Fifth Third Park
Spartanburg, SC
Review by Gary
Fifth Third Park is the second of two stadiums named after a bank merger (Fifth National and the Third National Banks) in 1908. There have been three other stadiums to carry this numerical bank moniker. This venue is one of the nicest of those named, currently or previously. Hub City, the town nickname, pays tribute to Spartanburg being the central hub for seven different converging railroad lines which helped the city grow in the 1900s. The Texas Rangers moved their Carolina League Single-A team from Kinston, NC to join the High-A South Atlantic League and were rebranded as the Hub City Spartanburgers.
The capacity of Fifth Third Park is 5,250, with seating for 3,500. On the day of my visit, it was Education Day, so the seats were two-thirds full of elementary school kids. The stadium emptied in the fifth inning, when it was time for them to go home. As I unknowingly purchased a ticket in one of the kids-only sections, I received an email the morning of the game from Bailey, the Ticket Operations Manager, who kindly upgraded me to a section devoid of underlings. High marks, Bailey!
Near the spacious main entrance, Fifth Third Park pays homage to Duncan Park, the granddaddy of ballparks in Spartanburg. Vintage photos of the park adorn the walls and the fans can sit in wooden Duncan Park stadium seats that originally came from Shibe Park in Philadelphia! Around the covered concourse, there is no shortage of concessions, including “Ingles Spartanburgers”, where one can make their own custom-topped burger. (Is it cannibalism if a Spartanburger player eats one of these burgers?).
On the grass field, an enjoyable game was had as Hub City battled back from a 4-0 deficit to rally in the late innings but came up short in a 4-3 loss. Spartanburg’s Arturo Disla belted two homers to help the cause. One month later, Disla would be promoted to the Double-A Frisco Rough Riders. Hopefully, his journey to the Bigs will continue in the near future.
The most notable feature at Fifth Third Park is the massive “Spartanburg” sign mounted on the roof above the grandstand, like the one at Huntington Park in Ohio. Kudos to the staff for their exceptional customer service. In addition to Bailey, a shout-out goes to Maithy, who procured an advertised rally towel giveaway that wasn’t offered at admission but was found and given to me to mark Fifth Third Park as my 300th ballpark visited. Huzzah!
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2026
300
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Arturo Disla smacks a long home run for the Spartanburgers
