Spirit Stadium: Rising from the ground

The clubhouse for Columbia’s soon-to-be named professional baseball team is beginning to emerge from the soil at Columbia Common.

The clubhouse, in the foreground, will house player locker rooms, two batting cages and space for umpires, the city’s chief project manager said Wednesday. Players and the men in blue will be able to enter the field from what eventually will be a passage-way below the concourse. The clubhouse is scheduled to be turned over to the team in early January.

Construction of the $37 million, publicly owned, year-round stadium is on schedule for an April start of the minor league season, Columbia projects administrator Gregory Tucker said. The name of the team will be announced sometime this month, owner Jason Freier said Wednesday.

Construction in the background is the beginning of a multi-use facility built by Columbia Common master developer Bob Hughes of Greenville. The signature Babcock Building with its distinctive copola is in the far background.