Tonight marks a new milestone in the history of the Augusta GreenJackets (A-Full; South Atlantic League; San Francisco Giants) as their new stadium, SRP Park, is set to see its first action tonight as the North Augusta High School Yellow Jackets soft-open the stadium to an estimated crowd of around 3,000. That’s not the only event scheduled for this week, as the University of Georgia take on Clemson in NCAA action tomorrow night. Finally, the GreenJackets will open the ballfield in grand style Thursday night against the Lexington Legends (A-Full; South Atlantic League; Kansas City Royals).
The home opener marks the near-completion of years of effort to build a new ballpark and surrounding development in North Augusta. City officials committed $70 million to the Riverside Village development, while attracting $150 million in outside additional development. The project was first proposed almost six years ago as a tax-increment financing (TIF) district idea. The concept was legally challenged and made it to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which ruled the plan was lawful and could continue. More on the development from the Augusta Chronicle:
The development will include a Crowne Plaza hotel/conference center, first-floor retail with townhomes above, 280 luxury apartments, a senior living facility and an office building.
Restaurants and shops that ring the stadium will have entrances inside and outside, so they can serve people walking by as well as those attending a game. The apartments will have views into the stadium, and there will be a craft brewery next to right field.
It’s designed to appeal to millennials, who prefer to live close to where they work and play, choosing to walk or cycle rather than drive. Linking the Greeneway to Riverside Village and further into downtown has been a hot topic for a couple of years and has the support of North Augusta Forward, among others.
Under the Diamond Lights 