A new Padres-commissioned economic study says Petco Park was not just a ballpark in 2024, it was a money machine. The report estimates the stadium generated roughly $913 million in new economic impact for San Diego, helped spark a broader surge in downtown activity and, with Gallagher Square, drew crowds to dozens of non-baseball events. According to the analysis, those concerts, festivals and community gatherings helped support thousands of jobs and sent fresh tax dollars into city and county budgets, turning what many still see as a seasonal sports venue into a year-round business engine for nearby hotels, restaurants and shops.
According to 10News, the study, conducted for the Padres by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, finds Petco Park and Gallagher Square hosted 183 events in 2024, generated about 15,000 jobs and produced roughly $1.48 billion in economic sales across San Diego County. The analysis also credits the venue with bringing in about $9.3 million per home game, for a 2024 season total of about $789 million, and delivering more than $16.4 million to the City of San Diego general fund, $10.5–$12.4 million in hotel taxes and about $3.8 million a year in countywide property tax revenue.
Who Did The Work And Why It Matters
The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation conducted the analysis for the club and provided the framework for the figures highlighted in the Padres' release. Those numbers sit inside a much bigger tourism picture. The San Diego Tourism Authority reports the visitor economy generated roughly $22 billion in total economic impact in fiscal 2024, which puts event-driven venues like Petco Park right at the crossroads of pro sports and the region’s hospitality trade. That backdrop helps explain why the team and city leaders so often present stadium upgrades as catalysts for surrounding businesses.
Padres Call It A Community Investment
Padres CEO Erik Greupner told reporters the ballpark is viewed internally as a dynamic gathering place and a community anchor as the club leans into concerts and other non-baseball bookings throughout the year, a point included in the team’s materials and reported by 10News. Team officials point to upgrades such as the Gallagher Square work as investments meant to keep downtown busy even when there is no first pitch on the schedule.
What Local Businesses See
The report says the combined activity at Petco Park and Gallagher Square produced economic sales equivalent to more than five Comic-Cons, a bit of shorthand the authors use to show the scale of spending. For hotels and restaurants, that can mean packed weekends, extra room nights during festivals and concert runs, and, in turn, more hotel tax revenue that helps pay for city services. Local operators say the steady calendar of events is key to keeping staff working and dining rooms full. At the same time, the way visitors spend around big events can look different from the broader, long-term citywide growth that some boosters like to talk up.
Economists Urge A Measured Read
That note of caution has a long track record in academic research. Studies by economists Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys have found that stadium-driven spending often shifts dollars within a metro area rather than creating entirely new wealth, with limited long-run gains in per-capita income. A UMBC working paper that surveys decades of research concludes that increases in the amusement and recreation sector are frequently offset by declines in other sectors, a reminder that short-term boosts in jobs and tax collections do not automatically equal broad economic development over time. UMBC researchers and others suggest weighing those immediate fiscal benefits against the opportunity costs of tying up public resources in stadium projects.
For downtown San Diego, the new report gives the Padres and city officials concrete numbers to connect events at Petco Park to jobs, hotel nights and tax revenue. Whether those figures signal a lasting shift in the region’s growth story or simply a valuable but limited boost around the ballpark will be a live question in upcoming budget talks and long-term planning debates.
