Saturday will bring a milestone for Segra Stadium, as the new home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (High A; Carolina League) will open for a special event.
The Woodpeckers will continue their season-opening road trip with a game in Myrtle Beach on Saturday–their home opener is not until April 18–but team and Fayetteville officials have been planning Saturday afternoon’s event to provide an opportunity for fans to get their first look at the facility. This comes after years of planning for Segra Stadium, which will host its first season starting next week and is positioned as the anchor of a larger development initiative in downtown Fayetteville.
As Saturday’s event approaches, the ballpark and its larger role in the community’s future are coming into focus for many, including Myron B. Pitts of the Fayetteville Observer:
It has not all been sweetness and light for City Council members, as they have had to make some difficult decisions on financing the stadium on Hay Street. But I believe we will see on Saturday they did not go small-time or small-town with this investment.
They stuck to a vision of a downtown that we always knew was possible, a belief in our hearts that what was once the city’s core is cut out for something better. A new apartment complex is coming, new restaurants and retail, an office complex that will be the tallest in the city and next year – a new hotel. Hundreds of jobs are in the mix. This is a boom for downtown, and it’s why I tell people don’t even think of this as just baseball. It’s bigger than that.
When I look at aerials of the stadium, it still is just amazing to see it sitting right there in the middle of Fayetteville’s downtown. Imagine it lit up at night.
We will be at Segra Stadium for the opener on April 18 against the Carolina Mudcats, and will have more details on the ballpark after our visit. In meantime, readers can see a November story from our own Kevin Reichard that looked at the Woodpeckers branding and detailed some of the amenities planned for the ballpark.
The Houston Astros-owned Woodpeckers will arrive at Segra Stadium after playing the past two seasons as the Buies Creek Astros at Campbell University’s Jim Perry Stadium. It will be the first time Fayetteville, NC has had an affiliated Minor League Baseball team of its own since the Cape Fear Crocs (Low A; Sally League) relocated to Lakewood, NJ after the 2000 season.
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