Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch shares a beer with his Parkloft neighbor, and Olhausen Billiards president, Gregg Hovey on Koch's balcony in anticipation of cheering for the Padres on opening day (and beyond).

As the owner of a ninth-floor Parkloft home that overlooks Petco Park, Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Co., is planning to grill “T&H sausages and drink great beer” with a couple dozen people at his loft during the Padres season opener. “They installed this gorgeous big-screen for me to show off the action of the game,” Koch says of his viewing plans from his home’s patio. “They put it in just for me and I’m sharing it with those at Park at the Park.” The screen he’s talking about is the 26-by-14 and a half foot LED video board on the back of the video screen inside the park.

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Petco Park is proving to be a great marketing tool for local public relations firms. Southwest Strategies, with partners Alan Ziegaus, Bernie Rhinerson and Chris Wahl, has been one of the Padres’ best suites customers. SWS has reserved for six different dates a $1,500 per-game, 20-seat private suite in the Western Metals Building that it is then passing along to clients to entertain business guests. Clients Delaware North Cos., Lennar Communities, Westfield Shopping Centers and Voit Commercial Brokerage all have booked dates. “Our clients benefit and it’s a great project for our firm to manage for them,” says Rhinerson.

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Proximity to Petco Park has Gaslamp hotels and restaurants getting creative with pre-game packages. The Hilton on Fifth Avenue is offering Tailgate on the Terrace packages that include “The Bobble Head,” “The Hall of Famer” and “The Ultimate Tailgater,” which at $62.95 per person features a grilling station offering beef tenderloin, Australian lobster tail, Baja-style Ahi “nicoise” salad, a large spread of other side dishes and, of course, Cracker Jacks.

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“I am going to sit on my rooftop and watch the crowd, listen to the national anthem; then I am going into my home theater room and watch the game on high definition,” says Gary London. “I will go to the second game in person.”

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How much is the ballpark already part of Downtown? Tom Shess was driving down G Street during the March 11 Aztec Invitational baseball tournament. When he stopped for a red light at 12th Avenue (the new Park Boulevard), he says, “I could hear clear as anything the crowd singing ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game.’”

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The San Diego Public Library is creating “In the Shadow of Petco Park,” a special recording of Downtown history through oral stories told by local residents. With more than 100 residential projects under way, the city expects 25,000 residents Downtown by 2007. Those with stories to share or who want additional information, may call the central library at (619) 236-5800.

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You used to see a Tony Gwynn drive for a hit into the outfield at Qualcomm Stadium. Now you’ll find Tony Gwynn Drive is the northbound one-way Seventh Avenue extension parallel to Harbor Drive between Park Boulevard and K Street to Petco Park. Sixth Avenue is one-way southbound between K and L streets. 10th Avenue south of Market Street is one-way southbound. 11th Avenue south of Market Street is one-way northbound. Both 10th and 11th avenues connect to the new Park Boulevard (formerly 12th Avenue) extension between Tony Gwynn Drive (formerly Seventh Avenue) and 11th Avenue.

If you’re planning ahead for a game later in the season at Petco Park, be aware that as construction wraps on Tailgate Park, the Omni and Clarion hotels, and the Sixth and K Parkade, more traffic patterns will change. Fourth, Fifth and Sixth avenues will become one-way in the blocks nearest the ballpark and Tony Gwynn Drive will switch-hit, becoming a two-way street from L Street to Park Boulevard.

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One way to cruise home into Petco Park is aboard a Hornblower tailgate party cruise. Groups of 25 or more — up to 700, says Hornblower’s Rebecca Milkey — can tailgate for a couple of hours aboard one of the company’s yachts that depart from just north of Broadway Pier and dock at the Marriott Marina for the 3-minute walk to the yard. After the game, the group is bused back to the Embarcadero, where parking may be the most plentiful Downtown. Two-hour cruises start at $48 per person. Hornblower also can supply Padres tickets. For information, call (619) 686-8700.

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When it comes to Petco Park security, the Padres have signed a six-year deal with Elite Show Services Inc., the company that kept things family-friendly at Qualcomm sporting events for years. “Our entire management team that ran the Super Bowl and World Series are still intact,” says John Kontopuls, Elite’s president and CEO. “This combined with the experience of opening up Cox Arena and several other venues will make for a seamless transition (to Petco).”

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Sports Arena operator Ernie Hahn has seats for opening night at Petco Park — “As any good San Diegan who has been here his whole life and as an avid supporter of sports, of course I will be there,” he says — but his thoughts likely will drift elsewhere. For the first time Hahn also is an owner of an arena football team, the San Diego Riptide, which plays its home opener April 9 at the Sports Arena. “I’ll be wondering about all the stuff that will be coming up at the last minute, from sponsors, ticket sales and our honoring Junior Seau,” says Hahn. Played on a 50-yard indoor field, the high-scoring sport pushes frenetic action. “The bottom line is it is rock ‘n’ roll football,” he says. “There is music playing during every snap, T-shirts being thrown into the stands and if the ($40) ball goes into the crowd, you get to keep it.” Hahn also dreams of a new sports arena Downtown occupied by an NBA team. Across the street from the ballpark is property identified more than 10 years ago for such a use by a committee headed by his grandfather, the late Ernest Hahn whose accomplishments include Horton Plaza.

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Laurie Black was heading the Downtown San Diego Partnership when city leaders of all stripes convinced John Moores the new ballpark for his Padres needed to be Downtown. So she’ll be there opening day. But it’s Passover, so Black plans to bring matzoh. “I’ll probably eat a hot dog and forgo the bun,” she says.