A new Spartanburg ballpark received final approvals from the South Carolina city, as more details have been revealed about Fifth Third Park, the future home of the relocating Down East Wood Ducks (Single-A; Carolina League).
The ballpark, set to open in 2025 (and yes, that means construction must launch soon on a very tight schedule, though site prep began last Nov. 1), will seat 3,500 with a total capacity of 5,040 and is the centerpiece of Project Core, a $425-million downtown development that includes 200,000 square feet of office space, entertainment, a 150-room hotel, a 550-stall parking ramp and 375 apartments. The ballpark is the first component of Project Core; construction of the entire project will run through 2031.
Naming rights have been sold—the ballpark will be Fifth Third Park—and also features your standard fan amenities, including suites, berm seating, a kids’ play area and a 7,000-square-foot indoor event space. It will also meet MiLB’s new facilities specs on the back end as well, including LED lighting and clubhouse spaces.
The new ballpark design is designed by Overland Partners’ Brian Truby, whose work includes AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys) and U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings). We spoke with him before the final approval of the project—and the city is still working on final design of the ballpark—but he generally hailed it as a transformative project, not just for the Carolina League. Indeed, the ballpark follows a familiar pattern on the MLB level—a larger-scale development project anchored by a new facility—that fits within the ethos of the MiLB facilities planned for 2025, including Chattanooga and Knoxville.
“The thing that has always distinguished our practice is creating a scaled version of a major league ballpark and create the same of experience,” Truby said. “It’s been really pleasing to watch the city and county and private enterprise all pulling together to achieve some pretty amazing aspirational goals that will benefit the whole downtown area and Spartanburg in general.”
Renderings courtesy Overland Partners.
RELATED STORIES: New Spartanburg ballpark development moves forward; DBH buys Down East, Hickory; will move Wood Ducks to new downtown Spartanburg ballpark