Padres fans are taking action to replace a popular mural in North Park that was recently vandalized. A Go Fund Me account has been created. NBC 7’s Audra Stafford has the details.
Months after a popular San Diego Padres mural in North Park was vandalized, some die-hard fans have launched an online fundraiser to replace it.
The mural was located at 30th Street and University Avenue — next to the North Park Main Street Association office — on what was then a vacant storefront. Before being painted over, it read “LFGSD” in honor of the rallying cry first made popular by former Padres catcher Jorge Alfaro.
"Let’s flippin’ go San Diego, I guess is the more appropriate way to say it," Will Slate with the North Park Main Street Association said.
Slate said the association spent $5,000 to $10,000 to commission artists Chris Konecki and Carly Ealy to paint the mural last October. Within about a month, someone had painted over it with the word “Dodgers” and several blue hearts.
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“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 said.
Marco Cazares is a Padres fan and the owner of Marctic Creations, a small business that sells humorous Padres-themed apparel and other merchandise. He is also a member of the Fire Friar Talk group.
“We talk baseball every single day,” Cazares said.
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When another member shared pictures of the vandalized mural, Cazares said their “instant reaction was to see what we can do to restore this.”
Last Friday, they launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $5,000 for a new mural that he said will be “for the fans by the fans” and “even bigger and more impactful” than the original.
Less than a week later, they had raised more than $2,400, including a $500 donation from Sheel Seidler, the widow of late Padres Chairman Peter Seidler.
“We didn’t have crazy expectations for it, but we know that we have such a great fan base, and this is going to really show who we are and bring the community together and show our love for our team,” Cazares said.
The same artists are on board to create the new mural, but it won’t go up in the same spot since the once-vacant storefront is now occupied by a toy store. North Park Main Street Association is now looking for a new location and said the North Park Observatory has already expressed interest in putting it up on their building.
