John Moores surveys Petco Park during a break in a photo shoot a few months before the ballpark’s opening. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

With his Padres weeks away from their home opener, John Moores is navigating the Interstate 5/805 merge in his car while musing on last year’s inaugural season at Petco Park and the year to come. “It was a very different experience,” he says. “There are a million ways to screw up the opening of a ballpark. I was afraid we were going to discover three or four new ways.”

It wasn’t perfect — warm beer, cold hot dogs and fans desperate for better directions to places to spend their money — but it was close. The team even obliged with some opening night drama, defeating the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in 10 innings.

Moores’ memories of the night are somewhat blurry. He recalls being nervous about dropping the first pitch thrown by President Carter; doesn’t recall being applauded as he walked off the field and into the left field stands toward the concourse. “I really didn’t have my feet on the ground,” he says. “That had happened to me once or twice in my life, where everything was almost too perfect and you wish you could capture the moment.”

Moores has an interesting take on why the opening — delayed two years by a spate of unsuccessful lawsuits — went so well. “By and large I think it was because we had the most extensively planned ballpark in the history of mankind,” he says. “Probably because of the interminable delays, we were able to visit things over and over again and there were no fatal flaws.”

In hindsight, some minor problems may have been avoided. “The one glitch that might have been foreseeable was that so many people were afraid about getting in and out of Downtown that the trolley was overloaded,” Moores says. He remains particularly impressed by the lack of vehicle congestion. “Everyone says the best way to move traffic is through an urban grid, but until you see it you don’t believe it.”

Among the ballpark’s shortcomings, since addressed, were improving the batter’s eye, essentially a dark background beyond center field that provides contrast with the white ball thrown by the pitcher. A new video board will bring replays to fans in left field seats.

“My pet peeve was the hot dogs were not as good as they could have been,” says Moores, who confesses to eating a frank at every baseball game, but not within his memory outside a ballpark. “This year we are going to be grilling them instead of boiling them.”

Moores says fans will notice other changes, both in and outside Petco Park. “The area around the ballpark has gotten really cleaned up,” he says. “It is nice to see. A lot of new sidewalks are in and some of the yellow (construction) tape isn’t there.”

Moores is aware of the recent KPBS/Competitive Edge survey in which the ballpark scored well. His first comments are not about what people liked. “What bothered me was that so many people (56 percent of county residents) had not been in the ballpark,” he says. “Hopefully, we can rectify that.”

Still, he was pleased a majority of San Diegans say the ballpark delivers on its promises. “That made me feel very, very good,” he says. “I don’t have much experience with things working the way you planned them. One of the laws of the universe is unintended consequences. We planned it and it worked. I don’t think most people are aware that was the largest redevelopment program in North America. These things don’t necessarily work, especially so here in San Diego because of the litigation environment.”

Moores credits Mayor Murphy for jump starting the stalled project. “He could not have done a better job with the ballpark and redevelopment,” Moores says. “Dick was the guy who stepped forward. He took some political risks to make that happen. San Diego is a much, much better place for what the mayor did.”

The mix of development proposed to surround the ballpark has been heavier on residential and lighter on retail, particularly office space. Critics have tried to make it the project’s Achilles heel, but Moores won’t bite.

“We agreed that the redevelopment program had to be market driven,” he says. “We weren’t going to build something the market wasn’t going to accept. The (development of) office is typically a very tough deal. I think we have made real progress (the 14-story DiamondView Tower breaks ground in summer) and there are condos all over San Diego that wouldn’t be there but for the ballpark. I think the stuff we got credit for was restricted to the (26-block) ballpark district. But every developer I talk to says their project wouldn’t have happened (without Petco), that we sort of validated that Downtown was a very cool place to live.”

Last year’s team was competitive throughout the season and appeared a smart trade or breakout-season by a player away from the playoffs. Moores likes the Padres’ chances this year. “Somebody said we have the quietest $70 million payroll in baseball,” he says. “It suggests we really spent our money well this year. Boy, do I feel good about that.”

— Tim McClain