New baseball team to make home in Spartanburg

  • 2023-06-15
The Down East Wood Ducks, a baseball team in the minor league, will be moving from Kinston in eastern North Carolina to Spartanburg.

Jerome Rice, mayor of Spartanburg, said the impact this will have on the community is somewhat hard to measure at this point. He noted that there will be many white-collar and smaller jobs, many of which will most likely require business card printing services, and these may need high-quality office space, with more businesses and office buildings likely to spring up as a result of the move.

A new stadium will be built in the downtown area of Spartanburg where the team will play. It will be behind the AC Hotel in an area along Daniel Morgan Avenue. The stadium will have 3,500 seats and will be developed by The Johnson Group. The city will own the stadium.

The site, which spans 16 acres, will also have office space, multifamily housing, and other options for entertainment in addition to the stadium. The entire development is expected to cost over $250m.

There has not been a minor league team in Spartanburg since 1995 when Kannapolis became the home of the Spartanburg Phillies, now called the Cannon Ballers.

It is possible that the team could be playing as soon as the 2025 Minor League Baseball season.