The Padres have "sold 10,300 tickets" for this season, a 13% increase over '10, according to Bill Center of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The tickets sales for this season are also up 18% over the '09 season total of 8,700, which marked a "record low for the Padres since Petco Park opened" in '04. The Padres this season also are "running at a Petco Park-record 90 percent renewal rate from 2010 -- which was the first time that they showed an increase in season ticket sales over the previous season at Petco Park." Meanwhile, Padres President & COO Tom Garfinkel said that the team is "not planning any uniform changes at this time." But Center notes the new Triple-A PCL Tucson Padres "unveiled their new 2011 threads Tuesday and the look fell in line with a 'retro' look that Garfinkel last fall mentioned might be in the Padres' long-term future." Designed by the Padres' Creative Services department, the Tucson uniforms "parallel the current Padres colors while using the type font used by the Padres from 1978-84." But Garfinkel in an e-mail said, "The Tucson unis don't have any connection to any plans to change the major league uniforms. There are no plans for changes at this time" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/17).
BLACK MARK: In California, David Garrick reports a "divided and frustrated Escondido City Council voted 3-2 Wednesday night to spend $92,000 on consultants analyzing a proposed minor league ballpark that would be home" to the Padres' Triple-A affiliate currently playing in Tucson. Council members said that they were "upset at a recent revelation that one of the consultants they've hired to negotiate the roughly $50 million deal on behalf of the city," Charles Black, is a member of the Padres' BOD. Of the $92,000, $41,630 went to Black. The city "also paid Black $40,000 in September, bringing his total compensation from the city to $81,630" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 3/17).
