Columbia Fireflies vs. Lexington County Blowfish: How fan experiences stack up

I’ve never met a baseball park I didn’t like.

That’s primarily because I love baseball and everything about it – from the crack of the bat and the sound of the ball hitting the glove to the smell of the fresh-cut grass and the seventh-inning stretch. In my opinion, you can’t beat a warm summer evening enjoying the Great American Pastime.

Growing up just an hour from Turner Field in Atlanta, I went to many Atlanta Braves games and while they were certainly entertaining and fun, the hassle with traffic, parking, hiking into the stadium and paying a fairly hefty price for a ticket made going to a game somewhat of a chore at times.

Honestly, for baseball lovers, there’s really no better place to live than the Midlands.

The Lexington County Blowfish Stadium and the Columbia Fireflies’ Spirit Communications Park both offer fun, laid-back experiences perfect for family night, date night, or a friends night.

Both teams have schedules chock full of home games.

So, how do the two teams and parks stack up when it comes to fan experiences?

We’ve put together a quick comparison.

But here’s the bottom line – you’ll have a great time, whichever park you choose.

Note: As a quick note, the Lexington County Blowfish is a summer collegiate baseball franchise in the Coastal Plain League (think travel college teams). The Columbia Fireflies is a minor league baseball team that plays in the Class A South Atlantic League and is an affiliate of the New York Mets.

Ticket price

Fireflies: I was pleasantly surprised to find that tickets to the Columbia Fireflies games were only $10 each for seats (yes, with backs) that were four rows up behind the first baseline. Purchasing online, however, did mean adding a $6 online ticket fee, bringing the total for our family of four to $46. Seats on the Bojangles Berm are only $5 each – a good option for college students or families with small kids who might not like to sit still during a three-hour-long game.

Blowfish: Tickets to a Lexington Blowfish game range from $6 for a bleacher seat without a back behind third base to $9 for seats with backs as close as you want to sit. Good news is online ticket purchases do not add in a processing fee, so the price of the ticket is the price you pay. Since I prefer a seat with a back (and require cup holders in the front), our ticket total was $36.

Parking

Fireflies: Parking at Spirit Communications Park was a pleasant surprise. There are more than a dozen access points to parking lots via seven different streets in and around the park. We turned down Colonial Drive and turned left into one of the large gravel-and-grass, state-owned lots where we paid only $3 for a spot that was within sight of the stadium entrance. Parking was also available on the stadium side of Colonial. Expect a short walk of up to about a quarter of a mile to get into the stadium, or grab one of the shuttles that regularly run in and around the lots.

Blowfish: Parking at Blowfish Stadium can’t be beat. The stadium uses the neighboring Lexington Dixie Youth Baseball Complex parking lot, which is literally just steps across Ballpark Road. Parking is plentiful, costs $3 and you’ll walk no more than about a tenth of a mile to get into the park.

Seating

Fireflies: Having never been to Spirit Communications Park, I really didn’t know which side of the stadium would have the better seats – which, in my mind, equals sitting in the shade. To my surprise, there wasn’t a “bad” seat in the house. Since the stadium faces southeast, by the 7:05 p.m. game time, nearly every seat in the house was in the shade.

Blowfish: At the Lexington stadium, if shaded seats are important to you, choose seats along the first baseline. Seats along the third baseline and up behind home plate get direct sun for the first hour and a half of a 7:05 game start.

Food

Obviously traditional ballpark food is hot dogs and peanuts (and, yes, Cracker Jack popcorn). Both parks serve up those items and much more.

Fireflies: I’m a stickler for good quality hotdogs. At Spirit Communications Park, my kids and I could get a Nathan’s brand hotdog, just the kind I buy at home. And the $3.50 price pleased mom, too. (Top it with chili and cheese for only 50 cents more).

In addition to standards such as hamburgers ($4.50), roasted peanuts and Cracker Jack popcorn ($3.50 each), the park also offers a black bean burger for $5 and a whole pizza – though you’ll pay top-dollar for that at $25.

As at every eatery these days, drinks, of course, are some of the pricier items, with a bottled water or Gatorade costing $3 and a soft drink $1.75. Beer is perhaps more reasonably priced with a pint of domestic for $2.50 (Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra) and a craft/premium draft pint of Shock Top or Goose Island IPA for $3.50.

Blowfish: In addition to the traditional chicken tenders with fries ($6), hamburger ($5) and hotdog ($3), fans at Blowfish Stadium can purchase a Blow-B-Que sandwich, a nice addition to the regular ballpark fare. Nachos, jumbo pretzels and popcorn run $2-$3 each.

At $3, a 16 oz. soda is a little pricier here than at a Fireflies games runs ($5 in a souvenir cup). Bottled waters and sodas are also $3 (and for moms with kids, well worth it for the lid). Powerade is $4. The stadium sells a variety of beers (Budweiser, Bud Light, Corona, Woodchuck, Shoptop and Sierra Nevada) for $3-$4 each but it also sells wine – chardonnay and merlot, both $4 each – and strawberitas, lemonaderitas and limearitas ($4 each).

Other park vendors sell roasted and boiled peanuts, lemonade, cotton candy, Dippin’ Dots, Italian Ice and Bojangles iced tea.

Shopping

Fireflies: If purchasing Fireflies memorabilia is important to you, The Mason Jar team store is sure to offer something to please. Located inside the stadium in an enclosed, full store set-up (yes, with air conditioning), the Fireflies shop has an abundance of t-shirts, caps, kids wear and accessories such as Fireflies eye black stickers and car magnets. Performance-wear t-shirts for kids were $20 and a sized adult cap with a glow-in-the-dark Firefly was $30. A giant foam finger is $5 (not that I was suckered into purchasing one of these – I just noticed the sign).

Blowfish:Being a smaller-scale program, shopping at a Blowfish game is a more scaled-back experience with walk-up kiosk window shopping next to the concession stands. There are still many items to choose from, however, such as jerseys, t-shirts for kids (reasonably priced at around $14 each), face stickers and stuffed mascot Blowies ($14 each). For a full Blowfish shopping experience, fans need to visit the team’s main shop at 101 E. Main St. in downtown Lexington.

Stadium entertainment

Fireflies: For families with young kids, Spirit Communications Park has a big plus – the Fireflies Kid Zone on the third base side concourse, with inflatables, slides and games where kids can play during the game; $10 gets unlimited play. Fireworks after Friday and Saturday home games are great, and kids are allowed on the field to run the bases following the game (although sometimes this can be rather late). Creative entertainment such as battle ball competitions and dancing performances by the grounds crew during the game on the field and in the berm area are highly entertaining.

Blowfish:Earlier this year, my family went to Disney World for the first time. This is after attending several Lexington Blowfish games last year. At the close of the Magic Kingdom fireworks show, both of my children looked at me and said, “Those were OK. The Blowfish fireworks are really way cooler.” I have to say they weren’t really wrong.

Blowfish Stadium does it right when it comes to their Friday and Saturday home game, post-game show entertainment. It’s also a plus that at Blowfish Stadium, kids are allowed on the field to “race” Blowie from left field to first base during the first half of the game so little fans can stretch their legs and release some energy before the adult’s seventh inning stretch.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Columbia Fireflies vs. Lexington County Blowfish: How fan experiences stack up."