Gastonia Grizzlies

Lore & Background

The Grizzlies played all their seasons at Sims Legion Park from 2002 to 2020. A new ballpark was built in Gastonia in the team's final years, but it was not guaranteed to be a new home for the Grizzlies. City officials favored a partnership that brought an Atlantic League expansion team to the new ballpark, and Grizzlies ownership said they would not share the stadium. In October 2020, it was reported that the team was moving to Spartanburg, South Carolina starting with the 2021 season, with the new name announced as the Spartanburgers.

The inaugural Midnight Madness game took place on July 9, 2010 against the Forest City Owls, with first pitch at midnight. Festivities included bed races, eating contests, players in the dunk tank, a home run derby, and a live band in the Beer Garden. The game drew 3,150 fans, with the last fan entering at 1:39 am. It won best promotion at the 2010 Summer Ball Conference. The 2011 Midnight Madness drew even more fans.

The 2014 season was the most successful in the Grizzlies' nineteen-year history, both on and off the field. The team drew just under 60,000 fans, breaking the previous attendance record that had been set for four straight years. They also set the single-game attendance record with 4,381 fans, along with two other games over 4,000 fans.

Reader's Guide

The Gastonia Grizzlies represent a notable example of a collegiate summer baseball team that achieved significant community engagement and on-field success. Their 2011 CPL championship run, entering the playoffs as the 6th seed and defeating the top-seeded Edenton Steamers, highlighted their competitive peak. The team's promotional creativity, particularly the Midnight Madness games, set a standard for fan experience in summer collegiate baseball. Their attendance records—breaking their own mark for ten straight seasons and averaging over 2,000 fans per game in 2014—demonstrate strong local support. The Grizzlies' relocation to Spartanburg and rebranding as the Spartanburgers in 2021 marks a transition that ended their 19-year tenure in Gastonia. Their legacy includes multiple organizational awards, including the 2012 Coastal Plain League Organization of the Year and being named The Gaston Gazette 'Person of the Year' prior to the 2014 season. The team's impact is also reflected in individual player achievements, such as Michael Heesch's Rawlings Defensive Player of the Year award and Perfect Game Summer Ball All-American honors.

Did You Know?

• The Grizzlies won the 2011 CPL Pettit Cup Championship as the 6th seed, upsetting the #1 seed Edenton Steamers.
• The inaugural Midnight Madness game on July 9, 2010 drew 3,150 fans, with the last fan entering at 1:39 am.
• The Grizzlies broke their own attendance record for ten straight seasons.

The 2011 Pettit Cup Run

In 2011, the Gastonia Grizzlies staged one of the most remarkable postseason campaigns in Coastal Plain League history. Entering the playoffs as the sixth seed, the team dismantled the third-seeded Thomasville Hitoms before knocking off the fourth-seeded Forest City Owls in the semifinals. The final hurdle was the nation's number-one ranked team, the Edenton Steamers, and the Grizzlies overcame them to claim the Pettit Cup Championship. Pitcher Michael Heesch was the engine of that run, posting a perfect 9-0 record in the postseason with three shutouts, which earned him the Rawlings Defensive Player of the Year honor. Heesch, along with right-hander Derek Epps, was selected to the Perfect Game Summer Ball All American Team. Perfect Game also ranked the Grizzlies as the thirtieth-best team in the country at the season's close. For a small-town summer league squad, that championship remains the defining moment of their eighteen-year existence in Gastonia.

Midnight Madness and a Culture of Spectacle

The Grizzlies built their identity around an almost reckless commitment to making every game night an event. Their signature creation, Midnight Madness, debuted on July 9, 2010, against the Forest City Owls. The first pitch was scheduled for the stroke of midnight, and the pre-game festivities included bed races, eating contests, players manning a dunk tank, a home run derby, and a live band performing in a dedicated Beer Garden area. The experiment was a resounding success: 3,150 fans filled Sims Legion Park, with the very last spectator walking through the gate at 1:39 in the morning. The promotion earned the team the Best Promotion award at the 2010 Summer Ball Conference, and the 2011 edition drew an even larger crowd. Over their run, the Grizzlies collected multiple Promotion of the Year honors at the National Summer League Conference, and their reputation for fireworks displays and creative stunts became a hallmark of summer baseball in the Carolinas.

2014: The Pinnacle Season and Community Recognition

The 2014 campaign stands as the high-water mark of the Grizzlies' thirteen-year tenure in Gastonia. The club drew just under sixty thousand fans for the season, shattering an attendance record they had held for four consecutive years. On May 31, a crowd of 4,381 packed Sims Legion Park to set a new single-game mark, and two additional games that summer also cleared the four-thousand threshold. The team had broken its own attendance record for ten straight seasons, averaging 2,053 fans per outing. Off the field, the recognition was equally extraordinary. The Gaston Gazette, which typically bestows its Person of the Year title on an individual, instead honored the entire Grizzlies organization for its sustained impact on the community. The Coastal Plain League had already named them Organization of the Year in 2012, and the club's promotional creativity earned repeated national-level awards. Together, these honors reflected a franchise that had become woven into the fabric of Gastonia's summer identity.

The Final Chapter and Relocation to Spartanburg

The Grizzlies called Sims Legion Park home for every one of their seasons from 2002 through 2020, a span of eighteen years that defined summer baseball in Gastonia. In the team's final years, a new ballpark rose in the city, but the Grizzlies' future there grew uncertain. City officials expressed a preference for a partnership that would bring an Atlantic League expansion franchise into the new facility, and Grizzlies ownership made clear they would not agree to share the stadium. In October 2020, it was reported that the team would relocate to Spartanburg, South Carolina, beginning with the 2021 season. The franchise was rebranded as the Spartanburgers, leaving behind a legacy of championship baseball, record-setting crowds, and a promotional culture that had made a small North Carolina town a destination for summer league fans. The move marked the end of an era at Sims Legion Park and the beginning of a new chapter under a different name and in a different state.

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