San Diego Padres targeting 20% capacity for Petco Park on Opening Day

The San Diego Padres believe they will be able to have 20% capacity -- or roughly 8,500 fans -- at Petco Park for Opening Day on April 1 if San Diego County is moved into the red tier in the state's system for determining when it's safe for businesses to resume operations.

The county could be moved into the red tier next week.

Padres CEO Erik Greupner said Tuesday that it's possible the team could be playing before capacity crowds at the 42,000-seat ballpark later in the season. Expectations are high based on last year's playoff appearance, the signing of superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year contract and the acquisition of pitchers Yu Darvish and Blake Snell.

Because of social distancing, "There's not going to be an inch of Petco Park that isn't going to have a pod of seating somewhere in it,'' Greupner said. "The entire park will be utilized.'' He said that with season ticket holders getting first priority, single-game tickets might not be available for the first two months of the season, or even longer.

Fans will be required to wear masks. Coupled with other protocols, Petco Park "will be one of the safest places to be in San Diego," Greupner said.