Opinion: The city should honor its agreements with the Padres

The city is facing a serious budget crisis, and no one who has spent time in public office would suggest otherwise. San Diego is confronting difficult fiscal realities that will require hard decisions about priorities, services and long-term financial stability. But those challenges should not lead elected officials to abandon longstanding agreements or attempt to shift responsibility for the city’s structural problems onto one of San Diego’s most important civic partners.

That is why recent comments from Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera about the city’s contractual public safety obligations around Petco Park are so concerning. At a time when San Diego is preparing to welcome new Padres ownership, this is not the first impression the city should be making. Suggesting that the city may disregard existing commitments sends the wrong message about whether San Diego is a reliable partner.

Framing this as Padres versus arts and culture is not accurate. The city knows what its contractual obligations are, and difficult budget decisions should not be made by pretending one of San Diego’s strongest civic partners caused the deficit.

It also ignores the Padres’ longstanding commitment to San Diego. Unlike the former San Diego sports team that left the city, the Padres stayed, invested and helped transform East Village into one of the country’s most successful urban ballpark districts. The organization continues investing in the ballpark, the Ballpark District and the broader community while helping shape the area into a vibrant sports and entertainment destination.

The Padres have invested approximately $150 million into Petco Park, improving and modernizing a city-owned facility while creating a thriving destination that supports local businesses, jobs and tourism. In fact, Petco Park was just named Sports Facility of the Year by the Sports Business Journal, underscoring its status as one of the premier venues in all of sports. Gallagher Square has become a year-round public gathering space for families and community events, while the Padres Foundation invests millions of dollars each year in youth sports, education, military families and underserved communities throughout the region.

Public safety around the ballpark is critical to this continued success. Residents and visitors should feel safe riding transit, walking city streets, parking nearby and staying after games and events. The Padres fund substantial police and public safety costs associated with activity inside the ballpark. The city is responsible for policing public streets and maintaining safety in the surrounding public areas. That is not a special favor to the Padres. It is part of the city’s contractual obligations and its core responsibility to maintain safe and functional public infrastructure.

An independent analysis by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. found that Petco Park activity generates approximately $913 million in regional economic impact annually while supporting thousands of jobs and generating millions in tax revenue that helps fund essential public services.

If City Hall is serious about fiscal accountability, it should examine its own spending first. A new San Diego County Taxpayers Association report found that since fiscal year 2021, City Council offices have added 51 positions, a 47% staffing increase, bringing total council staffing to roughly 160 positions and the total council office budget to about $22.5 million. Those additions cost taxpayers nearly $10 million annually, even as San Diego’s population remained essentially flat.

Notably, Councilmember Elo-Rivera approved additional staffing increases for council offices again this fiscal year, even as the city’s broader financial outlook continued to deteriorate. That makes his criticism of the Padres particularly misplaced, given that council operations grew dramatically under his watch, including while he served as council president.

San Diego’s financial challenges are real but solving them will require City Hall to look inward, make responsible fiscal decisions and address the structural issues that created this deficit in the first place.

San Diegans are already facing one of the highest costs of living in the country while watching the city struggle with homelessness, deteriorating infrastructure, public safety concerns and basic services. Residents deserve a serious conversation about how City Hall plans to address those challenges and restore long-term fiscal stability, not attempts to pit civic priorities against one another or shift blame onto longstanding community partners.

Cities earn strong reputations by keeping their word, especially when budgets are difficult. San Diego should honor its agreements.

Roberts was a San Diego City Council member from 1987 to 1994 and a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors from 1995 to 2018. Kersey is the president and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and a former San Diego City Council member.