San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
NOT-SO-CHEAP SEATS
Fans living in downtown condos will get faraway views of Padres this year
“I feel very, very fortunate to have that view. It means even more to me now, knowing that fans can’t go to games.”
Tony Desantis • Owner of condo which overlooks Petco Park
When Tony Desantis moved into his two-bedroom downtown condo overlooking Petco Park, he never thought that a year later, he would be part of a small group able to watch a Padres game live rather than on television.
“It never even crossed my mind,” Desantis said.
Yet he finds himself here, one of only about a few hundred owners and tenants with coveted balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows that peer into Petco Park from high in the sky, a fan’s dream during a baseball season that has closed its gates to spectators while playing through a pandemic.
The 51-year-old Desantis and his wife, Adriana, both passionate Padres fans, live in The Mark, a high-rise building two blocks from Petco Park. When Desantis first walked into the unit on the 21st floor and saw the views, he knew he had to call it home.
“I told my wife I don’t care about the rest of the house,” he said.
The couple can see almost the entire field; only deep parts of the outfield are blocked. A pair of binoculars rests near the window to catch the tiniest of details. When COVID-19 shut down the season in
March and players began working out at Petco Park, Desantis tracked the action with an assist from his wife, who sends pictures and videos when he’s out running the auto detailing business he owns. During games, he’ll perch on his balcony, a .394 San Diego Pale Ale in hand.
“I can hear the crack of the bat, everything,” Desantis said. “I feel very, very fortunate to have that view. It means even more to me now, knowing that fans can’t go to games.”
Even closer to the field — on top of it, practically — lives Chip Messenger,
a 45-year-old financial planner who leases a condo on the 15th floor of The Legend. With Gallagher Square (formerly known as Park at the Park) directly below, Messenger’s balcony practically rivals the nosebleed seats inside the stadium, as Petco's massive video board blocking left field is the only obstruction.
“I’ve lived there for a decade, and it never gets old,” said Messenger, a Padres fan for 22 years.
About two weeks ago, after Major League Baseball announced it would play a 60-game schedule, Messenger sent out the following tweet: “If @MLB starts in July my balcony will be one of the only places to watch live baseball @Padres.” Within 24 hours, it was retweeted nearly 400 times, favorited more than 5,000 and had 200plus replies. Strangers offered to bring beer or tri-tip in exchange for an invite. Messenger, who has around 150 followers, was blown away by the reaction.
“I posted because I love baseball and I recognize this is an interesting situation, that what I have always enjoyed myself, people won’t have access to,” he said. “Then all of a sudden it took off.”
He was featured on the cover of The Wall Street Journal and has shuffled a number of media requests, but said he didn’t do it for attention.
“This has been probably the most challenging year for just about every human being. It’s something that’s pervasive. It’s not like you’re going through a tough time or I’m going through a tough time; we’re all going through this,” Messenger said. “It all kind of stinks. I think people need people.”
To that end, Messenger said he plans to have friends over to watch games from his balcony as often as possible, while wearing masks and following the safety and social-distancing protocols issued by his building. The Legend also features a seventh-floor amenities deck that is even closer to the field than his balcony (“You can take a nickel and
throw it into the bullpen of the Padres,” he said) and is considering inviting “random people” to watch games from one of those two spots.
“I don’t have a system or a process yet,” he replied, when asked how he would vet people he doesn’t know. “I should probably figure out, is there a waiver or something? I should be smart about it.
“I’m more than willing to have a guy and a couple of kids and his wife. I think that would be cool, to invite kids who like baseball who aren’t getting a chance to watch it.”
As the Padres ready themselves for a unique 60-game season with a number of restrictions that include an absence of fans in the stands, the blocks surrounding Petco Park may provide the only promise of energy.
“Fans are a huge part of this game, especially for a home-court advantage,” said shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. “I feel like that’s going to go down a little without the fans, but we just gotta rise to the occasion. We gotta bring our own energy. Hopefully we can make that happen.”
The team is currently experimenting with piping in crowd noise, playing music and putting items in seats, like stuffed animals. But what if players were able to hear fans cheering from outside the ballpark? It’s an idea Desantis is behind.
“I’ll be adding energy, I know that,” he said. “We did the 8 p.m. shoutouts for the longest time, for the first responders. It was the neatest thing. We all go outside cheering, honking horns. It brought everyone together. I’m hoping we can do something like that for the Padres.”
Besides private balconies and building decks, Altitude, a rooftop restaurant and bar at the Marriott San Diego Gaslamp Quarter that overlooks Petco Park, will also be open on a modified schedule, provided the pandemic doesn’t cause more closures.
“The great thing is that you can hear the pop of the ball and the crack of the bat from up there,” said General Manager Jeffrey Burg, who added that the hotel is strictly enforcing the health and safety guidelines set forth by the county and state. Although groups won’t be allowed to congregate and cheer like normal seasons, patrons can watch the game while sitting at the “drink rail” and ordering food off a ballpark-style menu. The hotel also has rooms that peek into Petco Park, perhaps enticing families who want to purchase takeout from Altitude and watch from their windows, as the establishment is 21-and-up only.
Several other condominium buildings, including Diamond Terrace and Icon, boast viewing decks adjacent to the ballpark as well.
“I need to figure out what the legality is of getting one of those air horns,” said Messenger, laughing. “I think that none of us has any idea what this is going to be like. It’s going to be surreal. We could potentially be the only stadium that actually has fans cheering for our team. The Padres could lead the fans in attendance compared to any other stadium if you just count all the people who are going to be out there cheering and watching. So maybe it creates a little energy.”
Said infielder Greg Garcia when asked to consider the idea: “I think if we get a big hit or strike someone out on the other team and we can hear people cheering, I think it would be pretty cool. We’ll be able to hear them. The sound will travel enough. … It’s something unique to Petco, something that not a lot of other stadiums can offer. If anything it might create a cool little atmosphere as long as everyone’s being safe about it, like social distancing and wearing masks.”
The Padres are scheduled to kick off their 2020 season July 24 against the Diamondbacks at Petco Park. At a time when the season would normally be more than halfway over and the Gaslamp Quarter would be teeming with home and visiting fans alike, there has been an eerie silence.
“It’s been sad and depressing,” Messenger said. “You just look out there and see what isn’t.”
Major League Baseball faces significant hurdles to reaching opening day as coronavirus cases rise and the unknown looms large. If they do get there and the first pitch of the season that counts is thrown, it will be a historic moment that fans will see, well, mostly from their couches.
“You know what’s going to happen,” Desantis said. “The Padres are going to win the World Series and they’re going to put an asterisk next to us. That would be our Padres.”
Still, he’ll take every throw, slide and hit he can get from his balcony. For now, the best seat in the house.