to watch baseball. His search took him up the coast to Anaheim, where the Padres played against the Los Angeles Angels.
Sticker shock
It’s baseball season again and that means the San Diego Padres are back at Petco Park for another season.
The Padres had a disappointing end to the 2025 season, losing in the Wild Card Series to the Chicago Cubs. But with their “Core Four” players – Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill – all returning this year, the squad is eager to get back to the playoffs.
And Padres fans are eager to get back out to the stadium that USA Today called “the best ballpark in baseball” and got the top spot in their ranking of all 30 MLB stadiums.
Based on fan attendance, San Diegans think so too. According to ESPN.com the Padres have been in the top five for fan attendance for the past five years, and in 2025, they were second behind only the Dodgers, who have the biggest stadium in baseball.
But the price tag for a game can be an obstacle for a couple or family looking for an evening out at the ballpark. The average cheapest ticket price (meaning, the average price of the cheapest ticket to the game) for a major league baseball in 2026 is $34.82, according to an analysis of Seat Geek ticket listings.
The Padres average cheapest ticket costs $40.04, according to the analysis, the eighth most expensive in the league. And that’s just to get in the ballpark – after that, there’s food and drinks, souvenirs, and more to spend your money on inside. Earlier this year, KPBS went to a game at Petco to find out the price of going to a Padres game.
The breakdown
On a Sunday afternoon in April the Padres played the Colorado Rockies. That day, two KPBS journalists, Jake Gotta and Lawrence K. Jackson, went to the game to find out the total cost for two people.
Game prices can fluctuate based on time of day, who the Padres are playing, and what sort of implications the game has for the playoffs, according to Seat Geek.
Weekday games are often cheaper than weekends, since people have work and school during the weeks. And when popular teams like the Dodgers or Yankees are in town, the prices can jump well above the average.
Plus, early season games usually have lower price points than those later in the season, especially if the team is on a playoff run.
Food and drinks inside the stadium are consistently pricey, but you can bring your own food into the stadium at Petco Park to avoid that cost. And you can buy Gallagher Square tickets if you don’t mind sitting on the grass – those tickets don’t come with an actual seat.
By the numbers
The price for two people to go to a game at Petco Park was $134.62. That included two tickets; two round trip rides on public transportation; two hot dogs; and two beers at the stadium.
The trolley ride to and from downtown was $2.50 each way – a total of $10.00 for two round trips.
That price could be going up in the near future though, with fare increases recommended for San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and North County Transit District (NCTD).
The cheapest tickets that included actual seats – unlike Gallagher Square – were $32.70 after tax; $65.40 for two people.
Inside the stadium, the first thing a lot of people purchase is a ballpark hot dog. At Petco Park, one of those will cost you $9.15 after tax, $18.30 for two.
And a Sunday afternoon game isn’t complete for many attendees without a cold beer; stadium tall cans though will cost you $20.46 after tax. For two people, that comes out to $40.92.
There are other things beyond the basics that people buy at a ballgame. The Padres new City Connect jerseys and hats honoring the Day of the Dead are for sale at the team store; a snap-back hat will cost you $45 before tax.
Petco Park also has some special concessions; they have local favorites like Hodad’s burgers, Pizza Port, and Board and Brew.
Or you can get a sweet treat in a souvenir cup; head to the Seaside Market on the third base side and grab a banana pudding that comes in a Western Metal Supply Co. building replica, for just $12 before tax.
And the Padres are selling lobster rolls and lobster dogs – made with a chorizo hot dog – for just $39.99 each. We’ll let you decide if that one is worth it!
What's next?
With the price of a game at Petco Park well over $100, KPBS wanted to see if there’s another option. Where else in Southern California can you see a pro baseball game that might be a bit cheaper?
The next closest major league team is the Los Angeles Angels, who play in Anaheim, not LA. Angels stadium is a two hour train ride away, and it turns out that the game up there has some great discounts – after you pay for the ride up!
The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train from Old Town in San Diego to the Anaheim station costs $24 after a 20% discount that Amtrak offers in partnership with Disneyland. For two round-trip tickets, the total cost was $96.
The train drops off right outside the parking lot at Angel Stadium. Fans walk off the platform through a sea of tailgaters to get to the front gate.
Two tickets for the Angels vs. Padres game on a Sunday afternoon in April was $14.76 total; less than half the price of one ticket to the game at Petco Park.
Inside, a hot dog actually cost slightly more than at Petco Park, at $9.70 each. For two, it cost $19.40.
But the deal for beer at Angel Stadium is a good one, if you know what to get. Instead of a tall can, Angel Stadium also offers 12 oz Coors and Coors Light cans for $4.50, or $9.70 after tax for two of them.
That works out to $9.70 for 24 oz versus the 25 oz tall can at Petco that cost over $20. Beer for two people at Angel Stadium only costs $19.40.
When you add all that up, including the train ride, the total cost is $149.56 – that’s $14.94 more than the trip to Petco Park.
_
