MICHAEL RAWSON
SPORTS EDITOR

This news belongs on this Sports page, but it could just as well appear in Arts and Entertainment. Daters and entertainment seekers take notice: the cheapest nights (or afternoons) out in the city wait at Petco Park, 81 days a year.

Team Marketing Research (TMR), which compiles and compares Major League Baseball ticket prices, released its annual report last week. Among the 30 teams, the Padres fared well, which in turn bodes well for fans. The front office has slashed the average ticket price well more than any other team, cutting prices by 17 percent to $15.45, compared to $26.91 on average for the league.

In every other category, the Padres consistently fall under the league average. Programs, at least according to TMR, are now free in San Diego, while the typical program costs $3.28. Nationwide, a cap costs $14.35, but at Petco, management dropped hats to $7 this year. Parking across the country falls at $12.95, but downtown, the average spot runs fans $8. The best place to park: in the Convention Center on Front Street. While usually the lot will charge $10 – $15, spots are guaranteed (minus Comic-con week), and the walk takes less than five minutes.

Here’s the kicker: the report’s signature stat—the Fan Cost Index (FCI)—compiles the total price of “four adult average-price tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular- size hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs and two least expensive, adult-size adjustable caps.” For this, Padres fans pay merely $125.81, good for second-least in the league. (The Arizona Diamondbacks fall slightly lower.) The average national price for all that: $197.35. At Fenway Park in Boston and Yankee Stadium, the FCI reaches all the way to nearly $340.

Of course, commuter campus or not, students won’t always travel in families of four. That’s where college nights come in. The promotion began last year, and the games turned out so successfully that the team added more. Once a month, college students can purchase half-price tickets for $8, sit in a private section surrounded by peers from San Diego schools, move it on the dance floor to the live DJ’s beats and, of course, be very responsible. On Sept. 5, college night coincides with the Padres’ celebration of Oktoberfest, a pregame beer tasting. Lookout.

Individual tickets can be pricey, but park-at-the-park tickets— back to $5 this season—allow access to standing areas behind home plate and the dugouts. No ushers stand there to kick people out, as loiterers are welcome.

Then there’s food. At the ballpark, grub tends to be vastly overpriced and everyone knows it. Who’s to stop people from bringing their own? Certainly not the Padres, who allow almost anything edible through the gates. (Slice up fruit. No throwing tomatoes at the Dodgers, whether or not they deserve it.) “When we go to games, we stop for sub-sandwiches to bring with us,” fan Bruce Johnson said, “and we drink the beer beforehand—never during the game, naturally.”

Thirsty fans can take factory- sealed water bottles under 20 ounces inside, but no cans or bottles are allowed inside. Not even on college night.

Photo courtesy of Michael Rawson