Upcomg Trip - Help

[PaulZ]

My buddies and I have been traveling to different cities to see baseball games for the past 25 years. This year we’re headed to San Diego and I have some basic questions and I’m hoping some of you on this board can help. Here goes:
1) Are tickets available from scalpers, easily, on the streets? If so, do the cops turn a blind eye to the activity?
2) I’m looking for a reasonably priced hotel near PETCO and the Gaslamp area (around $150/room) and so far, the Comfort Inn on Ash appears to be the only one. Is this hotel okay or are there others I should look at?
3) Bar, bars, bars. Which ones are a must? I’m not talking about clubs but taverns and bars and sports bars.
4) What are the must places to eat, including a good breakfast?
5) What’s a good steak place?
Any other advice is appreciated and I thank you advance for your help.

Paul

[Blowfly]

Paul here some answers to some of your questions. From time to time the Police get aggressive about scalping. I would advise against buying from any scalper on the streets no matter where you are because of the issues of stolen and counterfeit tickets and a lot of the scalpers on the street are criminals. There other avenues to pursue tickets through such as reputable ticket brokers also the “market place” which is on the team’s website and it is where season ticket holders sell off their extras there are some very good deals to be had. I would also suggest buying a “Park Pass” for five dollars this gets you in and allows you roam the entire facility as there are plenty of standing areas with rails to lean on and set your refreshments on even right behind the plate. For hotels the Comfort Inn is not a bad place or in a bad neighborhood it is just not exactly close to the Ballpark. You might want to try the Marriott Gaslamp right across the street form the Ballpark also the Omni is right there also I am not sure of there prices although their location would probably dictate a high price. Try Hotel Solamar it very nice but pricey. Bars I could write about for ever, Tivoli is a downtown dive that is worth a stop in there is new place that I have seen but not been in yet and I do not know the name of it but it is on J Street just across the street from the park. The J bar in Hotel Solamar is definitely worth a stop it is a beautifully decorated place with lots of other scenery. DO NOT GO TO THE DUBLIN SQUARE PUB!!!!!! I will not go into why just trust me on this one there are plenty of other places in the downtown area before I move on try the Kansas City Bar-B-Que it is where a lot of the wait and bar staff end up after there shifts and a few scenes of Top Gun where filmed there however I must warn you the food is very average and if a train goes by while you are there do a shot of Night Train.. I am not sure of any out of the ordinary breakfast places in the downtown area. As far as steakhouse you can not do better than Flemings it is a short walk from the Park and you might see some of the players in there. If you have any other questions PM me and answer them that way. Have fun.

I would love to see San Diego again. I haven't been there since 1987, when the bars of choice were Foggy's Notion, the Baseball Inn and in strip joints like the Can-Can (there was another big one near the Can-Can but I can't remember the name of it). This was when the Gaslamp district was still a bit embryonic and they had just built a multi-storey outdoor mall downtown, that I cannot remember the name of.

[soberdennis]

There are many hotels in downtown and most of them are comparably priced to the Comfrot Inn. If you want to be closer to the stadium, you might want to check the Hyatt by the convention Center.
As you might be able to tell by my screen name, I don't have much knowledge of the bars in San Diego anymore. There are some in the Gaslamp Quarter. But you should be careful. Some downtown bars are real dives.
I agree with the previous post about scalpers. I might suggest you order your tix online with a credit card. Then when you get to the park, all you need to do is swipe your card at the turnstile and your tix will be printed right there for you. That's what I usually do.
The KC Bar-B-Cue in Seaport Villiage is a great steak joint and reasonably priced. There are some steak joints in the Gaslamp but they can get expensive.
I think I covered all your questions. Enjoy your visit to America's Finest City. I enjoyed mine so much 26 years ago, I stayed.