Lawsuit reveals Padres contemplated relocation

The widow of the late San Diego Padres owner is suing the team — and by result, her own family — over financial control of the team. But that’s not at all. Sportico reported on Monday that allegations of racism and sexism and other hateful communications were expressed, according to Sheel Seidler, the widow of former Padres owner Peter Seidler.

Seidler’s lawsuit filed on Monday in a Texas court also revealed a bombshell:

The Padres may be planning to relocate the team.

The Athletic’s Evan Drellich noted, after reading the lawsuit, that a passage in it included the juicier details on how Sheel’s brothers have attempted to oust her for control in favor of potentially combustible ulterior motives.

Sheel Seidler’s lawsuit over San Diego Padres ownership uses the word “relocate” https://t.co/eWyHTqMVN5 pic.twitter.com/ct72hMgal7

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 6, 2025

“Strikingly, Matt as trustee has refused to commit to maintain Sheel’s Martial Trust’s Status as the largest single shareholder of the Padres, raising the specter that the team she helped build with her husband could be taken away from her family.

“Indeed, Matt’s efforts to promote his brother John as Control Person and to block Sheel may well be part of his efforts to sell, and perhaps relocate, the team, over Sheel’s strident objections,” the lawsuit read, via a post by The Athletic’s Evan Drellich.

The Padres have called San Diego home from the very beginning. They arrived to the National League in 1969 when they joined the NL West. They’ve always resided in America’s Finest City, having held court at Petco Park and then, previously, San Diego Stadium, affectionately known for a time as Qualcomm Stadium.

It would be a serious shame if this happened. But with this lawsuit, it’s quite possible that things could get uglier from here in this already messy and entangled lawsuit. For everyone’s sake, the Padres and their fans come out of this better.

[Sportico; Evan Drellich]