San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals to play exhibition game at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore

Southwest Riverside residents won’t have to travel far to experience a Major League Baseball game when the San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals play an exhibition game at the home of the Lake Elsinore Storm next year.

Diamond Stadium, home of the Lake Elsinore Storm (Courtesy photo)

The San Diego Padres, the Storm’s parent club since 2001, will take on the Royals for an afternoon match-up at 2 p.m. April 4, just prior to opening day of the 2012 season.

“I think it will be exciting for the community and for our ballpark,” Storm President Dave Oster said. “It’s unique, and it hasn’t ever happened.”

In previous years, the Storm, a Single-A Advanced minor league affiliate, have played the Padres in four exhibitions games. The last exhibition game featuring the two teams took place in 2010 and was a sellout for at the 6,066-seat Diamond Stadium.

Chris Jones, the vice president and general manager of Storm Baseball, said the Padres versus Royals game will be a great opportunity for baseball fans to take in some spring training in southern California.

“We’re happy to be able to bring two Major League teams to this city and create what is sure to be a memorable event for our local fans,” he said.

Storm front office staff said that special ticket packages will be offered with the purchase of an April 4 exhibition game ticket. Promotions associated with the event will be announced over the next couple of months.

“We’re thrilled to bring this opportunity to Lake Elsinore,” said Padres’ Vice President and Assistant General Manager Jason McLeod. “The Lake Elsinore community has been very supportive of the Padres and professional baseball. We look forward to these games and the fans seeing former Storm players back at The Diamond.”

Storm 2012 season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets. Storm mini-plans, which offer fans seven Storm regular season home games and the Major League exhibition game, will be available for purchase during the off-season.

For prices and questions regarding the game, fans can contact the Storm by calling 951-245-4487 or visiting stormbaseball.com.

Email Rachael.recker@swrnn.com or follow her on Twitter