The Hub City Spartanburgers are set to begin their second season on April 3, bringing excitement to fans as well as increased business for nearby restaurants and shops. Hub City Spartanburgers photo
Never mind that Spartanburg now leads all 46 state counties in annual capital investment. Or that 1,000-plus new jobs were created in 2025 – or even that the new Carolinas Classic basketball event just finished with a resounding success.
Between now and the end of August, the city’s downtown and surrounding area are readying for what could be a bonanza summer, once the Hub City Spartanburgers begin a new baseball season April 3.
The team, a High-A minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers, not only led the South Atlantic League with 1,327 strikeouts and advanced to the 2025 playoffs, but scored an impressive season total 240,000 fans for all home games held at Fifth Third Bank Park – an average of 3,590 in 65 home dates – “which was truly unbelievable,” said General Manager Tyson Jeffers before the Spartanburg City Council at its Feb. 23 meeting.
Jeffers added that in the new season, Hub City will host “66 home games – hopefully more as we make a playoff run, and hopefully bring in the championship.”
In their way, of course, are 11 other teams – stretching from New York to Georgia – such as the Jersey Shore Blueclaws, Greensboro Grasshoppers, Rome Emperors, and last season’s champion Brooklyn Cyclones.
One hoped-for advantage is the presence of new manager Carlos Maldonado, promoted from Low-A Hickory to Hub City along with familiar players.
“There will be a lot of continuity with the players he coached last year who have also made the jump from Low-A to High-A,” said team broadcast & media relations manager Ian Unsworth. “It's a great help for the players to have the same expectations and voices sticking with them through their minor league journey from city to city and level to level.”
The biggest fan draws are expected to come in two six-game home stands, April 7-12 and August 11-16 against the Greenville Drive, a team looking to vastly improve from last year.
“The crosstown rivalry trickles from the stands onto the field,” Unsworth said. “Our players last season took pride in representing Spartanburg and winning the ‘I-85 Rivalry’ as the best minor league team in the Upstate.”
The unseen winners, however, could very well be the shops, businesses, restaurants, and overall economy of Spartanburg’s thriving downtown.
Closest in proximity to the Spartanburgers home stadium is Tacos and Tequila, just across the street from the stadium’s outfield fence on Daniel Morgan Ave.
While no one has run any numbers yet, general manager Johnny Cabrera said the team’s presence has opened up the restaurant to a whole new clientele.
“There are a lot of people who come here who have never been to this side of town,” Cabrera said. “We’re hoping that being right across from the field will be an advantage down the road.”
The same is true for area hotels as well.
Victoria Fernandez Wooley, general manger of the Spartanburg Marriott on North Church Street, said the team’s presence has already made a noticeable change in terms of increased visibility to downtown businesses and shops, and people coming into the Marriott.
“We’re seeing increased demand every game day,” she said. “Plus we now have new partnerships with the ball club that are working really well.”
But Hub City is just one of the latest additions to a booming area economy.
Local chamber of commerce OneSpartanburg, Inc., for example, issued a 2025 report showing that downtown construction projects either underway or completed since 2017 are expected to have an economic impact of more than $1.77 billion countywide.
And the same report also showed Spartanburg’s hotel occupancy rate at an annual 71.1%, up 9.3% year-over-year, and outpacing regional communities such as Myrtle Beach, Birmingham, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn.
All of which adds up to a promising economic summer, a potential championship baseball season – and maybe even a potential contest, such as ‘One free meal to the patron who catches a home run ball in front of Tacos and Tequila.’
Cabrera indicated, however, that it might be a long time before something like that happens: When asked if a home run had ever hit the front of the restaurant, he replied, “Not yet.”
