Padres limit tight postseason ticket sales to San Diego area fans – San Diego Union-Tribune

The Padres welcomed the largest crowd in Petco Park history to Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday. Then they surpassed that number with 47,705 people watching Wednesday's decisive game against the Atlanta Braves.

After breaking attendance records in consecutive years with 3.3 million fans streaming through the turnstiles, it's clear that the Padres have no problem filling their Gaslamp District park.

They just don't want Dodgers fans crashing the party next week. (Or any other fan base.)

For the second time in three years, the Padres are selling playoff tickets on their website only to residents of San Diego, Baja California and Imperial, Southern Orange, Southern Riverside, La Paz, Mohave, Yuma and Clark counties.

The thing is, after a pre-sale for season ticket members, there were fewer than 1,000 tickets left for any possible game and they were gobbled up within minutes of going on sale Saturday. Only suites are available.

If you're a fan looking to commute from Los Angeles to cheer on the Dodgers, the secondary ticket market is your only way into Petco Park next week, like so many blue-clad fans have over the years.

The cheapest ticket available on StubHub is $204 for a general admission ticket at Gallagher Square. If you want to sit down, it costs $312 to sit in section 325.

The offers at SeatGeek are comparable.

The postseason county limit policy began in 2022 as the Padres sought to preserve their home-field advantage over the visiting Dodgers in the Division Series.

During the organization's lean years, Padres players have noted the number of opposing fans who flock to their park.

Padres fans have now turned Petco Park into a legitimate home-field advantage.

“Pitching in front of them is something I absolutely love,” Michael King said after throwing seven shutout innings against the Braves on Tuesday. “I’m really glad we had the home field for the wildcard because I think it’s a tough place to play as an opponent.”

Originally published: October 3, 2024 at 4:51 p.m