As we all know, the Comic-Con International in San Diego is a joyous and wonderful event that occurs, this year, from July 22 through July 25. As we who have gone to them know, there is one thing wrong with the Comic-Con International in San Diego. It's that so many people attend that the parking lots and hotels are jammed for miles around. A few years ago, I actually had a guest on one of the panels I hosted not appear because he was driving around and around and could not find a place to park his car. Long past the start time of the panel, he gave up and drove home.
Well, you'll be utterly thrilled to know that this situation is going to get a whole lot worse. Next week, the San Diego Padres start their season in their new home, Petco Park — so named because it was underwritten by the company that sells kibble and catnip mice. Petco Park is just a few blocks from the San Diego Convention Center and expects to share most of the same transportation and parking resources. In fact, this website for Petco Park even suggests the parking lot at the Convention Center as among the good places to park when you're going to a Padres game.
Now, we may have a slight break this year since the Padres will not be playing at home from July 16 through July 25. That, however, does not mean this spanking, new state-of-the-art coliseum will be empty all that time. There may be a concert or some other athletic event booked in there while we're around. And even if it is unoccupied this year, that can't last. Next year or the year after, we'll wind up with 40,000 Padres fans flooding into the area the same nights we're all trying to get dinner at a nearby restaurant or just get from one place to another.
What I'm getting at is that if you're planning on attending this year's Comic-Con, you might want to do some extra planning and leave some extra time. And if you're going to the 2005 Comic-Con and expect to get a parking space, I'd leave now.