Just getting a sports team to a city can be a sport in itself: the city may need to provide a venue for play; then the city needs to provide the fans; then the city needs to continue to support the team win or lose, good economy or bad.
Minor league sports teams are not new to Greenville but they do have an erratic background. Greenville has had a long history with baseball starting in 1907 with the Class D “Eskimos.” They underwent a name change to the “Spinners” with a team that included Joe Jackson in 1908. Baseball was in and out of the city associated with different leagues and war times. During the 1966 season for the New York Mets, famed pitcher Nolan Ryan was in Greenville and named “Outstanding Pitcher” of the year in the All-Star game. In 1984, the city funded Greenville Municipal Stadium was built and the city attracted the AA team of the Atlanta Braves. They stayed until 2004 when they moved to Pearl, Miss. In 2005 the Bombers, affiliated with the Boston Red Sox moved to Greenville; their name was changed to the Greenville Drive and they moved into the new downtown stadium named Fluor Field in 2006.
Co-owner and president Craig Brown says of that time, “we broke ground on the stadium in June of 2005 and played our first game there on April 26, 2006. This stadium was privately financed but in those ten months it was also a joint effort with the city that made sure that the power lines were buried, sewer lines were laid and the appropriate hardscape was installed.”
One of the things that the Drive is proud of is the affordability of the experience at the ballpark. In the park, the concessions are not run by outside parties and prices and quality can be controlled. Single tickets have remained the same price and start at $5.00.
Given that the stadium itself is not new anymore, the Drive continues to find ways to enhance the fan experience – they have even named 2011 as “The Year of the Fan.” Through partnerships, the fans can now cruise Verizon Power Alley and Duke Energy Heritage Plaza. There are also four new restaurants in the complex. When asked about the relationship with the city and the fans, Brown is effusive in his praise. “This city has young people and families that want wholesome and inexpensive entertainment and we provide that. This complex is also a mixed-use facility, contributing to the overall quality of life here in Greenville.”
Shannon Earley, Managing Partner of the nearby Liberty Taproom and Grill could not agree more. “Game nights are fun for us; there is a different energy here when the Drive is playing and we all thrive on that excitement. We feel like our customers are fans and friends.”
Craig Brown believes that “baseball is a social game that gives fans the time to walk around and meet others, get a snack and just relax. We want to be the gathering place for the community – in fact we want to be ‘the front porch of Greenville.’” For more information on what is new or tickets for the Greenville Drive, visit
www.greenville.drive.milb.com
Hockey does not have as long a history as baseball in the South, although the Charlotte Clippers came to North Carolina in 1956. Greenville entered the hockey arena with the Greenville Grrrowl in 1998 and in the 2001-2002 season they won the coveted Kelly Cup. In 2006, it was announced that the team was folding with a $1M deficit since attendance had slipped from 7,000 per game to 2,100 in the 2004-2005 season. Their home, the BI-LO Center, offered the team $350,000 to stay afloat until investors could be found. Enough investors did not come forth and the Greenville Grrrowl officially folded in July of 2006.
But 2010 saw the sticks and pucks returning to the BI-LO Center. Johnstown, PA, had been the home of minor league hockey for over 60 years but the last league, the Chiefs, could not withstand the steel industry decline. Johnstown owner Neil Smith and co-owner Steve Posner, along with the Greenville Arena District Board, signed a deal for a 10 year lease with 36 home games per season and brought hockey back to Greenville.
The departure of the Greenville Grrowl left some baggage for Smith to contend with, but that is now all water under the ice. A cockeyed optimist by nature, Smith says “we have a wide base of people who can attend and enjoy the game. There are the hard core fans who may have grown up with hockey in their hometown, and we also have customers who just want to find an affordable and fun activity for the family. It is also a place to take visitors to our city for either their first hockey game or just another team to cheer for an evening.”
Like any good corporate citizen, the transplanted hockey team immediately involved the community in coming up with a suitable name. The winning entry “Road Warriors” played on the Greenville-Spartanburg growing automotive emphasis fostered by BMW, Michelin and CU-ICAR.
With 36 home games that he regards as “events,” Smith has partnered with popular causes and organizations to ingrain the team in the minds and hearts of the community. In their first season, the Road Warriors raised almost $27,000 for charities and the Teddy Bear Toss garnered over 1,400 Toys for Tots. They even have a Boy Scout night sleepover with popcorn and a movie!
Smith credits the community for their warm welcome and he wants the community to know that the management and the players appreciate it. In turn, he feels that the Road Warriors offer a safe environment (at least for the attendees!). It is a “contained place to enjoy the game and get energized by the players.” It is also the real deal as far as sports go, with a fast pace, penalty boxes and guys on skates running into each other at a high rate of speed.
With a ten-year commitment, Smith also says that his team is “in it for the long haul.” He laughs and says that with the season running from October to April, he “has to adjust his schedule to account for football games – a concession to a sport that borders on religion” can only help attendance. For more information on the Greenville Road Warriors, please visit
www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com.
So right now, minor league sports in Greenville are alive and well, earning runs and scoring goals. The teams and fans are mutually supportive and hopefully it will remain the same for both baseball and hockey.