Months after the beloved San Diego Padres mural in North Park was vandalized, passionate fans have stepped forward with a GoFundMe campaign to replace it. The mural, which had adorned the vacant storefront at 30th Street and University Avenue, featured the rallying cry “LFGSD” made popular by former Padres catcher Jorge Alfaro.
“Let’s flippin’ go San Diego, I guess is the more appropriate way to say it,” remarked Will Slate, a representative from the North Park Main Street Association. The association spent $5,000 to $10,000 commissioning local artists Chris Konecki and Carly Ealy to create the mural last October. Sadly, it was defaced within a month as someone covered it with the word “Dodgers” and several blue hearts.
“To see it defaced so quickly and in such a prominent location really hit home with some people, but a lot of good energy also came out of it,” Slate reflected.
Among those motivated to act was Marco Cazares, a staunch Padres supporter and owner of Marctic Creations, a business known for its humorous Padres merchandise. Cazares, who is active in the Fire Friar Talk group—a community of baseball enthusiasts—described the strong sentiment that followed the vandalism. “We talk baseball every single day,” he said, recalling the immediate reaction when members saw the mural had been painted over. “Our instant reaction was to see what we can do to restore this.”
The GoFundMe campaign launched last Friday aims to collect $5,000 for a new mural that Cazares promises will be “for the fans by the fans” and “even bigger and more impactful” than the original. Within less than a week, the initiative has successfully raised over $2,400, bolstered by a generous $500 contribution from Sheel Seidler, the widow of the late Padres Chairman, Peter Seidler.
Cazares expressed optimism about the campaign, stating, “We didn’t have crazy expectations for it, but we know that we have such a great fan base. This is going to show who we are, bring the community together, and demonstrate our love for our team.”
The same artists, Konecki and Ealy, are ready to embrace the project again, though the new mural will need to find a different location since the original spot is now occupied by a toy store. Fortunately, the North Park Main Street Association is actively seeking a new venue and has received interest from the North Park Observatory, which is considering hosting the mural on its building.
