Capital City Stadium is one of the more historically interesting ballparks once part of Minor League Baseball. But as Columbia (S.C.) struggles to identify a future for the facility, one big question remains: Can this ballpark be saved?
Capital City Stadium closed in 2020 after a long run as a Minor League Baseball and summer-collegiate Coastal Plain League facility, hosting the Columbia Comers, Columbia Reds, Columbia Mets/Capital City Bombers and Columbia Blowfish, among others. The Mets/Bombers called the ballpark home from 1983-2004 before relocating to Greenville, S.C. They were followed by the Blowfish from 2006-2014.
Capital City Stadium opened in 1927 as Dreyfuss Field, built by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss for his minor-league affiliate. Dreyfuss is largely forgotten outside of Pittsburgh today, but during his tenure as Pirates owner (1900-1932), the German-born Dreyfuss was one of the most important and forward-thinking owners in the game. His Forbes Field was the second steel-and-concrete ballpark in the majors, launched on June 30, 1909, opening just two months after Shibe Park, home of the Philadelphia Athletics, made its debut. The current Capital City Stadium isn’t exactly what Barney Dreyfuss built, however; portions of the old ballpark were demolished and renovated over the years, leaving a very basic grandstand flanked by bleachers.
Plenty of notable players passed through the ballpark’s gates over its history. Frank Robinson suited up for the Columbia Reds in 1954 and 1955, while Hank Aaron appeared at Capital City Stadium in 1953 as a member of the Jacksonville Braves in what would be in his final minor league game. In the ballpark’s later years of hosting affiliated baseball, Jose Reyes and David Wright were among the future stars that suited up for the Bombers. And, of course, any facility approaching 100 years old certainly generated plenty of memories over the years, as outlined in this Daily Gamecock story. Capital City Stadium is currently on our Endangered Ballparks list.
Since the loss of the Blowfish, the ballpark has been largely unused, with nature working hard to reclaim the site. Several redevelopment plans have been floated over the years, including the use of the site as a Wal-Mart store. One interesting proposal has surfaced: leave Capital City Stadium as a ballpark, used for amateur baseball, American Legion games and perhaps other sports and potentially events. Cleaning up the site for sports has been estimated by some enthusiasts as costing $2 million, which seems low when you consider potential demolition costs, landscaping and more. And then there’s the issue of how to generate income on an old ballfield.
The city doesn’t seem eager to spend money to preserve the site for baseball, however, issuing a Request for Proposals on Oct. 3 regarding redevelopment. Memories may be precious, but preservation and adaptive reuse carry price tags. From The State:
Columbia hopes to attract a “high impact, high value mixed-use” project to the site, according to the documents included with the request for proposals.
The city is also asking developers to include details about how the project would benefit the public and the surrounding community….
The window for submitting a proposal ended Nov. 1.
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