Looking back at the 2024 season, Columbia Fireflies president Brad Shank had a long list of things to be proud of. The franchise achieved remarkable success on the field with a best-ever.519 winning percentage and a record-tying 68 wins in the Low-A Carolina League as an affiliate of the Royals. Off the field, there was tangible evidence of success too, with 217,809 fans attending beautiful Segra Park last year, exceptional turnouts for non-baseball events, and even a record-setting turnout for the early-March Clemson-South Carolina college game that forms part of the Palmetto Series.

Creating a Positive Work Culture

What stands out the most for Shank is the hard work put into creating a culture where his staff genuinely wants to come to work every day and can express their creativity. This, in turn, creates a positive atmosphere at the ballpark for the dedicated fanbase. It also leads to a willingness to integrate the franchise into the community, which earned the Fireflies this year's Class A Freitas Award. "So many people over the years, since we opened the ballpark in 2016, have put in the time and effort and truly cared about this project and the community to make sacrifices," Shank said. "We've been extremely fortunate to have people who care about this community and every fan who walks into the ballpark. We want our staff to be able to make decisions to make it right no matter what the situation is. Southern hospitality is a real thing, and that's what we try to embrace here."

Overcoming Challenges

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for the South Carolina-based franchise. The Fireflies had to work hard to overcome the negativity associated with building their nine-year-old ballpark on the former grounds of a mental institution in the still-transforming 181-acre BullStreet District. But they have quickly become the centerpiece of the redeveloped area. "When we talk to our staff and set goals, it's to continue to drive traffic here," Shank said. "We view ourselves less as a baseball team and more as an economic driver. This district and what's happened here, we were brought in to drive traffic and survive without a lot going on around us. When you start a development on land that was a state mental asylum for 200 years, there are challenges."

Utilizing Segra Park

Columbia made great use of Segra Park in 2024. They hosted multiple concerts and experimented with new and unique food festivals. However, their biggest splash was with the Holiday Lights display. Now in its third year, it continues to grow in attendance (more than 30,000 fans visited last year, a 75% increase from the first year) and size, with more than 1.5 million lights set to illuminate the ballpark in the 2024 installment of the family-friendly event. "What it really does is continue to grow fans of the Fireflies and this ballpark," Shank said. "It also helps draw foot traffic to other establishments within the District. There are so many people who come here for the lights, or baseball games, or even the Taco and Margarita Festival and they hadn't been here before. It's great to see these opportunities where we can draw people in with these other events and they see what a wonderful ballpark it is and what a great community asset it is, which draws them back for more events in the future."