Westgate Park

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title: "Westgate Park" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["college-football-venues-in-california", "baseball-venues-in-california", "defunct-baseball-venues-in-the-united-states", "defunct-college-football-venues", "san-diego-toreros-football", "sports-venues-in-san-diego", "sports-venues-completed-in-1958", "1958-establishments-in-california", "1967-disestablishments-in-california"] description: "Ballpark in San Diego, California" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westgate_Park" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ballpark in San Diego, California ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox venue"]

Field	Value
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	10
pushpin_map	California#USA
pushpin_map_caption	Location in California##Location in the United States
pushpin_label_position	top
pushpin_relief	yes
address	Friars Road at State Route 163
city	San Diego, California
country	US
coordinates
owner	C. Arnholt Smith
capacity	8,268
record_attendance	15,229
opened
closed	1967
demolished	1969
cost	$1 million
tenants	San Diego Padres (PCL) 1958–1967
::

| name = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 10 | pushpin_map = California#USA | pushpin_map_caption = Location in California##Location in the United States | pushpin_label_position = top | pushpin_relief = yes | address = Friars Road at State Route 163 | city = San Diego, California | country = US | coordinates = | owner = C. Arnholt Smith | capacity = 8,268 | record_attendance = 15,229 | opened = | closed = 1967 | demolished = 1969 | cost = $1 million | tenants = San Diego Padres (PCL) 1958–1967 Westgate Park was a ballpark in San Diego, California. It was the home of the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1958 to 1967. The ballpark was located in the largely undeveloped Mission Valley region of San Diego. The location was on Friars Road at US Route 395 (now State Route 163), in the northeast corner of what is now Fashion Valley Mall.

History

Westgate was built to replace the deteriorating Lane Field, where the minor-league Padres had played since 1936. Constructed for $1 million in private funds by Padres owner C. Arnholt Smith, Westgate was a modern ballpark with a capacity of 8,268 fans, with an eye to be expanded to major league size (up to 40,000) if necessary.

In 1958 when it opened, "Not even Yankee Stadium or Boston's Fenway Park can surpass the comforts and conveniences of the Padres' new home. ... This is a real ballpark, built for the game of baseball, a ballpark in which the city of San Diego can take great pride." It was named for the Westgate-California Tuna Packing Corporation.

The first Padres games played in Westgate were on April 28, 1958, a day-night doubleheader versus the Phoenix Giants. Actor William Powell threw out the first pitch. San Diego won the first game, 5-3, and the second, 3-1. The afternoon game attracted 4,619 fans, while the nightcap attracted 7,129 fans.

The American Football League's San Diego Chargers demanded a new stadium to replace Balboa Stadium, a structure dating from about 1915. With major league baseball soon to arrive, the city decided to build a single, multi-purpose stadium for both baseball and football. The new facility was initially called San Diego Stadium. This ended the possibility of expansion for Westgate.

The final game played at Westgate Park on September 3, 1967, drew a record crowd of 15,229.

The minor league Padres played the 1968 season in the new stadium, knowing they were a lame duck, with the major league San Diego Padres set to begin play the next year. Plans for Fashion Valley Mall were unveiled in December 1967, and Westgate was razed by 1969 to make room.

References

References

1. (April 4, 2004). "Previous Homes of the San Diego Padres". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
2. Crawford, Richard. (April 9, 2009). "Westgate Park a major marvel as home for minor-league Padres". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
3. Ferkovich, Scott. "Westgate Park (San Diego)". [[Society for American Baseball Research]].
4. Fetzer, Leland. (2005). "San Diego County Place Names A to Z". Sunbelt Publications.
5. (April 25, 2009). "For the record: South Edition". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
6. (September 3, 1967). "unknown title". [[The Arizona Republic]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::