The Padres Five-Win Pass Explained By Wayne Partello
Credit: Padres
It is no secret that the Padres’ Five-Win Pass is a bit strange when it comes to ticket package ideas from a professional sports franchise. Here is an explanation of the pass by the Padres’ Chief Marketing Officer, Wayne Partello, and his staff, for those who are curious.
The San Diego Padres have re-introduced the Five-Win Pass as the 2018 Major League Baseball season moves into the final stretch.
The Padres first offered the Five-Win Pass in 2017 during the month of June. This year, the promotion began on July 27, and will continue until September 30. Wayne Partello, the Padres’ Chief Marketing Officer, said the Five-Win Pass will be available until September 2.
For anyone who doesn’t understand how the Five-Win Pass works, tickets are delivered digitally through the MLB Ballpark app. Available seats are in the Left Field Upper Reserved section of Petco, and are delivered four hours before each home game.
“Only those who are eligible to receive tickets will be sent the notification to claim tickets, and subsequently assigned a seating location,” Partello said. “Specifically, so long as they have not claimed tickets for five wins, they will receive the notification to claim tickets. The location is randomized within the Left Field Upper Reserved section, but fans who purchase multiple passes are sat together.”
Fans who purchase the $99 Five-Win Pass are eligible to attend home games until they are present for five wins. Partello said the offer was created for fans who shared that they were not going to Petco Park because the team wasn’t winning enough games.
At the end of July, the Padres’ record was 42-68, worst in the National League. San Diego ranks 17th in fan attendance this season, according to ESPN. However, that ranking isn’t attributed to just Padres fans. Visiting fans are known to invade Petco Park in droves when their respective teams play the Padres.
To put the Padres’ losing woes into bigger perspective, the team’s record in the month of July was 5-20. Their home record over that span was 1-12. The team currently has a 10-game losing streak at Petco Park. Had the Padres offered the Five-Win Pass at the beginning of July, fans would still have four wins left to attend before exhausting their passes.
The Padres aren’t the only MLB club giving their fans an incentive to go the ballpark. Other clubs offer ticket promotions that allow fans to see multiple games at a discounted price. The Arizona Diamondbacks offer a “Ballpark Summer Pass,” which allows people to see 40 games over the summer for $80.
“We always keep an eye on what other teams and entertainment brands are doing to drive their attendance,” Partello said. “With each new idea, we evaluate the pros and cons of the offer and decide whether that is a fit for our business or not. If it is not a fit at that time, we will track the success of those programs and continue to reevaluate the opportunity.”
“With all of that said, we have looked at those types of passes and decided that type of pass is not a fit for us at this time,” Partello told EVT. The Padres originally introduced the pass last season, during the month of June. Partello said that they have seen more success to this point. The Five-Win Pass was made available on July 27, at the start of a five-game homestand that concluded with the team losing all five of those games. The team returns to Petco Park for a 10-game homestand beginning on August 10, when they begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. They host the Los Angeles Angels for three games, and the Diamondbacks for four games.
Mike is the sports editor for the Fayette Advertiser, and has been with East Village Times since 2015. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report. He is an avid Padres fan who is keeping the faith and trusting the process.