SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As Padres Opening Day approaches, downtown San Diego businesses near Petco Park are gearing up for the crowds while navigating the challenges of "special event zone" parking.
Special event zone signs are scattered across downtown, including right outside Tavern and Bowl. For businesses sitting just three blocks from the stadium, the zones mean they have to get creative to keep customers coming in.
Robyn Spencer, experience director at Tavern and Bowl, said the special event zone is a major competitor for small businesses.
"Being in the heart of the special event zone is actually pretty terrifying for us as a small business," Spencer said.
Spencer said the business is hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, when the parking zones impacted pregame crowds.
"We noticed is people are not coming down earlier, so we're missing a lot of that early folks that would come down in pregame with us beforehand," Spencer said.
To compete with the stadium, Spencer said she is ready to make the customer experience positive outside the walls of the ballpark by offering deals.
"$5 beers, $9 cocktails. You can get a hot dog with fries here for $8, wrap some bacon around it if you want, for a couple of dollars more," Spencer said.
"A lot of people when they come here, they are coming to go to the park, and sometimes they forget about the neighborhood," Spencer said.
The parking zones have also taken a toll on staffing. When the zones were first introduced, Tavern and Bowl lost a few employees due to the high cost of parking.
"We've lost family because they're like, mm mm, mm, I'm not trying to pay 70 bucks for a shift," Spencer said.
Rob Leyva, event sales manager, said his plan is to park further away and walk to work, which could mean leaving an hour earlier.
"The game days, specifically home opener. I will not be driving into downtown," Leyva said.
Despite the challenges, Leyva said the staff is ready for the baseball season rush.
"Still look forward to enjoying the guests that come to our tavern, we love it when they come, so it makes it worthwhile," Leyva said.
Just a few months ago, I was at Tavern and Bowl as they prepared for a busy holiday. Now, the pressure is back on as baseball season is about to be in full swing.
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