Council Rejects Higher Parking Fees for Padres : Sports: 7-1 vote overruling Stadium Authority decision is based on economic outlook, rising ticket prices.

Concerned about the economic recession and the escalating price of a day at the ballpark, the San Diego City Council on Monday rejected a proposed $1 increase in the parking fee for Padres games.

The 7-1 decision, which overrules a vote of the city’s Stadium Authority, leaves the Padres as one of only four major league baseball clubs charging less than $4 for parking. It also will deprive the city and the club of an estimated $340,000 each in additional revenue that would have been generated by the increase next year.

The council agreed to reconsider the increase during budget deliberations next spring. That timing virtually guarantees that the Padres will not be able to impose a parking fee increase before the 1991 season begins.

Opposition to the increase was led by Councilman Bruce Henderson and Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt, who were joined by Abbe Wolfsheimer, Ron Roberts, Wes Pratt, Judy McCarty and Mayor Maureen O’Connor. John Hartley voted against the rejection, and Bob Filner was absent.

“I don’t think, at this point in time, with the economy the way it is, that it would be the right message to send to the people of San Diego,” Bernhardt said.

The Padres last raised the parking fee at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium from $2 to $3 in 1988. Under the city’s lease with the club, the city receives the first $1.5 million in parking revenue, minus operating costs paid to its licensed contractor, Ace Parking. All revenue beyond that amount is split evenly between the city and the club.

After a disappointing 1990 season, the team increased ticket prices by $1.50 for reserved seats and $1 for general admission seats. Reserved seats now cost $11 and $9.50, and general admission tickets cost $5.

The ticket price increase was emphasized by council members and one resident who testified that the price of reserved seats and parking for a Padre game now totals $47 for his family of four. But Bill Adams, the Padres’ vice president for business operations, noted that the same family could attend the game for $23 if all four sat in general admission seats.

In arguing for the increase, Adams said the additional revenue will help make the Padres more competitive by allowing them to offer players higher salaries. The team finished in a tie for fourth place last year, after being picked by many to win the National League West division title.

“Every dollar we generate in revenue goes toward us becoming a stronger and more competitive team,” Adams said.

The Padres play 81 home games. The Chargers, which play eight games at the stadium, not including exhibition games, charge $5 for parking.

City Manager John Lockwood urged the city to forge warm relations with the Padres’ new owners, led by television producer Tom Werner, and perpetuate the cordial working relationship between the team and the city.

Cities such as Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland have faced “serious litigation” with professional sports franchises, Lockwood said, and endured bidding wars fostered by dissatisfied owners.

Roberts argued that revenue generated by other facilities such as the San Diego Sports Arena or money from the city’s general fund should not be used to cover a projected budget deficit by the stadium.

But none of those arguments swayed most council members, who took pains to praise the Padres at the same time they were turning down the parking fee increase.

“The stadium shouldn’t be a profit center,” said Henderson, referring to the stadium’s first-ever surplus last year, caused largely by proceeds from a concert by the rock group the Who.

“It was built by the people of San Diego, and to the extent that you charge for parking at the stadium, you should try to recover costs.”