Jeff Brown, VP of Marketing and Sponsorships, Greenville Drive
The 15th anniversary season of Drive baseball was set to be our best ever. The events were planned. The promotions were ready. Fluor Field looked as good as ever with recent updates and fan experience enhancements. The Drive staff and the Upstate community was once again ready for a summer of family fun, high-quality entertainment, and as always, great Drive baseball. And then all of a sudden, in early March, everything changed. In the blink of an eye, instead of wearing Drive caps and Drive jerseys and sharing high-fives after a home run, we were all donning masks and staying six feet apart from each other. Nobody knew what the future held, and the best and most loyal fans in the country were left wondering if the Drive would have any kind of season.
Now we know. There will be no baseball this summer at Fluor Field; the Drive’s 15th anniversary season will have to wait until 2021. It goes without saying that the season cancellation is devastating for the Drive staff and the entire Upstate community. But in the end, the health and safety of our fans, players, and staff must always come first.
Importantly, though, even as COVID took command, the Drive continued to help and engage with the community in whatever way we could. We’ve worked with our partners and fans to give back to the community in ways that had a meaningful impact at a time when it was particularly needed. We’ve hosted events to distribute critical PPE equipment to frontline healthcare personnel; distributed food to low-income families; held high school graduations; and creatively found ways to give back to the United Way and Harvest Hope Food Bank. We’ve continued to do everything we can to show the people of the Upstate that we care, that their well-being matters to us, that we want to return the support the community has always shown us…all while we waited to find out if we were going to have any sort of baseball season.
When the decision on our season ultimately came, after a few quick deep breaths, we picked ourselves back up and took to our continuing mission of providing support to our beloved Upstate. Therefore, we remain as committed as ever to the economic vitality of our region and intend to do what we can to keep this a magnificent place to live, work, and raise a family.
What’s made this such a special place to live is you. The unwavering support of Drive fans to our team and to our community is nothing short of miraculous. You’ve allowed the Drive to become ingrained in the life of the Upstate, you’ve made us Greenville’s front porch, and that’s especially important to us during this difficult time. Your continued support of the Drive is now more important than ever as we maneuver through this unprecedented summer and fall. The Drive will have a 15th season anniversary celebration; it’s just going to happen in 2021. We can’t wait to welcome you, your businesses, your families, your loved ones, and everyone in the community back to Fluor Field as soon as it’s appropriate to do so.
In the meantime, stay safe and healthy. We hope you’ll keep West End Events in mind for your corporate or personal event. After all, Fluor Field is our community’s ideal social distancing venue, and there’s still nothing like being at the ball park, even if there’s no game.
We look forward to 2021 being a celebration, both of our 15 years here in Greenville, and of a return to some sort of normalcy. We appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. And we can’t wait to see you again at the ballpark for Drive baseball come next April.