The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their stretch of facing National League West with a highly anticipated showdown against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
A nice crowd is expected to be on hand for the three-game series, as the Padres recently begun selling single-game tickets and just increased their attendance capacity to 33% with San Diego County’s move to the orange tier.
Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it was common to see Petco Park at least halfway filled with Dodgers fans. So much so that the ballpark has been given the unofficial nickname of “Dodger Stadium South.”
The Padres hope to establish more of a home-field advantage this season, and one strategy they are trying out is offering incentives to season-ticket holders that keep their seats off the resale market, per Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times:
“We really, really want our season-ticket members to hold on to their tickets,” Padres Chief Executive Erik Greupner said, “because our hope is they’re going to want to be here, dressed in brown and gold, cheering for this team, and we can get 100% Padres fans in the ballpark for those games.”
“We’re going to be announcing … a special surprise for that weekend,” Greupner said, “for our season-ticket members that keep their tickets and come to the game. We’re going to have a number of really neat things for them that weekend.”
The Dodgers boast one of the biggest fanbases and usually are well-represented at any stadium they play in. That especially holds true at Petco Park, which is less than a three-hour drive from Dodger Stadium.
While it’s reasonable to expect more Padres fans will be in the stands for this weekend’s series at Petco Park, the Dodgers once again figure to have a strong presence as well.
At the time of this writing, there were over a 1,000 tickets available for Friday’s opener on StubHub, the largest secondary ticket marketplace. Prices ranged from $60 to as high as $500.
Tatis Jr. likely to be activated for Dodgers-Padres series
The Dodgers recently saw Mookie Betts return to their lineup, and now the Padres are poised to get back one of their superstars as well.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is eyeing a return to the lineup for Friday’s opener, less than two weeks after suffering a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder.
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