San Diego and San Diego State played what ultimately amounted to an ugly clunker of an outdoor game at Petco Park on Sunday, with the Toreros pulling off a pretty nice win over the Aztecs 53-48. It's a really good win for Lamont Smith in his first season at the helm of San Diego, and a really bad loss for a San Diego State team that seems rudderless at the moment.
However, the hideous play from San Diego State -- who shot 31 percent from the field -- wasn't exactly the story here. Rather, it was the severe mismanagement of the event by Petco Park officials, who didn't exactly plan this one out properly. It was the first basketball game ever at Petco Park. Given the results, it could be the last.
Let's go to Twitter to hear about the myriad issues that fans faced in getting into the arena.
This line for the basketball game is ridiculous......very poor, poor planning only having only 1 gate open @PetcoPark
— Abby (@fabbylous02) December 6, 2015
@PetcoPark great idea to funnel 10k fans into only one entrance. Been in line for 25 minutes. pic.twitter.com/f4pNQL7uvl
— Choooch (@Jmiahfree) December 6, 2015
LOTS of VERY upset people outside @PetcoPark trying to get into SDSU/USD bball game.....line is INSANE @CBS8 @News8 pic.twitter.com/V1Gtpwwxpu
— Shannon Handy (@ShannonCBS8) December 6, 2015
Proof that @PetcoPark doesn't know how to prepare for a big crowd? pic.twitter.com/SgS1DYKszb
— Aaron Waldron (@waldo_aaron) December 6, 2015
Then, if you were able to get in -- plenty of people were forced to wait until well after tip-off to do so -- the gates were not the only portion of the park understaffed. Many of the concession stands around the park were not open for business.
.@PadresMikeDee @WaynePartello @PetcoPark one in ten concessions stands open. nailed it. pic.twitter.com/Z3yWeNj83X
— Cranbeery (@FoolsGoat) December 6, 2015
On the plus side, the concession lines are terrible so I won't be spending my money inside the ballpark.
— Chris Garcia (@sportsbrain) December 6, 2015
Enjoying the scene here at @PetcoPark but major fail on handling of concessions! Angry villagers.
— Eddie Messina (@PrepEd_SanDiego) December 6, 2015
There are plenty of reasons as to why something like this could happen. Chief among them is likely that the game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was rescheduled so that San Diego State fans didn't have to choose between its football and basketball teams.
However, this just seems like a total failure in regards to planning this event. This tweet seems to really nail what seemed to be the feeling around Petco Park for what should have been a tense game between two rivals in the same city.
@PetcoPark I want to thank you for the worst possible set up and execution of a sporting event, bravo!
— Andrew Simpkins (@Simpkins_Murica) December 6, 2015
Let's just go back to playing this one in Viejas Arena or Jenny Craig Pavilion next year.
UPDATE: For its part, Petco Park has released a statement regarding the proceedings today:
"We apologize to guests who experienced longer than expected wait times at this afternoon’s Bill Walton Basketball Festival contest between the University of San Diego and San Diego State University at Petco Park.
Congestion experienced at the entry gates resulted from an entry rush near tipoff coupled with a high number of walk-up ticket sales. When alerted to the issue, Petco Park shifted staffing resources as quickly as possible to expedite the security screening process, while maintaining ballpark security measures, which are consistent with Major League Baseball’s security policy.
We made every effort to reallocate resources at both the entry gates and the concession stands to accommodate the fans waiting in line as quickly as possible."
