PETCO Park Insider

World Baseball Classic at Petco Park

The World Baseball Classic is a new tournament featuring 16 teams from the most baseball-crazy countries around the world. Some of the best players in the game will be playing for their home countries of China, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Panama, Puerto Rico, Australia, Venezuela, the United Staes and more. Many major league all-stars have signed on to play, lincluding Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens and Vladimir Guerrero, and the San Diego Padres own Jake Peavy. The tournament takes place March 3 to 20 in Tokyo; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; San Juan, P.R.; Anaheim, Calif.; and San Diego.

San Diego will be the host city for the semifinals and the finals on March 18 and 20, 2006.

From the New York Times:

‘’Three times as many people say that they are going on vacation for a sporting event as opposed to those that say they are going to a spa,’’ said Rod Caborn of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, a travel industry research firm that annually tracks the attitudes of vacationing Americans.

This is good news for a city like San Diego, which is already reaping the benefits.

‘’I really believe that the whole city will be on fire for this weekend,’’ said Steve Schell, the associate vice president of sales and services for the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. As host to the semifinals and the finals, San Diego is perhaps the tournament’s top destination and could feature blockbuster matchups like the United States vs. Japan, or Cuba vs. the Dominican Republic. Tickets are $15 to $60, and the games will be held at Petco Park, the regular-season home of the Padres.

Visit the official site for the World Baseball Classic.