Padres Owner John Moores on Friday announced details of
the club's "fan protection plan" to keep MLB "affordable for
the average family," according to Gerry Braun of the SAN
DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The plan guarantees that "at least"
10,000 of a proposed new ballpark's 42,000 seats will be
priced between $8 and $10 during its inaugural season. As
many as 3,000 fans per game would also be able to watch the
game atop the "grassy knolls" of a picnic area called "Park
in the Park" for $5. Also included are plans allowing fans
to bring their own food to games, setting aside tickets to
each game for "walk-up sales" and making seats of every type
-- including luxury-box and dugout seats -- available for
individual sales. The team is aiming to "assure" fans that
they will be able to afford to attend games in the proposed
$411M ballpark, set for a November referendum. The Padres
will "place an unspecified cap" on the number of season
tickets (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/25). A UNION-TRIBUNE
editorial praised Moores' move: "Critics may sniff that a
one-year guarantee to keep the lid on Padres ticket prices
is a cynical ploy. And that the team will jack up the
prices soon thereafter and freeze out the common folks. But
those who make that case don't know the Padres owner. He
has done everything he promised since buying the ballclub
four years ago" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/26).
