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Duncan Park Stadium


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I think that the city would love to see it refurbished and open, but they are saying that they are not the ones that can accomplish the 4 million dollar feat. They just don't see a large enough return on their money. Summer leagues just won't cut it. If anyone has any other suggestions for the park, please post.

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I think that the city would love to see it refurbished and open, but they are saying that they are not the ones that can accomplish the 4 million dollar feat. They just don't see a large enough return on their money. Summer leagues just won't cut it. If anyone has any other suggestions for the park, please post.

Remember Duncan Park stadium will be the refrain twenty years from now. Along with remember the Andrews Building? Remember the Cleveland Hotel? Remember the Richmond Hotel? Remember the Franklin Hotel?

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I think the City vey much wants to restore the stadium... but the fact is that they can't afford the price to fix it up. Besides that, the teams that use it are recreational and they don't bring in the money needed either. I am encouraged by the paragraph that says they are going to try to work out a deal to where a non-proffit organization will take over operations of the stadium.

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According to a report on Channel 4 just now, Mr Cunningham, who runs the Spartanburg Crickets, is trying to work out a deal with the city.... He wants to rennovate the stadium and turn the offices into a museum for the Textile League. The state has appropriated 30,000 for the rennovation project.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another blow is likely to come for the stadium. It looks as though the city will cancel is deal with the Stingers for next season, and padlock the facility after the current season is over. The American Legion 28 team plays there too, but they aren't charged rent, so they are just SOL I guess.

However, the Friends of Duncan Park are getting things moving to raise money to save the park.

<Also in the mix is Crickets General Manager Steve Cunningham, who is chartering his own nonprofit corporation to try to save the stadium but is not currently allied with the "Friends."

Cunningham said he believes he can raise the money to make some repairs faster than the "Friends," adding that their plan will take at least "three years to get anywhere.">

Why these people don't join forces is beyond me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went to the City Council meeting last Monday to hear what was being proposed as a long term plan to keep the stadium up if the $4 mil were to be invested to renovate it. I didn't hear what that was but that is crucial, i believe, to their gaining support. I, too, am a history buff and would like to see the Stadium saved, but there has to me more than what the Stingers bring in to make it appealing to City taxpayers...

I also agree with what Mayor Barnet said at the meeting...referring to all the county folks demanding the City save the Park...that everyone needs to step up if they want to see the Park saved...not just expect City residents to foot the bill. But, my guess would be we wouldn't get any help from anyone else (County)...folks seem to want it saved for their use...they just don't want to pay for it.

I get frustrated...my beef is not with saving DP...i guess it's more with the people...one day yelling at leaders for wasteful spending and the next they yell at them for not wanting to spend $4 mil on a Park that only brings in $12,000 a year and also County residents yelling at City leaders about how they should be spending City taxpayer dollars...

I don't know...I agree with Spartan though...the 'save the park' groups need to join forces and see if they can get some major donors to put their money where their mouth is...and also come up with a good long term to keep it utilized and maintained...

:-) t

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Thats a great example of how the city vs county disparity is sucha huge problem here. I am glad that the city is willing to keep up the stadium if the citizens can put together the money to fix it up. Where do I donate?

Even if the Crickets and the Stingers come back, it might still not be enough. What are some ways that the stadium could be used? What is its capacity? 3,000- 3,500? What kind of parking can that area handle?

What are the chances of Spartanburg landing another minor league team?

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The City apparanlty is willing to allocate $200,000 towards the park if the Friends of Duncan Park group can get a fundraiser going to restore it. I think its a smart move to use the community to restore this landmark, rather than leave it padlocked and falling apart.

Article

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  • 3 weeks later...

I guess technically it is on the south side of town, but its not in the shady part of town that most people would consider the "Southside." If you have ever been there, you'd know there is at least that much work to be done. Its mostly infrastructure... wiring, plumbing, drainage, saftey issues, bathroom upgrades, consession stad upgrades, etc. That place is probably an OSHA nightmare.

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A few weeks ago the H-J did a story on Duncan Park and interviewed Pat Williams, General Manager of the NBA's Orlando Magic regarding the subject. Williams got his professional start in Spartanburg as the GM of the old Spartanburg Phillies Class A minor league club.

Williams suggested that instead of renovating the old stadium, why not build a new one downtown. He made some good arguments in favor of a new stadium that made sense to me.

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Duncan Park Stadium should not be destroyed, but renovated to ensure its a safe facility. A new stadium Downtown that could be built to todays minor league standards would be much more desirable. The Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium (SMA) was renovated at a cost of nearly 11 million dollars with the promise of much better shows. I remember reading that if the facility was updated we would get the better shows! Where are they? The last show I saw before the renovation was Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw in Nov. 1999 before the renovation and I don't think we've had that caliber concert since. I have been so disapointed in the auditoriums shows and don't want this community to spend millions of dollars on another venue that doesn't have the potential to deliver what the community deserves.

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If people would like to se Duncan Park restored, you should prepare for some parts to be destroyed. Instead of spending more to rewire and replace anything, you can build a nicer and larger complex for less. If it is new, it will succeed.

Spartanburg should land another minor league affiliation. Perhaps it could land a rookie league team from somewhere.

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Duncan Park Stadium should not be destroyed, but renovated to ensure its a safe facility. A new stadium Downtown that could be built to todays minor league standards would be much more desirable. The Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium (SMA) was renovated at a cost of nearly 11 million dollars with the promise of much better shows. I remember reading that if the facility was updated we would get the better shows! Where are they? The last show I saw before the renovation was Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw in Nov. 1999 before the renovation and I don't think we've had that caliber concert since. I have been so disapointed in the auditoriums shows and don't want this community to spend millions of dollars on another venue that doesn't have the potential to deliver what the community deserves.

people supporting the peace center have said they will do whatever it takes to keep broadway shows out of spartanburg and instead at the peace center. they want to be the premier destination for seeing a show and they have big donors who are helping them do that. i think it's a pride thing.

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^ That attitude is common in Greenville, and what irritates me most about that place. They think too highly of themselves, IMO. Greenville is a great place, but Spartanburg is not a craphole like many of them think. We deserve more respect than that.

That said, the SMA is not large enough to have better shows. I don't presume to think that we should get more things than the Peace Center (Spartanburg is just not as large as Greenville), but certainly some things that compare to what they have. The SMA seats about 1100 more people than the Peace Center, and is arguably a better facility. I think they sell out a lot of things though. It seems like I hear about that from time to time. I would go to shows more often if we had better ones, thats for sure. The last thing I saw there was Jerry Seinfeld... of course I don't live there anymore, so its not really a fair statement. They could land more, smaller acts like that pretty easily I think.

Thats also why they want to create more show space. The odds are that if we have more space, we can get larger shows. Its pretty simple. The counter argument that I would make to the SMA not getting better shows is this: what if it was not rennovated? What kinds of acts would we be getting? Nothing spectacular or even worth mentioning no doubt. You must have quality facilities for quality performances. That rennovation was the best thing to happen to the SMA.

Now take that over to the baseball stadium. Its a great stadium. Its historic. A national landmark even. Its location sucks, but its an otherwise fine facility. It needs a lot of TLC. Do we tear it down and move the stadium downtown? Do we really want a carbon copy of Greenville? Really? I think not... but either way, if we have a modern facility we stand a better chance of getting a minor leage team to consider Spartanburg, and at making baseball work in the city.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This may prove to be a satifactory solution to all... Spartan High is talking with the City about fixing up the stadium for use as its regular ball field, while removing their on campus field for other activities.

Article

I think its a good idea. It will preserve the park, maintain activity there, and solve the SHS land problem. Then, if Spartanburg were to get a baseball team back, they could use that park or build one downtown (or whatever).

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If Spartanburg does get professional baseball back, what tier would it be and where near downtown could you build a stadium?

I dont know that much about how territories and levels work in sports. My guess is that it would be the lowest level. Locations? I'll leave that one open for others to input on.

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