April 02, 2004

San Diego stadium cost nears half-billion

The final cost of the San Diego Padres' new Petco Park is in: $474 million, $63 million more than was originally proposed. Of that, the team is paying $173.2 million and public sources the remainder, but even that calculation is subject to interpretation: so-called "soft costs" of public financing are estimated to add another $74 million to the city's stadium expenses, while the Padres' "private" share includes $60 million in naming-rights fees on the publicly owned stadium.