New for 2021: The Spartanburgers

Clever branding here: the newest team in the summer-collegiate Coastal Plain League, playing out of Spartanburg’s Duncan Park, is the Spartanburgers.

Following an extensive name-the-team contest that received over 700 responses, finalists were narrowed down to the Spartanburgers, Sluggers and Conductors. The Spartanburgers was selected by the team after reviewing potential team logos and marketing opportunities prepared by SPARK Business Strategies, based in Wilmington, NC.

The Spartanburgers join a plethora of food-themed team names in the CPL, including the Savannah Bananas, Macon Bacon and the Tri-City Chili Peppers. 

“We are thrilled to be adding the Spartanburgers to the Coastal Plain League,” said CPL COO/Commissioner Justin Sellers. “The branding shares in the fun that our teams are known for creating at the stadium every night, and we look forward to great times at Duncan Park this summer.” 

Duncan Park is regarded as the oldest ballpark in South Carolina. We visited Duncan Park before it was renovated by a dedicated group of volunteers (the above photo shows the state of the ballpark at the time). The CPL previously fielded a team at Duncan Park, the Spartanburg Stingers (2003-2007). Duncan Park is perhaps best known as the longtime home of the Spartanburg Phillies, who last played at the ballpark in 1994 and is now the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Low A; Sally League) after a few detours as the Boll Weevils and Intimidators.

“We really like the uniqueness of the Spartanburgers name and marks, and the ‘50’s diner theme provides a cool retro look and feel, while offering a whole new marketing concept for the team to pursue,” said Brad Caldwell, founder of SPARK. “It’s certain to be the only Spartanburgers team name in the nation.” 

“We’ve found that Spartanburg takes great pride in creating a unique identity for itself, from downtown development to new beautification efforts,” said Matt Perry, one of the team owners, via press release. “The Spartanburgers team name fits that mold, in providing a moniker that is unique to the city, the region and the nation. The 50’s diner theme only adds to that allure. We expect the Spartanburgers to create tremendous exposure for Spartanburg for decades to come.

“Those who live in the area know the market is blessed with numerous and historical burger restaurants. In turn, as the market is often referred to as the ‘burg,’ one could humorously assume those from the area are ‘burgers.’   Spartanburgers provides a fun way to tie everything together.”