Columbia was without minor league baseball since the
Capital City Bombers relocated to
Greenville, in 2004. Plans were approved to build a new stadium to attract a Minor League Baseball team in 2014, with Spirit Communications, a local telecommunications company, buying the naming rights. Developers broke ground on Spirit Communications Park on January 6, 2015.
Architectural firm
Populous built the stadium, with an estimated 8,500 capacity, on a budget of $37 million, with $30 million coming from public funds, $7 million from the team. The
Savannah Sand Gnats of the
Class A South Atlantic League announced in May 2015 that they would move to Columbia for the 2016 season, and be known as the
Columbia Fireflies. Their first game at Spirit Communications Park, on April 14, 2016, was a 4–1 victory over the
Greenville Drive attended by 9,077 people. In its first season,
Ballpark Digest named Spirit Communications Park it's 2016 Ballpark of the Year. It's the first time that a stadium has received the honor in its first year since
Fluor Field at the West End, home of the
Greenville Drive did in 2006. On September 7, 2018, the ballpark hosted the United Music Festival hip hop concert with
Ludacris,
Flo Rida,
Nelly, and
Ying Yang Twins. Originally known as Spirit Communications Park, the facility was renamed Segra Park in January 2019 following the merger of
Spirit Communications and
Lumos Networks Corp into
Segra. ==References==