The cost of Padres season tickets will generally be higher in 2025, though the increase is relatively small compared to recent hikes.
In an interview, Padres CEO Erik Greupner said the increase amounts to a 3 percent weighted average across the board.
“We felt like it was not the right time to continue to take a large increase year over year in ticket prices,” Greupner said, citing the overall effects of the economy on consumers.
Some season-ticket holders will see a larger increase while others will experience a slight decrease in the cost of their ticket package.
This is the fourth consecutive season in which Padres season-ticket prices have risen. After a period of five seasons (2017 through ‘21) in which the Padres did not raise season-ticket prices, they increased prices by a weighted average of 20 percent in 2022, 18 percent in ’23 and 9 percent for ’24.
“We feel it is the appropriate point in time to moderate those increases,” Greupner said. “We could be more aggressive this year and still have a lot of our season-ticket members renew. We just don’t think now is the time.”
Padres season-ticket holders received an email Monday night notifying them of the price increase and attributed it to “continued investment in the ballpark experience and strong demand” for tickets.
The letter, which was signed by Greupner, began by detailing this season’s highlights and the team’s star power.
The Padres drew their 37th sellout on Sunday and, with help from the expansion of Gallagher Square, have set the single-game record for attendance at Petco Park three times this season. They rank fourth in the major leagues in average attendance (41,037) and, with 22 home games remaining, are on pace to break last year’s Petco Park attendance record of 3,232,310.
The waiting list for season-ticket memberships has swelled, and the Padres anticipate increasing their season-ticket base but still capping that number for 2025. That base is at the equivalent of slightly more than 24,000 full-season tickets this season.
“We’re incredibly grateful for our fans,” Greupner said. “We have the best fans in baseball. … It is nothing short of an electric environment pretty much every game. That is the direct result of the passionate, faithful response from our fans.”
The Padres were the only MLB team to hold season ticket prices steady from 2017 through ‘21. (Some other teams had decreases in one or two of those seasons and/or remained flat multiple years in that time, but the Padres were the only team to not have an increase in any of those five seasons.)
According to the team, it doubled revenue from 2019 to ’23. But that revenue was outpaced by increases in payroll. The Padres were one of two teams to increase payroll every season from 2018 to ’23.
While the 2024 payroll is down nearly $90 million from last year’s franchise-record $255 million, this year’s estimated expenditure of $169 million ranks 15th in the major leagues and is an increase of some $51 million over five years ago.
This year’s team, which has won 11 of its past 14 games, entered Monday in possession of the second of three National League wild-card spots and 4½ games behind the Dodgers in the National League West standings.
“We feel like we’re making good on the promise to field a championship-caliber, competitive team,” Greupner said. “That’s something we’re going to continue to do for years to come.”
Greupner also reiterated a pledge to continually update Petco Park.
“Our goal is for it to never look more than five years old,” Greupner said. “We’re going to continue to invest in and maintain the ballpark.”
The email alluded to season-ticket holders having the benefit of priority purchase opportunities for 2024 postseason tickets. Greupner said no date has been set for when those tickets go on sale but that after member purchases “not very many” postseason tickets will be available for sale to the general public.
Season-ticket holders will receive their 2025 invoices on Tuesday.
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