SAL1 Greenville Drive

Historic Season Continues For The Drive

Published on August 9, 2006 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - If you have been fortunate enough to catch a game at West End Field in 2006, then you understand why there is so much excitement in the air and why the Drive are the talk of the Upstate. Not only did the Drive open their new home in downtown Greenville on April 6, but on Monday August 8th, they reached another milestone. Playing host to the Hagerstown Suns in front of 4,109 fans, the Drive set the single-season attendance record for a Greenville baseball team.

With 14 home remaining games in the season, the Drive eclipsed the previous mark of 269,525 held by the 1998 Greenville Braves. For the season the Drive are averaging 4,816 fans per game, ranking them first in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League and fifth overall in the 16-team league. At the current rate, the Drive are on pace to have over 300,000 fans come through the turnstiles by season's end.

"The fan support from day one has been tremendous," stated Drive General Manager Mike deMaine. "We could not have asked for anything more from the baseball fans in the Upstate."

Sixteen times this season the Drive have had larger crowds than West End Field's 5,748 capacity, and nine times the attendance has exceeded 6,000 fans. The team's largest crowd of the season came on June 16th when the Drive played host to the Asheville Tourists in front of 6,822 fans.

"You can only be as successful as your fan base," added co-owner and team president Craig Brown. "We are fortunate to have the greatest fans in baseball, right here in Greenville."

It has been a very exciting past couple of days for the Greenville Drive, as on August 8th the team celebrated the City of Greenville's 175th Anniversary with "Green Day." Pre-game festivities included honoring former Mayor Max Heller, who had the vision and was a driving force in the revitalization of downtown Greenville. The Drive also unveiled their third uniform, green jerseys with lettering representing that of the Drive's parent club, the Boston Red Sox. 5,755 fans received a first glimpse of the jerseys as the Drive defeated the Suns 8-3.

After a 12:05 PM game today versus the Suns, the Drive travel to Columbus, GA for a four-game series with the Catfish. The team then returns to West End Field on Tuesday, August 15th when they begin an eight-game home stand, starting with the Charleston RiverDogs.

Tickets to all Drive home games can be purchased by calling the Drive Ticket Office at 864-240-4528 or online at www.GreenvilleDrive.com.

Check out the Greenville Drive Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 9, 2006


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