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Restoring Duncan Park Stadium

Duncan Park Stadium

It’s important to know that ballpark restoration is a ongoing process, as the folks in Spartanburg (S.C.) discovered when tackling the restoration of Duncan Park Stadium, former home to minor-league and summer-collegiate baseball.

Opening in 1926, Duncan Park Stadium was home to many MiLB teams over the years, including a long stint by the Spartanburg Phillies (Low Class A; Sally League; 1963-1994). We visited Duncan Park Stadium in 2006 when it was still home to a Coastal Plain League team. Since then the ballpark has been undergoing renovations, as local volunteers and the school district have worked to clean up one of the older wooden-grandstand ballparks still standing. Some of the more serious issues, like rotting floors, have been cleaned up From GoUpstate.com:

“In the final phase, I’d like to add things like banners and so forth that would hang from the ceiling, which would celebrate the history of the teams and the players who played there,” said Donnie Love, a local historic preservation architect. “A lot of this stuff is all speculative, of course, but I’d even like to see us go back to the old, antique-looking advertisements on the fence and stuff.

“You’d have modern companies but you’d give (the ads) the look and design that has the feel of the ’20s as opposed to current advertising schemes.”

Although the extent of the renovations is dependent upon the ability to generate additional finances, Love said that his goal would be to see everything completely done in time for a centennial celebration in 2026.

The restoration process began in 2007 and is still ongoing. It’s a worthy project: Duncan Park Stadium is the very essence of baseball history and deserves some TLC.

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