Baseball Returns to a Military Town

The main entrance to Segra Stadium, May-2019.

The main grandstand has a “J” shape owing to space limitations.

Eighth-inning action on a crowded Saturday evening.

Chronological Tour: Stop 395

• Location: Hay Street between Hillsboro Street and Ray Avenue, Fayetteville, N.C. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2019
• Home team: Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Carolina League (2019-present)
• Capacity: 4,786

Rating: 4 baseballs

Following the Fort Bragg Game of 2016, a Major League Baseball game played at the nearby base on a temporary stadium (which has since been retrofit as a softball facility), the clamor rose for a new team in this military town. The transfer of two California League teams, including the Bakersfield Blaze, to the Carolina League presented the opportunity. The Astros bought one of the transferred clubs, which played at Campbell University for two seasons as the Buies Creek Astros, and prepared to build this new park, which opened in April 2019.

In addition to the minor league team, known as the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, the site will also be home to the Big South baseball tournament from 2019-21. Campbell, which benefited from upgrades to its facility when the Minor League team moved in from Bakersfield, is a member of the conference.

Getting to the Game

The Woodpeckers are using a variable ticket pricing structure, with Friday and Saturday games priced higher than the rest of the week. Also in the first season, the club failed to include sales tax in the ticket price, so be prepared to deal with pocket change (and potentially longer lines) if paying with cash. That was also rectified by 2023; a ticket directly behind home plate was $20, including tax.

Given the presence of Fort Bragg (since renamed Fort Liberty), the club was wise to offer military discounts on most tickets.

Watching the Game

Many fans will opt for general admission, which enables them to stand on the concourse or enjoy the game from the outfield berm. For my first game, I stood at a drink rail for the entire contest. The eighth inning featured a lengthy rain delay during which all but about 35 fans went home; I watched the last inning from one of the club seating areas on the concourse.

While most information is presented adequately, the regular public address announcer spent too much time explaining what the fans had just seen, even on routine plays. The numbers on the video board representing the line score were also rather small and showed a difficult contrast to read easily. As at many new parks, there is no dedicated scoreboard.

I was disappointed that the starting lineups were announced a full 38 minutes before first pitch. Fortunately, there is a lineup board located near the main gate, and rosters for both teams are available at the nearby customer service desk. On a return visit in 2023, lineups were announced a more reasonable ten minutes before first pitch.

Enjoying the Game

A bar called Healy’s is open inside the ballpark during games as well as on off nights, providing an outfield vantage point similar to the ones in Nashville and Clearwater.