Padres News: Renovation Underway at Petco Park to Celebrate 20th Anniversary

This Padres offseason already appeared significant due to many important free agents and payroll questions to answer for the team's roster.

San Diego's on-field product is certainly set to change with these factors but the team announced that Petco Park will also change to better serve the city's community.

Today, the Padres broke ground on Gallagher Square to begin renovations in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of @PetcoPark in 2024!

We are excited to bring expanded amenities to the community, including a baseball-themed playground, community dog park and more.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 9, 2023

Gallagher Square's renovation also coincides with a change to Tony Gwynn's statue display; a shift that the late great's family surely appreciates to commemorate his legacy.

Alicia Gwynn spoke about what it means to the Gwynn family to have Tony Gwynn's statue elevated, and surrounded by an expanded viewing deck in order to be better aligned with the statue of fellow Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman:

🎥: @Padres pic.twitter.com/81aM0OhUK6
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) October 9, 2023

Gwynn's statue will now be on similar display to Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman's likeness as the two Padre legends can collectively stand watch over the ballpark.

Both men played a majority of their careers in San Diego, but the city now has new legends to root for on the current roster.

Superstars such as Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Manny Machado all litter the roster with their immense talent night in and out for San Diego.

With these players, the Friars reached their first NLCS since the 1998 season in 2022 and though the team failed to make a playoff run this season, fans couldn't be happier with the team.

2023 marked the highest attendance rate in Petco Park history as 3 million fans watched San Diego play this year a new team record.

GM AJ Preller fielded yet another competitive roster in 2023 and the team finished with a winning record as the third-best team in the NL West, albeit well below preseason expectations.

Even as their season is over, San Diego has plenty to cheer about elsewhere in the baseball world.

Arizona is on the verge of repeating the Padres' 2022 season after they took a 2-0 lead against the NL West champion Dodgers on Monday night.

Should the result hold, the Padres certainly won't feel as bad for their disappointing season and the offseason changes on the way will certainly ease such a blow even more.