The new home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (High A; Carolina League) has an official name, as it will be known as Segra Stadium. The naming-rights agreement was announced Thursday.As part of the agreement, Segra–one of the largest independent fiber bandwidth companies in the United States–will be the ballpark’s Official Communications Services Partner.
In April 2018, EQT Partners completed the purchase of a majority stake in Spirit Communications and announced it would combine the Spirit assets with those of Lumos Networks, acquired in 2017. Just a few weeks ago, Lumos Networks and Spirit announced that the two companies had been rebranded as Segra. The rebranding affected an existing naming-rights agreement in Minor League Baseball, as the Columbia Fireflies (Low A; Sally League) announced last month that Spirit Communications Park had become Segra Park.
“Segra is excited to partner with the Houston Astros and the City of Fayetteville” said Tim Biltz, CEO of Segra. “This is an exciting and transformational project for the city and the region. We look forward to further establishing our brand with this project and investing in the future of Fayetteville.”
“We are very excited in Fayetteville to announce that Segra has acquired naming rights to our new Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ baseball stadium,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said. “Segra is making an investment by expanding their business into Fayetteville, providing a state-of-the-art fiber network that will improve connectivity for current businesses and also potentially increasing our economic development efforts as we continue to attract new businesses to our city. So, this naming rights announcement is not only about the name of the baseball stadium, it’s about economic development, which has been the goal of the stadium since day one. For that reason, we welcome Segra to Fayetteville with high expectations.”
“Partnering with Segra is a major milestone for Fayetteville’s mission to revitalize its downtown and the surrounding communities,” said Fayetteville Woodpeckers President Mark Zarthar. “Segra has the capacity and desire to advance Fayetteville’s technological capabilities. This advancement will generate various layers of commercial opportunities, most notably the recruitment of major organizations to establish office locations and conduct business in this All-American metropolitan.”
With Segra as the ballpark naming rights and Official Communications Services partner, the facility will be one of, if not the most connected venues in Minor League Baseball. In partnership with Segra the ballpark will be outfitted with cutting edge 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi coverage powered by redundant 10 Gbps fiber connectivity allowing fans to enhance their game day experience with seamless lightning speed video, interaction and social media.
Other amenities in the ballpark include an outfield bar featuring live music, lounge seating, corn hole, foosball, and several televisions. Segra Stadium’s premium club level, party deck, six luxury suites and four field boxes will provide fans with a high-end, full-service viewing occasion. A kids’ zone and berm allow young fans to remain active, enjoying the game at a different pace. All permanent and portable concessions stations will feature unique, original food concepts with branding that ties to Fayetteville and nearby Fort Bragg.
The Woodpeckers, a club owned by the Houston Astros that played the last two seasons at Jim Perry Stadium as the Buies Creek Astros, will play their home opener at Segra Stadium on April 18. The $40-million ballpark is being constructed as part of a larger redevelopment initiative in downtown Fayetteville.
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