Augusta Greenjackets hit a home run with new stadium, big win
Let’s see…
Brand new stadium…check!
Terrific summer setting….check!
Spirited Friday night crowd…check!
Dramatic walk-off win over rival….check check!!
All the ingredients were there for a great visit to the ol’ ballyard…and we had a great visit to SRP park.
A recent road trip took the Ramblin review crew through Augusta, Georgia, home of the Greenjackets (South Atlantic League), the single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have a network of 8 minor league teams, all but 2 of which are on the West Coast area.
First, some head-spinning geography. This baseball team is actually located in North Augusta, which is in South Carolina. North Augusta is right across the Savannah River from its bigger, more famous municipal neighbor which is well-known for a fairly famous springtime golf tournament…..whereas North Augusta is famous for…well, for being close to Augusta.
2018 is the inaugural season for SRP park as the home of the Greenjackets. Augusta has a long storied history of minor league baseball, going back to the days of Ty Cobb himself. The most recent home for the Greenjackets was Lake Olmstead park dating to 1995.
The new park, completed in just 11 months, is named after a local credit union. It holds 5000 fans for baseball and twice that number for concerts. As is the common trend, this stadium is part of a multi-purpose project in the live-work-play mode. Included in that endeavor is the residential building rising just beyond the left field wall and the nascent Crowne Plaza Hotel going up along the right-field foul line.
The grand idea holds that this area will attract patrons even when no game is scheduled. Only time will tell if that plan bears fruit, but it’s already apparent that SRP is a fine place to watch baseball. The facility itself has good eye appeal, with ample cheap parking only 2 blocks away. We parked about 2 blocks further out, for free, on a city street, still an easy walk.
The entry-level stadium seats are spacious enough, with decent legroom and handy cup holders. I was struck by the cozy proximity of the lower level seats to the playing field. Coupled with eye-level seating on the front rows and a gradual rise toward the concourse, you really feel close to the action.
Two more features we liked were the grassy berms available down the left field line and the. overall walkability of the stadium. You can completely encircle the playing field on a broad concrete walk path–and encounter some interesting areas along the way. There’s a tee ball batting practice area in centerfield and a kid zone play area in right. All these areas allow a direct view of the field from the outfield perspective and in far right field, fans can climb even higher onto the Taxslayer Terrace for a bigger look.
As for the food, SRP hit the essentials benchmark, as you can get a dog and a beer for under $10. The menu offers a good range of options at decent prices. I did issue a small debit for finding a menu listing of Cracker Jack in the plural, as in Cracker Jacks (who cares, right?)
This evening featured plenty of good work by mascot Auggie who looked somewhat like a big green hornet. Surprisingly his garb did not include an actual green jacket (I guess you have to win that golf tournament to earn that right).
The Greenjackets marketing angle features an amalgam of golf references ( including the team name of course) crossed with buzzing. insects. Thus the eateries feature names like the Back Nine and the Bee-stro. (A couple new spots are yet to open).The ultimate effect will be easy availability of good food and drink options–just what the fans and the management like.
Stadium staff members were uniformly responsive, polite and enthusiastic. Mason helped me with media information and two other staff were very accommodating in helping us find seats and facilities.
Freebies this night included a small printed program about the team and the opponent. In addition, we received a pretty decent beach towel with Auggie s image.
Electronics at the stadium were top-notch. The big scoreboard beyond the left-field wall tells much and is well laid out. When the sun finally drops below the horizon, a bright green line of light neatly accents the horizontal lines of the stadium. And best of all, on this night, the sights and sounds of a big celebration announced the dramatic walk-off win for the home team.
A final important note: sometimes minor league baseball operations can over-emphasize the shtick in an effort to draw the casual fan, neglecting the ardent fan in the process. That is NOT the situation at SRP. Game line-ups are posted in the concourse wall and scorecards are readily available. Also, the electronic displays are vivid and complete, and audio is full and clear, making it easy for the serious fan to follow the action. Well done!
Verdict: plenty of reasons to return.