SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres will host the first ever officially sanctioned Pride Night at Petco Park Tuesday, Sept. 1 where the Padres will take on the Rangers at 7:10 p.m. The first 1,000 fans to purchase Pride Night tickets will receive a limited edition Pride-themed Padres hat. Additionally, in a further gesture of support to the LGBT community, $5 of every Pride Night ticket purchased will be donated to San Diego Pride, GSDBA and San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus.
For decades, San Diego’s LGBT community members have shown their pride and support for the San Diego Padres by organizing an annual unofficially “Out at the Park” event. Since 2007, San Diego Pride has been the organizer of that event which now draws roughly 1,200 to the Petco Park and nearly 500 to the pre-game tailgate. San Diego Pride welcomes the new addition of Pride Night to the official San Diego Padres event roster.
“San Diego has long been City that embraces its diversity,” noted Stephen Whitburn, executive director of San Diego Pride. “We are so pleased that the San Diego Padres are creating this opportunity to officially celebrate San Diego’s LGBT community and its allies, and we are looking forward to a fun night at Petco Park.”
Prior to the first pitch, the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus will take the field to sing at Petco Park for the very first time. “We are honored to sing the National Anthem for the San Diego Padres first Pride Night,” said Bob Lehman, president of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. “We hope everyone comes to sing along with us and enjoy a great night of Padres baseball.”
