The San Diego Padres and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton announced Sept. 21 the Bill Walton Basketball Festival at Petco Park, a week-long festival of basketball activities set to begin Monday, Nov. 30. The festival will culminate on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m., with the jewel event, the first college basketball game in Petco Park history. Tickets to see the San Diego State Aztecs vs. the University of San Diego Toreros will go on sale to the general public Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. To purchase tickets, or for additional information, visit www.padres.com/bball.
The Bill Walton Basketball Festival will utilize the outdoor court that will be built on the ballpark’s infield for Saturday’s game, and will consist of events ranging from youth clinics led by Bill Walton to charity games, community league games and high school games. As a reminder, the court will be situated length-wise between third base and home plate, with bleacher seating on the field erected around the open sides of the court to supplement the existing options in the seating bowl.
“We are proud to be joining forces with basketball legend and San Diego icon Bill Walton for the Bill Walton Basketball Festival at Petco Park,” said Padres president and CEO Mike Dee. “Even before plans for the college basketball game were finalized, we envisioned the court setup being utilized for more than just one day. This is going to be a week full of unique opportunities for groups throughout our community.”
“I am privileged, honored and humbled to be a part of the inaugural Bill Walton Basketball Festival at Petco Park in my hometown of San Diego,” said Walton. “I’m excited and proud that we will be celebrating so much more than basketball. We are also most fortunate to have the SDSU vs. USD game to spectacularly highlight and anchor all of the things that we live for, believe in and celebrate daily in our beloved San Diego and Petco Park.”
The full schedule of the week’s events will be announced at a later date. Those interested in opportunities to utilize the court should contact [email protected] for information. Visit www.padres.com/bball for more information.
