Segra Park, formerly known as Spirit Communications Park, is a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. It is the home of the Columbia Fireflies, a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team playing in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. It opened in 2016 and can seat up to 9,077 people.

Background

Columbia was without minor league baseball since the Capital City Bombers relocated to Greenville, in 2004. Plans were approved to build a new stadium to attract a Minor League Baseball team in 2014, with Spirit Communications, a local telecommunications company, buying the naming rights. Developers broke ground on Spirit Communications Park on January 6, 2015.

Architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

firm Populous built the stadium, with an estimated 8,500 capacity, on a budget of $37 million, with $30 million coming from public funds, $7 million from the team. The Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

announced in May 2015 that they would move to Columbia for the 2016 season, and be known as the Columbia Fireflies. Their first game at Spirit Communications Park, on April 14, 2016, was a 4–1 victory over the Greenville Drive attended by 9,077 people. In its first season, ''Ballpark Digest'' named Spirit Communications Park it's 2016 Ballpark of the Year. It's the first time that a stadium has received the honor in its first year since Fluor Field at the West End, home of the Greenville Drive did in 2006. On September 7, 2018, the ballpark hosted the United Music Festival hip hop concert with

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

, and

Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). Despite the name, the duo are not twins, brothers or related in any way. They d ...

. Originally known as Spirit Communications Park, the facility was renamed Segra Park in January 2019 following the merger of Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks Corp into Segra.

References

External links

Official website
{{Carolina League Ballparks Minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Columbia, South Carolina Tourist attractions in Columbia, South Carolina 2016 establishments in South Carolina Sports venues completed in 2016 Populous (company) buildings Carolina League ballparks