Tyger River Park Photo Courtesy of Spartanburg Parks
HiCast Sports Network, a game-changing, subscription-based social broadcast company was awarded the sports video streaming contract for Spartanburg County Parks Department. HiCast Sports Network has been providing live and on-demand video coverage for all games and tournaments at Tyger River Park in Duncan, SC since 2017 and recently expanded video coverage to include two additional ballparks, North Spartanburg Park and 295 Park.
On weekends and during the summer season, all three ballparks host USSSA youth baseball, USA Softball youth fast pitch softball, NSA adult slow pitch, and few other tournament organizers. Tyger River Park, the county’s newest premier ballpark, has attracted regional college and national events including the 2022 and 2021 Conference Carolinas Championship and the 2020 USA Softball Junior Olympic Cup, offering HiCast Sports video coverage as a valuable park amenity. Aside from tournament play, Trey Glover, Park Operations Manager for Spartanburg County Parks Department, shares, “Spartanburg County is unique in that we have seven school districts, each with its local volunteer youth athletic association administering youth baseball and softball programs. Our department hosts and facilitates play for all of them throughout Spartanburg County to include North Spartanburg Park, 295 Park, and Tyger River Park.”
“From a Parks Department programming and participation perspective, we’ve seen explosive growth in the area, but particularly in the Northern region (Boiling Springs) of the county,” shares Kristen Guilfoos, Marketing Manager for Spartanburg County Parks. Reports show a 20% increase in athlete participation for Youth Athletic Associations. “We know how to run successful tournaments. Event organizers and teams have a great experience here at our ballparks and they want to come back.”
North Spartanburg Park Photo Courtesy of Spartanburg Parks
HiCast Sports Network now provides video coverage on all four fields at 295 Park, all four fields at North Spartanburg Park, as well as 12 fields at Tyger River Park. Combined, these ballparks will host more than 60 tournaments across 35 weeks throughout the year attracting youth teams traveling from across the region, state and country. “Attracting sports tourism is a goal for our county,” shares Trey. For nearly 10 years Park Operations staff have facilitated regional and national tournaments for third-party event organizers. In more recent years, the team has put their experience and skills to work by hosting their own signature tournaments. The first of these, the Jeff Proper Diamond Dirt Classic, attracted 168 youth teams across Spartanburg County and helped raise funds to benefit the youth sports programs. Now, family members and fans unable to travel can watch youth athletes playing across all three ballparks in the county live or anytime on-demand for up to three months from date of play.
295 Park Image Courtesy of Spartanburg County Parks
On Spartanburg County’s decision to work with the HiCast Sports Network, Trey shares, “We knew this was the future five years ago when we initially partnered with HiCast Sports to cover Tyger River Park. As technology and our internet bandwidth has improved thanks to economic development and growth in this area, the potential to expand video coverage became possible. Relationships were important in the decision-making process, as well as service. On the weekends when we have tons of games being played, if something unexpected happens or if grandparents need help getting connected, we can rely on HiCast Sports to respond quickly. We’re excited to continue to build on the relationship we already have in place, and to make more games accessible to more people.”
HiCast Sports Network users from around the world have watched more than five million game minutes featuring more than 500,000 athletes playing on more than 200 fields and courts at premier baseball/softball and indoor court venues in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. HiCast Sports subscribers have saved and shared nearly 250,000 game highlights, the Moments That Matter™ with the people who matter most.