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Spartanburg's Fifth Third Park Demonstrates How PDL

Published

9 months ago

May 2, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Spartanburg's Fifth Third Park Demonstrates How PDL

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Fifth Third Park in Spartanburg, S.C. (Photo by J.J. Cooper)

What is state of the art in baseball stadium construction is an ever-evolving concept.

A smart idea at one new stadium—see Camden Yards in the early 1990s and its nod to past parks—is quickly adopted elsewhere. Well-designed group/picnic areas, table tops and open concourses went from cutting edge to standard practice quite quickly.

This year, new minor league ballparks have opened in Spartanburg, S.C. and Knoxville, Tenn. A near complete rebuild of a park in Columbus, Ga. also opened. Next year will see another wave of new ballparks in Richmond, Va., Wilson, N.C., Chattanooga, Tenn., Ontario, Calif. and Hillsboro, Ore. All of these are the first of the Professional Development League (PDL) era, replacing stadiums that were deemed unsuitable for upgrading to meet significantly increased facility requirements. They are stadiums built from the start to meet the stricter requirements, and as such, we’re seeing how stadiums have continued to adapt and change.

MiLB ballparks have largely been divided into a small number of eras. Because of the steady decline of the minor leagues in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, many minor league teams were still playing in Works Progress Administration (WPA)-built, depression-era ballparks until the 1990s. Ballparks built in the 60s and 70s were rarities, as most teams largely operated in old ballparks that had received little more than modest maintenance for years.

The 1990 Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) changed expectations. Major League Baseball pushed through increased facility standards in its agreement with Minor League Baseball.

At the time, many MiLB owners thought the new requirements would be impossible to meet and that the PBA could kill the minors. Instead, numerous cities agreed to build new ballparks to meet the demands. Fans found new seats, improved bathrooms and concession areas much more inviting than ancient stadiums with sun-bleached bleachers and plenty of peeling paint.

The PBA era showed how far stadiums had come over the preceding few decades. The building boom led to an attendance boom. And that led to a second building boom, because even the WPA-era stadiums that had been upgraded to meet the PBA standards soon found themselves left behind. Before long, they were replaced by newer stadiums. By 2021, 80% of MiLB full-season teams were playing in ballparks built after the 1990 PBA was adopted.

We won’t see that kind of building boom in the 2020s, but we are seeing a new wave of construction. With that in mind, Baseball America recently traveled to Fifth Third Park in Spartanburg to see the Hub City Spartanburgers’ new home and provide a look at what’s new in ballparks in the PDL era.

New Parks Are Roomier Than Ever

In the 21st century, stadiums have largely adopted a more open concourse design that allows fans to continue to see the field/game while walking around the stadium. But the concourses themselves were asked to do a lot, as they were both the main traffic arteries, spaces for concessions and a standing room area for fans taking in different views of the park.

The idea remains an excellent one, but congestion often defeated some of the goals of these open concourse designs. The concourses were designed to encourage fans to check out the field from multiple angles and to wander around, but long lines and packed concourses discouraged getting up and exploring different areas of the park.

Much like the U.S. Interstate system, the answer has been to widen the traffic arteries. In Spartanburg’s Fifth Third Park (and other new designs), the concourses are extremely wide, allowing enough room for fans heading in either direction, plus room for small stand-up concession stands and their lines without halting traffic flow.

According to Hub City general manager Tyson Jeffers, feedback on the roomier layout has been positive.

“A comment that we’ve gotten a lot in these first two homestands of games is that, even with a full crowd, people still feel like they have space within the concourses to move about freely,” Jeffers said.

Concession Stands Are More Efficient & Fan-Friendly

In the WPA era, concession stands were afterthoughts. They were placed seemingly wherever there was space and plumbing. If stands caused traffic jams, so be it.

The second wave of PBA-era stadiums fixed many of those problems but did so by putting the concession stands largely against the back walls of the concourses. An unintended result was the creation of new pinch points for traffic jams. Long lines meant fans were blocking other fans from crossing through the concourse. They also discouraged fans from making repeat trips to the concession stands.

Jeffers said the team was “really conscious” of potential foot traffic headaches in constructing the park.

“(With the concourse concessions) you might be making that person’s buying experience a little bit better while they’re waiting, but then you’re ruining someone else’s while they’re trying to get wherever they need to go,” Jeffers said, adding that the stadium’s property footprint helped make addressing traffic flow problems easier.

“It gave us the real estate to be able to do this. To be able to tuck (concessions) back beyond the concourse a little bit, create them in a marketplace style so that they flow a lot easier.”

Fifth Third Park puts the main concession stands into cutouts that extend off the back side of the concourse. Doing so ensures any lines are contained within the concession area without causing backups on the concourses. In the 1990s and 2000s, such construction would have meant fans couldn’t see the game. Today, television monitors line the area so fans can watch the broadcast if they don’t have a direct sightline to the field.

The concession stands themselves have also been updated. Traditional ballpark items such as popcorn, hamburgers and chicken sandwiches are self-serve fare.

“Each of those marketplaces have their own kitchen,” Jeffers said. “So they’re cooking hot food and just sliding it out. You’re grabbing it, you’re going. There’s always a little bit of fear about what happens when it sits there, but our food and beverage department has done an amazing job to make sure that they’re pushing it out when people need it. And those people can grab it and keep going.”

The grab-and-go setup reduces lines by allowing fans to quickly get their food, scan and pay at a self-checkout touch-screen display and then quickly return to their seats. The end effect, Jeffers said, is fans feel more comfortable in their decision to get up from game action to buy food.

“If you know you’re going to have to stand in line, you’re making a conscious decision of ‘Do I need that extra hot dog?’ You might say it’s not worth the minutes that I’m going to miss some of the game.”

For MiLB teams, in addition to increased concession stand sales, the marketplace layout may also reduce employee head count. Not dramatically, as the self-service food areas need continual restocking, and the self-pay kiosk area needs multiple employees supervising and helping any customers who have issues, but it’s a change from traditionally-staffed concession counters.

Parks Are Year-Round Facilities

It’s hard to imagine any team building a new park in the 2020s without a multi-purpose club-level area. Such a space can serve as an upscale restaurant/bar during games, but just as importantly, it provides an all-weather area for non-game day activities.

Spartanburg features a large club area on the second level that serves as a restaurant/bar/gathering place during games. It can also be used for conferences, wedding receptions, proms and most any other event a group could conceive. It has a full-service kitchen/bar as well as an outdoor patio area for events that want inside-outside versatility. In an era when teams are looking to increase the number of calendar dates the stadium is used, these types of multi-purpose areas are becoming must-haves in both new and retro-fitted ballparks.

“We’re providing an unbelievable experience and a top-tier experience for our fans at baseball games,” Jeffers said. “But then we have an amazing space that we can utilize on non-game days. And so we’re talking about our facility operating 365 days out of the year or as close to that as possible.

“Conferences coming in, chamber events, wedding receptions—all of those things. And it’s built in a way that one gives it the square footage and the layout to be able to accommodate those. But then it also has the technologies to be able to execute every type of event that you can think of.”

Seating Areas Are More Intimate

Under the old PBA rules, different MiLB levels had different seating requirements. A Triple-A stadium had to have 10,000 seats, a Double-A stadium required 6,000 and a Class A stadium needed 4,000. Those rules do not exist in the current PDL era, so individual teams can decide how big to build their stadium bowls.

Fifth Third Park’s seating bowl reflects this. The stadium has roughly 3,500 fixed seats, although group areas and berms mean up to 5,000 can get into the park.

“All of that was built intentionally to make sure that it always felt like that place is rocking and rolling every single night,” Jeffers said. “There was a stretch there in the 90s where people overbuilt. On July 4th, it’s great, but it makes your normal night crowd feel like it kind of loses something in exchange. To build for those anomaly games—opening night, the Fourth of July—you’re building for two days out of your year. We built for every day.”

There’s A Lot Fans Never See

Modern PDL requirements were focused on items for MiLB players, staff and player development. For example, the required size of visitor clubhouses was increased significantly. There must now be dining areas for the players. There must be bathrooms that are easily accessible from the dugouts.

Stadiums are required to have air-conditioned batting cages/pitching tunnels and enlarged weight rooms and storage space, as well as locker rooms for female staff and umpires.

Ballpark lighting and field requirements have also been increased.

These are non-negotiable requirements for both upgraded existing stadiums and new construction, so much of what’s been done in the bowels of a stadium will be similar to what’s been upgraded elsewhere. But with a new build, it’s possible to leave room for further expansion, new loading docks and other touches that may be tougher to add to an existing facility.

Sports

Avery Vogt Named Gatorade Iowa Volleyball Player of the Year

Published

5 minutes ago

January 12, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Photo taken by Next Level Portrait

Avery Vogt, a senior at Waukee Northwest High School, has been named the 2025–26 Gatorade Iowa Volleyball Player of the Year, one of the top honors in high school athletics. The Gatorade Player of the Year award recognizes student-athletes for success in athletics, academics, and community involvement.

Avery helped lead the Wolves to an impressive 38–1 season and the program’s second state championship. She finished the year with 939 assists, along with 216 kills, 171 digs, 45 blocks, and 38 service aces, highlighting her versatility and leadership on the court. Her season also earned her AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and AVCA All-Region recognition.

In addition to the Gatorade honor, Avery was named to the IGCA Elite All-State Team, selected as the State Tournament Most Valuable Player, and received the 5A Ms. Volleyball award. She played a key role in Northwest closing the season with 52 consecutive set victories.

Off the court, Avery enjoys giving back to the community. She volunteers as a mentor at camps and clinics and supports literacy outreach by reading to elementary students throughout the Waukee Community School District.

After graduation, Avery will continue her volleyball career at Drake University. Congratulations, Avery, on this incredible honor

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Sports

This Week in Saluki Athletics: January 12-18

Published

18 minutes ago

January 12, 2026

Your Sports Nation

CARBONDALE, Ill. – School is back in session at Southern Illinois and Saluki athletics is back in full swing. Last week, both basketball squads were in action as well as the swim and dive team. And this week, track and field returns to competition.

Men’s Basketball (8-9, 2-4)
Men’s basketball had just one game last week, falling 70-57 at UIC. Damien Mayo Jr. was the game’s leading scorer with 17, and he also tied Quel’Ron House to lead all players in assists with five.

Two games await Southern this week. On Wednesday, Jan. 14, they host Drake at 7 p.m. SIU then welcomes Belmont to Banterra Center on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m.

Women’s Basketball (4-11, 1-5)
The women’s basketball squad split their two conference games last week.

First, the team lost to Evansville on Thursday, 75-70. Jeniah Thompson reset her career-high in points with 19, and grabbed 12 rebounds to complete a double-double. Karris Allen had a nice game as well with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Indya Green was the final Saluki to hit double-digit points with her 11.

SIU then picked up their first conference win of the season on Saturday, defeating Valparaiso 97-59. Thompson set a new career-high in points once again with 25, and had 14 rebounds as well for another double-double. Green, Kayla Cooper, and Tkiyah Nelson all had 10+ points as well.

This week, the Salukis host Murray State on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 6 p.m. They then welcome UIC to Carbondale on Sunday, Jan. 18, for a 2 p.m. match.

Swim and Dive
It was a busy weekend for swim and dive, who competed for the first time following winter break.

On Friday, the men’s squad traveled to Purdue and fell 207-103. Carter Ruthven won SIU’s first event of the day by taking gold in the 100-butterfly. Alex Cimera won the 200-freestyle event as well as the 100-freestyle. Southern’s last win of the meet came in the 400-IM thanks to Juraj Barcot.

SIU then hosted Evansville and Indiana State’s women’s team on Saturday for Senior Day. Both Southern squads took down Evansville, but the women’s team fell to Indiana State in a close meet. The Salukis started the meet by winning both sides of the 200-medley relay, and Joshua Aceves was the team’s first individual winner in the men’s 1000-freestyle. Susy Hernandez then won the 200-freestyle, as did Willem Huggins for the men’s team. In the 100-backstroke, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez and Cimera both grabbed gold. Olivia Herron, Maddax Thompson, Nate Worsham , Tomáš Peciar, Benedek Andor, and Barcot all won events as well, and Oliver Mebs provided SIU a diving win in the one-meter dive.

It is another busy week for swim and dive. On Friday, Jan. 16, the team hosts McKendree at 2 p.m. before welcoming Vanderbilt’s women’s team on Saturday, Jan. 17, for a 1 p.m. meet.

Track and Field
The indoor track and field season resumes this week when the Salukis head to the Indiana Invitational on Friday, Jan. 16, and Saturday, Jan. 17.

Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X at @SIUSalukis, on Instagram at @siusalukis, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SalukiAthletics/. Fans can also download the “Salukis” Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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Sports

Ahen Kim Named Head Coach of Duke Volleyball

Published

22 minutes ago

January 12, 2026

Your Sports Nation

WASHINGTON – After three years as head coach and nine years in the American University volleyball program, Ahen Kim has been named the new head coach of Duke University volleyball. Kim most recently led AU to a historic season in 2025, capturing the program’s first Patriot League title since 2019. He leaves American with a 44-25 overall record at the helm.

“We are incredibly grateful to Ahen for everything he has given to American University volleyball,” said Director of Athletics and Recreation JM Caparro. “His connection to this program runs deep, from his time as an assistant under Barry Goldberg during one of the most successful eras in our history to leading the program through an important transition as head coach. This past season’s Patriot League championship and NCAA Tournament berth were a testament to his leadership, commitment to our student-athletes, and belief in this program. While we will miss Ahen, we are proud of the work he has done at AU and understand the significance of the opportunity he has earned. We wish him nothing but success in his next chapter.”

“I’m forever grateful to American University Volleyball and will cherish the time I’ve had coaching here both as an Assistant and as Head Coach,” said Kim. “It has been an honor to serve the program after Coach Barry, and I am extremely proud of the work by our student-athletes and staff to restore its competitive legacy. I want to thank President Alger, JM, Katie Benoit and the AU community for all the support for me and our program over the years. With the addition of the Meltzer Center and Goldberg Court, I know this program will continue to be a winner. AUVB will always be special to me and I wish the program continued success. Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.”

As an assistant from 2012 to 2017 and a head coach since 2023, Kim has been synonymous with many of AU volleyball’s greatest moments. He was on the bench for five Patriot League championships and all three of AU’s NCAA Tournament wins, and returned in 2023 to find more success as a head coach. Kim led the Eagles to back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2023 and 2024, leading to one of the best campaigns in program history in 2025. American won 24 games up through the Patriot League final, with Kim guiding several players to unprecedented individual success. AU earned six All-Patriot League selections and took home all five major postseason awards, including the Coaching Staff of the Year distinction given to Kim and his assistants. In total as a head coach, Kim oversaw 12 All-Patriot League players, six major award winners, two AVCA All-Region selections, and two All-Americans.

With undeniable success on the court, Kim made an equal impact off the court. 30 of his players have landed on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and three players earned spots on the Academic All-Patriot League team in 2025, which recognizes both on-court and academic performance.

American University will conduct a national search for its next volleyball coach.

Keep up With Us

For the latest on American University Volleyball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_V olleyball), Facebook (/AU.Volleyball) and Instagram (@au_volleyball).

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Sports

Bulldogs See Two First Place Finishes in First Chance Qualifier

Published

35 minutes ago

January 12, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Men’s Track and Field | 1/12/2026 2:21:00 PM

Wichita, Kan – McPherson College started their 2026 off with an indoor meet on the campus of Wichita State for the First Chance Qualifier. Following their Christmas break, the Bulldogs sought after a solid performance in their first meet of the new year.

The Basics
Location: Heskett Center

Women’s Highlights
In the Women’s 60m Hurdles, Blake Posey would run her personal best time of 9.47 and place 2^nd in the meet. Nina Zimmerman finished the Women’s 60m with a 9.24 personal record. Chloe Guzman, a dual-sport athlete for the Bulldogs (women’s soccer), would continue the personal best category after running a 9.40 in the Women’s 60m.
Johanna Walker’s mile time in the Women’s Mile was also a personal best time, running a 6:19.02; this would beat her previous best time by an astonishing 29 seconds.
In the throws department, Cara Shultz’s shot put would travel 12.44m for a personal best throw; she would have a personal-best weight throw of 15.14. In both event Schultz competed in, she placed fourth.

Men’s Highlights
For the men, Eric Brown began his indoor season with a time of 1:29.86 in the Men’s 600m. Lamar Gordon lit up the competition taking first place in the Shot Put and the Weight Throw events. His shot put would travel 15.29m and his weight throw landed at 17.99m.

Up Next
The Bulldogs will travel to Maryville, Missouri this upcoming weekend for the Coach Alsup Invitational hosted by Northwest Missouri State University on January 17^th.

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Granby adult volleyball standings (Jan. 5)

Published

37 minutes ago

January 12, 2026

Your Sports Nation

**First place winners of the Granby volleyball tournament in April 2025, K-Town.**
*Granby Recreation Department/Courtesy photo*

As of Jan. 5, the Granby adult co-ed volleyball league has continued its season with some hard-hitting competition.

Results from last week’s games

Washed Up downed Net WERK
Timberline over Spike Tysons
CV Electric beat Sagebrush
Prather Plumbing beat Eastside Gang
Washed Up downed Ski Pigs
Spike Tysons over Liberty Spikes
Drowsy Water Ranch downed Float Goats
CV Electric beat Prather Plumbing
Ski Pigs downed Liberty Spikes
Drowsy Water Ranch over Timberline
Float Goats beat Sagebrush
Net WERK over Eastside Gang
Drowsy Water downed Ski Pigs

League Standings as of Jan. 5

Washed Up 8-0
Drowsy Water Ranch 8-1
Timberline 7-2
Float Goats 6-2
CV Electric 6-3
Sagebrush 5-4
Net WERK 5-4
Prather Plumbing 4-5
Spike Tysons 2-7
Ski Pigs 2-7
Eastside Gang 0-9
Liberty Spikes 0-9

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