Overview
Spirit Communications Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies — the South Atlantic League affiliate of the New York Mets — has won Ballpark Digest’s 2016 Ballpark of the Year award. Ballpark Digest’s publisher Kevin Reichard went even further to say “Spirit Communications Park is not only our Ballpark of the Year, it’s also one of the best ballparks opened in the last decade.”
Columbia had been without affiliated minor league baseball for over ten years. However the new ballpark, which is the centerpiece of an over 181-acre site of the long-shuttered South Carolina State Hospital, allowed baseball to return to the Capital City.
The Fireflies’ new ballpark seats 8,500 guests and features an expansive concourse surrounding the field. Concession stands are available throughout the park and a lively bar is located just over the right-centerfield wall. The extensive list of seating options includes traditional ballpark seats, picnic tables, high-top tables, and berm seating. The upper level includes 16 suites and a 7,000-sf club lounge with spacious views of both the field and the growing development outside. Aside from ballgames, the ballpark is open to the community for a wide range of activities.
Spirit Communications Park joins El Paso’s Southwest University Park (2014) and Minneapolis’ Target Field (2010) as the most recent Walter P Moore engineered ballpark to win this prestigious award.
Project Team
Owner — City of Columbia
Developer — Hughes Development
Operator — Hardball Capital
Contractor — CCEB Venue Partners (a joint venture of - Barton Malow/Contract Construction/Construction Dynamics)
Architect — Populous
Structural Engineer Walter P Moore
Associate Structural Engineer — ADC Engineering
MEP Engineers — Henderson Engineers
Civil Engineer — Davis & Floyd
