Petco Park opened in 2004, replacing San Diego Stadium as the Padres' home venue, where the team played from their inception in 1969 to 2003.

Petco Park features unique design elements, particularly the Western Metal Supply Co. building, a historic warehouse incorporated into the ballpark; its southeast corner serves as the left field foul pole.

Gallagher Square, located beyond the outfield wall, includes a community park and viewing terrace, among other features open to the public during stadium off-hours.

The construction cost of more than $450 million was partially funded by a public–private partnership which included the Center City Development Corporation and the San Diego Redevelopment Agency.

The stadium was intended to be part of a comprehensive plan to revitalize San Diego's aging downtown, particularly the East Village area.

The ballpark is also located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) away from Santa Fe Depot station, which is served by Amtrak and Coaster.

San Diego–based pet supplies retailer Petco originally bought naming rights to the stadium in 2004 for $60 million in a 22-year deal.

Following the deal, Petco has also entered a strategic partnership with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. to promote the wellbeing of pets and their parents.

The San Diego State Aztecs baseball team, of which retired Padres player Tony Gwynn was the head coach, defeated Houston.

On April 8, 2004, the Padres played their first regular season game at Petco Park and defeated the San Francisco Giants 4–3 in 10 innings.

[36] On July 13, 2013, Tim Lincecum threw the park's first no-hitter for the visiting San Francisco Giants as they defeated the Padres, 9–0.

On October 18, 2022, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies hit the longest home run ever recorded at Petco Park at 488 feet in game one of the NLCS.

Previous editions of the USA Sevens had been held at Home Depot Center in the Greater Los Angeles suburb of Carson.

From January 31 through February 2 in 2014, Petco Park's left-center field temporarily was converted into a red clay tennis court for the Davis Cup tie between United States and Great Britain.

[38][39] In January 2015, Petco Park hosted rounds of Monster Jam and AMA Supercross Championship, as a replacement for Qualcomm Stadium.

[43] On January 25, 2017, following the relocation of the Chargers NFL franchise to Los Angeles, it was announced that exploratory discussions were taking place regarding the possibility of playing the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park in future years.

[50] Season 11 auditions for the singing reality-television program American Idol were held Friday, July 8, 2011, at Petco Park.

[59] In 2011, the Food Network filmed a "Chairman's Challenge" at Petco Park that was to air as part of Season 4, episode 2 of The Next Iron Chef.

[61] On July 29, 2018, Rocket League held their third birthday party as an offsite event part of San Diego Comic-Con.

Undeterred, PETA succeeded on its third attempt by purchasing a brick, which read "Break Open Your Cold Ones Toast The Padres Enjoy This Champion Organization."

[63] Petco Park differentiates itself from many other Major League ballparks built in the same era by eschewing "retro-style" red brick and green seats.

The stadium is clad in Indian sandstone and stucco; its exposed steel is painted white and the 39,860 fixed seats are dark blue.

For the 2012 season, Gallagher Square also played host to a semi-permanent stage used by the Padres' new broadcaster, at the time known as Fox Sports San Diego, for pre-game and post-game programming.

[68] The Padres can show full-screen live game action, video replays, or fan prompts or split the screen into sections for statistical information, graphics, and animations.

The Western Metal Supply Co. building, a hundred-year-old brick structure that had been scheduled for demolition to make way for Petco Park, was saved and incorporated into the design of the ballpark.

[69] The southeast corner of the building serves as the left field foul pole, and is protected by a strip of bright yellow angle iron.

Every time the Padres hit a home run or win the game, a ship's whistle is sounded and fireworks are shot off in center field.

Beginning with the 2011 season, four torches were added to the center field wall that light up when the Padres hit a home run or win the game.

During the 2005–06 offseason, Padres CEO Sandy Alderson adjusted the dimensions in right-center field in an attempt to make it more hitter friendly.