Parking meter rates in a new “special event zone” near Petco Park are now $10 per hour for Padres games and other special events.
The zone includes areas south of Broadway, west of Interstate 5, east of State Street and north of Harbor Drive. According to the city of San Diego, the rates will start two hours before and four hours after the start of “major stadium events,” which includes events with 10,000 guests or more.
A map of the Petco Park special event zone highlighted in blue. (City of San Diego)
It went into effect for Tuesday’s San Diego Padres game against the Baltimore Orioles.
“I think that’s going to have a really big impact, like more than just the game, because the area is so wide,” Padres fan Anne Ehart said. “If I now park at or near a spot at this salon, I would be impacted by the event parking, paying $10 an hour just to get my hair done.”
Some San Diegans say there could be some positives that come from the change.
“I know a lot of people like to drive to the games, so I think one positive impact could be that more people start taking the trolley,” Ehart said.
The move is an effort by the city of San Diego to raise revenue through parking fees. NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry spoke with Padre fans and business owners about the new higher rates.
The city said the parking changes were made to improve the management of on-street parking, “enable greater investment” in areas with meters and bring San Diego in line with parking fees in other major cities.
In a news release, the city compared its fees to the city of San Francisco’s, which charges $12 per hour during events at Oracle Park and Chase Center.
“The city’s decision to raise parking meter rates by 700% since last year, reaching $10 per hour before and during events at Petco Park, will make it significantly more expensive for fans, workers and residents to park on the streets surrounding the ballpark,” a Padres spokesman said.
The new parking meter rates do not affect people with disabled placards or license plates.