9 tips for McCartney’s Petco Park show

Yeah, yeah -- and once more -- yeah!

Paul McCartney's long-overdue return to the San Diego concert stage is barely six hours away, and counting.

His sold-out 8 p.m. Sunday show at Petco Park will mark the rock legend's first public concert here since his 1976 performance with Wings at the San Diego Sports Arena. (In 2003, he and his band performed at a small, private birthday party in Rancho Santa Fe.)

Meanwhile, on Monday, McCartney and some well-known friends, released a music video for "Meat Free Monday," a McCartney song that finds this long-term vegetarian urging fans to modify their diets -- at least one day a week -- to help reduce climate change on the eve of this week's annual United Nations Climate Summit in New York.

Now, back to the tour.

Concerts on McCartney's current "Out There" world tour have been averaging three hours and about 36 songs per night. To help ensure your evening is as smooth as possible when he performs Sunday at Petco Park, here are eight -- now expanded to nine! -- tips.

• Arrive earlier than later. Several thousand fans with tickets to McCartney's Aug. 14 San Francisco concert at Candlestick Park missed some or all of the show because of major traffic back-ups and parking snafus. That concert was on a week night, so rush hour traffic was a factor. Happily, that won't be the case here Sunday.

• The gates for Petco Park will open at 6 p.m. Sunday. Fans with Front Row and Hot Seat VIP package tickets will be admitted between 3:30 and 4 p.m. for the pre-concert souncheck by McCartney and his four-man band. In some other cities on this tour, those soundchecks have lasted up to an hour. If you're close to Petco Park shortly after 4 p.m., you should be able to hear the soundcheck from outside the stadium. At his often superb Dodger Stadium concert in Los Angeles last month, McCartney performed more than a dozen songs during the soundcheck and apparently had one female fan join him on stage for one number to add vocal support.

• The San Diego Padres, who operate Petco Park, suggest concertgoers take public transportation if possible. The San Diego Trolley will run added special-event service on the day of the concert. Due to Sunday's San Diego Chargers/Jacksonville Jaguars' football game (which has a 1:05 p.m. kick-off time), trolley parking will not be available at Qualcomm Stadium. Moreover, as a result of people taking the trolley after the game, inbound trolley service through Mission Valley could be more crowded than usual.

• Coaster trains bound for San Diego will depart Oceanside at 1:50 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Sunday. The Coaster will also offer a special return northbound train leaving from downtown San Diego's Santa Fe Depot at midnight Sunday, following the concert. Passengers with RegionPlus Day Fares can transfer free to the trolley.

• Those driving can buy reserved parking permits in advance through Ticketmaster to park at Tailgate Park on Imperial Avenue, between 12th and 14th streets. The cost is $25, plus service charges (which brings the total to $30.55 per car. According to Ticketmaster'swebsite, the Tailgate Park lots will open at 1 p.m. Sunday. Tailgating will be allowed behind each vehicle, so long as no extra spots are blocked off. No glass, kegs, charcoal or -- ahem! -- "amplified noise/bands" will be permitted. It is unclear whether this means that unamplified noise/bands are permitted. (Either way, "noise/band" would have been a most apt description of several of the rock bands I drummed in during my junior high and high school years.)

• Paid downtown parking will also be available at nearly two-dozen other lots. The prices at these lots will vary. With great luck, you may find a free, metered parking space on the street, but don't count on it.

• In addition, more than 2,500 paid parking spaces will be available at the San Diego Convention Center and at the Bayfront Hilton garage on Harbor Drive. To access these two lots, use the Front Street exit from Interstate Freeway 5 South, or the Cesar Chavez Parkway Exit from Interstate Freeway North.

• New customers using Uber car service for Sunday's concert will get a free first ride, worth up to $20, if they use the promotional code get.uber.com/go/PetcoConcert.

• The usual Petco Park entry policies will apply with a few notable exceptions. These include:

Professional and video recording devices, including Go Pros, are prohibited, as are tripods. Phones and small, nonprofessional cameras will be allowed. Re-entry will not be permitted; if you leave the concert early, you will not be readmitted. What does a non-professional camera mean? Apparently, it means a camera with a small, non-detachable lens. What does small mean? Again, apparently (since it's proven difficult to get an official confirmation) small in this case means a non-detachable lens that is three inches or less in length.