With the Major League Baseball season roughly half completed, I thought this might be a good opportunity to string together some thoughts regarding the new Petco Park. Before it opened officially, I took a tour of the new facility and have since been to three games in person.

During our first trip to Petco, my wife and I saw the Padres lose to the Dodgers, but we got to experience the guilty pleasure of paying $28 for two hot dogs, two cups of coffee and an order of French fries, which were delivered to our seats with due dispatch. Perhaps the concessionaire didn’t want to give us the opportunity to mentally calculate the tab and cancel the order.

I was born in the South and raised in the Midwest, so my concept of architecture is a cross between stately homes with white columns and a large front porch, and buildings made of red brick. Think of Scarlett O’Hara’s home ‘Tara’ from "Gone With the Wind" made of bricks. Psychiatrists from all over San Diego are reaching for their phones right now to try and schedule therapy sessions with me.

In my experience, although I have now lived a third of my life in California, important buildings are made of brick. So now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let me give you some thoughts on the Petco Park experience itself.

First the good news. As a baseball fan, the seating configuration couldn’t be better. All of the seats in the park (Padre officials really don’t like the use of the term ‘stadium’ as it applies to their new home) face home plate. Qualcomm Stadium was a multi-purpose venue, meaning that football and baseball coexisted in the same building. When that happens, football wins and the resulting baseball seating angles are often not favorable to the ticket-buying public. The reverse is true at Petco Park.

Next, the huge replay screen in left field is amazing. The color and sharpness of the screen alone may be worth the price of admission. Well, with some of the ticket prices I’ve seen, maybe not, but the screen is state of the art in every way.

The concourses are spacious and have terrific sight lines of downtown, the surrounding city, the bay and the Coronado Bay Bridge. In fact, the concourses may be too large. While trying to leave the park after a recent game, it seemed like there were 10 different streams of people headed in each direction, each without a coherent exit strategy. You could play a full-scale touch football game in one of the concourses and have plenty of room in every direction.

Another nice feature is the presence of more than 900 television sets scattered throughout the facility. You almost have to try to miss the game when you are in line at a concession stand. And the odds are you will be in line for a while during your visit.

The Padres did an excellent job of updating the number and location of restrooms. There are 29 facilities for women and 21 for men. Also, Petco Park is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and features excellent handicapped seating opportunities which are available throughout the building.

Given the preamble to this column regarding brick buildings, it should come as no surprise that my favorite part of the park is the Western Metal Supply Building in left field. Constructed in 1909, it serves as a throwback to early San Diego, while simultaneously housing the main Padres gift shop and 12 party suites that can be rented for games. A portion of the building also serves as the left field foul line, which is unique. Huge, old wooden support beams were retained in the lower portion of the building, which lends itself well to the atmosphere. The structure itself is approaching 100 years of age, but in its remodeled state, is still gorgeous.

On the negative side, the "batter’s eye," the large wall structure in center field that provides the backdrop for hitters to more easily see the ball during the games, sticks out like a huge, dark green after thought. It also serves as a sharp divide between stadium seats and the "Park at the Park," where you can watch a game on the grass and bring your own food for $5 per ticket. That may be the best ticket deal in all of professional sports. The Padres plan to grow ivy on the wall to soften the appearance, but it still isn’t attractive.

My main problem with the structure is that there is white paint everywhere, except where there is sandstone. The net result is that Petco Park has an unfinished look and feel to it, like this is the primer coat and that the real finish will be applied the next time the team is out of town.

Aside from the minor complaints registered above, spurring the redevelopment of downtown San Diego will likely prove to be the most enduring and important legacy of Petco Park. Currently 31 building projects of various shapes and sizes are underway downtown, many sparked by the construction and presence of the park. New condos, apartments, parking structures, and condo conversions are all present and they come in low, moderate and high income housing levels. If you are in construction and aren’t working on a project in San Diego, basically you aren’t trying.

With apologies to W.P. Kinsella and his book "Shoeless Joe," which was the basis for the movie "Field of Dreams," there is a certain "build it and they will come" quality to downtown now, which hasn’t existed in many years.

Petco Park is still very much a work in progress. A Padres museum is in the planning stages. Touring the park now you would think that the San Diego National League Baseball Club started play in April 5, 2004, rather than April 8, 1969. Also, there will be some cosmetic changes to the park, making the décor darker and perhaps more inviting to the fans.

A final reminder that Coronado Youth Football and the CHS Football Boosters Club are collaborating on the first Coronado Football Clinic, open to kids ages 7-15. The clinic will be held Sunday July 25, 2004 from 1-5 pm at the Coronado Cays Field, adjacent to the firehouse. Participation in the clinic will cost $25 per child. Signups will start at 12 noon the day of the event.

There will be a picnic following the clinic, with the players receiving a meal as part of their registration fee. The meal for adults will cost $3 per person. Food for the event will be donated by the Islander Sports Foundation.

Individual stations, covering the fundamentals of football will be set up and manned by the CHS high school coaches and varsity players. The youngsters will go through the stations to learn the basics of blocking, tackling, throwing and kicking. The stations will focus on offensive and defensive line play, linebackers, defensive backs, running backs, quarterbacks, agility drills and conditioning.

Among the participating instructors will be CHS Varsity Head Coach Bud Mayfield and CHS JV Coach and S.D. Youth Football Coaching Director Tony Isabella.

For more information regarding the Coronado Football Clinic, please contact CHS Football Booster Club President Ken Maskevich at 437-8319.

Speaking of football, CHS star running back J.T. Rogan played in the 14^th Annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic, held recently at Mesa College. Rogan acquitted himself well, gaining 59 yards on 11 carries and helping lead his South teammates to a 43-7 victory over the North. Rogan also threw a key block that helped free teammate DeMarco Sampson (Castle Park) for a key 43-yard punt return.

"It was great to play with players of that caliber," said Rogan. "I enjoyed running behind a 300-pound line. San Diego Charger Donnie Edwards was there also. He commented on a great block that I threw and my hard, straight-ahead running style."

For the Coronado High School and Coronado Middle School athletes, circle Monday, August 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, as the date and time for your athletic physicals for the coming year. Physicians Dr. Patricia Kettlehake and Dr. Laura Fagerlund have agreed to head the effort this year.

Athletes should assemble on the fourth floor of the parking lot at the Bank of America Building, located at 1050 B Avenue. The physicals will be given at the Coronado Specialty Medical Center.

Please note that all athletes must have a valid, current physical before they can begin practice with a CHS or CMS team, at any level. Physical forms may be downloaded from the Islander Sports Foundation’s website, which is www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com, or picked up at Coronado Middle School during summer school hours. All physical forms should be filled out by parents before going to the medical center. Checks should be made payable to CHSASB Athletics.

The doctors provide the physicals, which cost $15 per athlete, or $25 if there are two athletes from the same family. For three or more athletes from the same family, the charge is $10 per athlete. The fees are then donated back to the CHS athletic department and are used to purchase training supplies (athletic tape, wraps, etc.) for the year.

Next week we’ll have information regarding the Coronado High School fall sports, contact information and start dates for the sports.