The ballpark that plays host to the Class A Columbia Fireflies baseball team has a new name.
The Fireflies announced Monday that Spirit Communications Park, located in the BullStreet development, will now be called Segra Park. The name change comes after Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks Corp rebranded as Segra (pronounced, according to Fireflies officials, as "say-gruh").
“We are excited to play such a big role in the launch of the Segra brand,” Fireflies team resident John Katz said in a release. “It is an exciting opportunity to participate in their brand launch just like they helped us do in 2016. We are excited for the new opportunities this brings to both organizations, and will continue to deliver first-class, affordable family entertainment with Fireflies baseball and other events here at Segra Park.”
According to a release earlier Monday, "in April 2018, EQT Partners completed the purchase of a majority stake in Spirit Communications and announced it would combine the Spirit assets with Lumos. Since that time, the two companies have integrated operations, have expanded their fiber-optic network and product sets and have made further investments in existing and new markets across nine states in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast."
The Fireflies will begin their fourth season in the ballpark this April. The stadium is owned by the City of Columbia and was built at a cost of $37 million, mostly with public funds.
The Class A team, which is an affiliate of the New York Mets, has been a decent draw over its first few seasons. In 2018 the team drew 251,586 fans, good for seventh in the 14-team South Atlantic League. In 2017 (a year in which quarterback-turned-outfielder Tim Tebow played half a season for Columbia) the team drew 315,034 fans, good for fourth in the league. And in 2016 the Fireflies drew 261,134 through the turnstiles, which was sixth in the Sally League.
