Minor League baseball team coming to Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Officials announced that the Upstate is getting a new minor league baseball team.

The plan is to construct a new baseball stadium in downtown Spartanburg which will be the future home of a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The team is currently playing as the Down East Wood Ducks in Kinston, North Carolina.

The proposed state-of-the-art stadium, developed by The Johnson Group, would be owned by the City of Spartanburg. Diamond Baseball Holdings is the club’s new majority owner and would lease the stadium from the City of Spartanburg.

The stadium would have 3,500 fixed seats and a 5,000 plus square foot Club Room. It would also serve as a year-round venue for public and private events.

“This is a great day for Spartanburg. My colleagues on City Council and I are excited to work with The Johnson Group and Diamond Baseball Holdings to bring this transformative vision to fruition,” said Mayor Jerome Rice in a release. “It will be terrific to bring affiliated professional baseball back to Spartanburg. Additional affordable family entertainment coupled with needed white collar office space and other world class amenities will ensure Downtown Spartanburg is an increasingly impactful economic engine for this region. That benefits all residents of our City and County”

In addition, the 16-acre mixed-use site in downtown Spartanburg would include multi-family housing units, office space and entertainment options as part of a $250M plus development project.

“As Spartanburg County continues to grow, it is very exciting to see investments such as this being made in our community. The new stadium will deliver an economic boost to downtown Spartanburg and the surrounding areas, and create a hub of family friendly entertainment in our home county,” said Chairman of Spartanburg City Council Manning Lynch in a release. “I am excited and proud to watch this much anticipated project come to life.”

This stadium will be located next to AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg on South Daniel Morgan Avenue.

Although South Carolina does not have any Major League Baseball teams, it is home to several minor league teams including the Greenville Drive.

The new Minor League team could be playing in Spartanburg as early as 2025.

Stay with FOX Carolina for updates on this developing story.

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