ACC Baseball Tourney 2017+

[FredJacket]

My father & I have used the ACC Baseball Tourney as a perfect week to spend quality time together. We have made 5 of the last 6 tournaments. The birth of my youngest child kept us away in 2014...another Jacket championship!!!

Durham or Greensboro have hosted all of these & that area of NC is perfect for us. Dad's in NC & my trip down from VA is easy. For ACC baseball, the Durham area is perfect with UNC & NCST fans demonstrating great support consistently.

Except for a day or two over the 5 tournaments of unusually bad weather, we manage to see every pitch of every game. That's 15 games in 5 days. Ahh...the JOY. We take the baseball seriously; but each other...not so much. It's a special time & I treasure it...real time.

I have a keen interest in where this tournament will land. Assuming quality minor league parks, where??
Seems SC (Greenville or Charleston) or GA (Gwinnett??) or FL (Jacksonville or ??) would be favored over any points north of NC.

It's tough enough going to Durham & dealing with Tarheels & Wolfpack in mass. But Lord help me if that becomes. Tigers or Seminoles or Hurricanes.

 

[Squints]

I think Myrtle Beach could work and would be pretty cool.

 

[FredJacket]

I wonder what the ACC requires on minimum seating capacity for a venue?
Looking at minor park seating capacities, here are the top contenders. Only listing those above 7,500:

Columbia, SC - 8,000
Lawrenceville, GA - 10,430
Norfolk, VA - 11,850
Richmond, VA - 9,560
Jacksonville, FL - 11,000
If you include Spring Training venues in FL.. there are a ton of options.

For comparison, the two recent NC venues:
Durham - 10,000
Greensboro - 7,500

 

[TampaBuzz]

They had this tournament in St. Petersburg, FL about 12 years ago...beautiful stadium right on the water in downtown. It was fantastic!

 

[RoosterJacket]

I heard in passing that Orlando was a possibility. Only stadium there would be the ESPN Wide World of Sports field that the Braves hold preseason at. Quick google search shows it having capacity of 9500. Not as easy of a drive as Durham for sure, but would be a fun place to go with the family.

 

[FredJacket]

Deadline for bids is tomorrow (9/27). Anybody here have some "inside" scoop? Curious about the ACC's process... are all the affected events (ones moved out of NC) reviewed and decided upon by one body with the ACC or does each sport have its own group at ACC office making the decision? That could impact how long it takes for decisions to be announced. Any word from those closer geographically on if Gwinnett (Braves AAA stadium) is pursuing the baseball tournament?