I didn’t travel much outside of New England during the 2 plus years of Covid-19. I am probably not alone in that statement. Many people stayed home or stayed local due to travel restrictions and state, federal guidelines on travel. I missed traveling and am so excited that I have gotten back to it in 2023. Most of my travel has been for work and I have been lucky enough to have mixed in some personal time on these trips as well. Case in point, my recent trip to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Rachel and I flew down to Raleigh, North Carolina recently and took the hour plus drive down to Fayetteville to stay for a few days. Ahead of our trip down to NC, I had messaged the Houston Astros Single A affiliate in Fayetteville – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers – to see if I could visit the stadium and take a tour and learn more about the team. General Manager Michelle Skinner replied back to me and we set up a meeting for the Saturday of our trip. I was very excited to meet Michelle, as she is a shining star executive in Minor League Baseball. Here is a recent article featuring her on http://www.milb.com – Michelle Skinner.

Our hotel was only about 10 minutes from the Fayetteville Woodpecker’s Segra Stadium, so I was psyched that we could fit this into our schedule. We left the hotel about 10:30a for an 11:00a meet and greet with Michelle. Plenty of time, right? Just a few rights and down the hill and there is the stadium and we have plenty of time to park, but wait…There is a railroad crossing right before we turn onto the street where Segra is located and yep, there is a train passing. I see the flashing lights, the gate is down blocking the road, and we will have to wait out the train to cross over to get to the stadium. And wait. And wait. And wait. Oh no, the train is now stopping. Now the train is backing up. Now another train is coming. I messaged Michelle that I could literally see the field but I was stuck at the railroad crossing. Well, there is a first time for everything. Late to an appointment because of a train delay.

No joke, about a half an hour went by. The trains were each about a mile long, full of freight cars, lumber cars, all sorts of different size train cars. It was an impressive and eerily nerve racking 30 minutes sitting first at the stop light watching millions of pounds of metal and steel and stuff fly by us. Finally, a break in the action and the gates lifted and we drove to the other side of the tracks, parked, and walked up to meet and greet Michelle, who was graciously waiting for us outside the Woodpeckers Fan Store. We joked about the train “derailing” our appointment and it turns out that it wasn’t the first time this had happened to Michelle. She was very understanding and our tour began.

Having been to hundreds of older style ball parks here in the Northeast, it was amazing to walk around a stadium that was just a few years old. Segra Stadium opened in 2019 and has the look and feel of a modern baseball stadium. Michelle walked us around the perimeter of the stadium seating, up into the outdoor bar in right field, into the center rocking chair section, and around the left seats where you could see another train passing by. We had some extra time to go up into the suites, the press boxes, radio row, and just spend some quality time with the Woodpecker’s GM. It was a bright sunny day with just a few clouds, so I was able to get some great photos of the ball park.

I mentioned the sunshine because Fayetteville weather is considerable warmer on average than my home state of Rhode Island. Something to consider, should you go to a Woodpeckers game and are not accustomed to the North Carolina sun. I highly recommend a hat, some sunscreen, and finding a seat in the shade, if possible. Segra is a beautiful, open stadium with a lot of seats in the sun – which can be a huge plus or minus depending on your sun relationship situation. There is not a bad seat in the entire stadium. With a seating capacity of just under 5,000, there are plenty of amazing views no matter where you sit or stand to watch the action on the field. I loved the rocking chairs out in center field and would probably park in one of those, should I have the chance to go to a Woodpeckers game this season. The suites behind home plate are absolutely incredible, brand new, modern, can be used for corporate events, birthday parties, etc. Michelle mentioned that they hosted a prom there recently in the main suite, which is a large room great for hosting parties and events.

Up in the press box area, there was a steel beam that had signatures of guests from the Astros organization and other baseball people. There was a photo on the wall of Classical High School’s Jeremy Pena, who is now the starting SS for the parent club Houston Astros. Pretty cool that even in Fayetteville, NC I can find a connection to Rhode Island.

Another cool display at Segra Stadium documents Babe Ruth’s first professional home run. According to the display and photos, Babe Ruth his first home run on March 17, 1914 while playing in a Baltimore Orioles intrasquad exhibition game. The display has some really cool archival photos, newspaper clippings, and even a rare Babe Ruth baseball card. Very interesting stop on the Woodpecker tour and I just loved reading about how the Babe “became the Babe.”

Rachel and I spent about an hour with Michelle walking around the stadium, learning about her journey in professional sports, and just soaking in the Woodpecker baseball experience. It was really awesome to have a tour guide who happened to be the GM of the ball club showing us around. Michelle and her staff do an incredible job making baseball family fun and exciting for the Fayetteville area fans. Michelle and I agreed to stay in contact and Rachel and I wished her good luck and good luck to the Woodpeckers for the remainder of the season.

After visiting with Michelle and taking the tour of Segra Stadium, we took a stroll down the famous Hay St to check out the cafes, night light, music, and culture of downtown Fayetteville. I came across this two man band jamming outside a café with their rendition of Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side.” Pretty smooth groove fellas, nice work. Rachel and I walked the loop and made notes about spots we wanted to stop into later in the day or on the trip. It was a cool downtown area and reminded me of the Providence area known as Wayland Square. It was clean and had a ton of options for dining and shopping.

It was a fun day trip to downtown Fayetteville, Segra Stadium, and to meet and greet Michelle Skinner of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Segra Stadium is a modern, beautiful baseball park with tons of great seating in and around the stadium. The suite level rooms were just incredible, the right field bar area was incredible, the view from the comfy rocking chair in center field was incredible. Michelle was an awesome host and I couldn’t be happier meeting her and learning more about the Woodpeckers organization. Fayetteville, North Carolina is definitely worth a return trip and I can’t wait to see a game at Segra Stadium, then hop onto Hay St for some great food and maybe another live bad jamming in the streets.