Divorce Attorney in Spartanburg SC

Welcome to Fifth Third Park, where Spartanburg's railroad history meets the lively, modern cultural center of South Carolina's Upstate region. Grab a burger and watch Texas Rangers prospects show out in the South Atlantic League.

(Note: This Ballpark Guide was written while the ballpark in question was still under construction. It will be updated with additional photos and info during the course of the 2025 season.)

Hub City Spartanburgers (High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers since 2025) Established: 2025 Ballpark: Fifth Third Park (opens in 2025) League: South Atlantic League

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The Hub City Spartanburgers debut in 2025, following a relocation from Kinston, N.C. (where they were known as the Down East Wood Ducks). In conjunction with this move, the team switched classifications with the Hickory Crawdads. The Spartanburgers serve as the Rangers' High-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League, with the Crawdads moving to the Single-A Carolina League.

The Spartanburgers' arrival marks the return of Minor League Baseball to the city after a three-decade absence, as the last team to play there was the Single-A Spartanburg Phillies in 1994. Professional baseball in the Hub City dates back to the early 20th century, featuring teams such as the Spartans, Pioneers, Peaches and Suns.

The Hub City Spartanburgers moniker is unique in that it uses a city nickname as a place name while incorporating the city itself into the team name. Hub City, prevalent in signage throughout Spartanburg, refers to the fact that Spartanburg's city limits used to be in the shape of a circle. Various railroad lines entered the city via tracks that, taken together, resembled the hub of a wheel.

Spartanburgers obviously lends itself to burger-based branding. The burger depicted in the primary logo wears a train conductor cap while sitting atop a wordmark that resembles vintage diner signage.

Fifth Third Park

Google Maps Spartanburgers Roster Spartanburgers Schedule

300 W. Henry Street Spartanburg, SC 29306 864-658-4210

Capacity: 5,250 Dimensions: left field, 328 feet; center field, 410 feet; right field, 327 feet

Fifth Third Ballpark is located on the far west side of Spartanburg's downtown, the centerpiece of a huge development project that also includes a hotel, apartments and office buildings. Expect the modern amenities found at new Minor League ballparks nationwide, including ample group spaces, a large second-level club area and a wraparound concourse. The ballpark is located on a triangular patch of land, with the home plate entrance situated at its apex.

Concessions

Oh, there will be burgers. Shortly after the team name was announced in May 2024, general manager Tyson Jeffers remarked that "We better have the best dang burgers in baseball." The pressure's now on the front office staff -- all of whom are depicted on the team web page holding a burger -- to deliver.

Mascot

The Spartanburgers' logo set features the aforementioned anthropomorphic hamburger, a pickle named Chip and a spatula named Flip. None of these will be the team's official costumed character, however. As of this writing (January 2025), the Spartanburgers have not unveiled their mascot. Stay tuned for this epochal event.

Where to Stay

Headed to the stadium and looking for a hotel nearby? Your Wyndham is waiting. As the Official Hotel of Minor League Baseball, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts welcomes baseball fans with a portfolio of 24 trusted brands. Find Hotels by Wyndham closest to the ballpark below and book now at wyndhamhotels.com.

• ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham Spartanburg • Days Inn by Wyndham Spartanburg Waccamaw

Local Attractions

According to the city's tourism website, downtown puts the "art" in "Spartanburg." Take a stroll and visit art galleries, breweries, museums and more.

Learn more about the forces that shaped this northern South Carolina burgh at the Spartanburg Regional History Museum, the Hub City Railroad Museum and the Walnut Grove Plantation (which documents how "free and enslaved people settled the South Carolina Backcountry, fought for independence and built a new nation).

For those traveling with kids, check out the Spartanburg Science Center. They have, among other things, a live animal room.

Food and Drink

If seeing the Spartanburgers puts you in the mood to seek out more Spartanburg burgers, then travel along the Spartanburger Trail. The sprawling menu at Cribb's Kitchen features a dozen specialty burgers, including off-kilter offerings such as the crab rangoon smash. Ike's Korner Grill, a dive bar, offers a gargantuan "Challenge Burger." The Nu Way Lounge, the city's oldest bar, is renowned for its Redneck Burger (the key ingredients being chili and pimento cheese). The iconic Sugar-n-Spice opened in 1961 as a drive-in and still retains a classic retro charm. Another drive-in classic is The Beacon, famous for its Chili-Cheese-A-Plenty.

And, rest assured, if burgers aren't your thing there are still plenty of other options.

Moving on

The Carolinas are a hotbed of Minor League Baseball. The Spartanburgers could be the northernmost stop in a South Carolina itinerary that, moving clockwise, also includes the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Charleston RiverDogs, August GreenJackets (located in North Augusta, S.C.), Columbia Fireflies and Greenville Drive.

There are plenty of North Carolina teams to consider as well, of course. Cross state lines to see the Charlotte Knights, Kannapolis Intimidators and, staying within the Rangers system, the Hickory Crawdads.

The Road to Arlington

Rangers prospects begin their journey through the full-season affiliates just about 65 miles to the north-northeast of Spartanburg, in Hickory, North Carolina. The jump to Double-A brings them to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and for Triple-A they play in Round Rock, outside of Austin.

Single-A: Hickory Crawdads High-A: Hub City Spartanburgers Double-A: Frisco RoughRiders Triple-A: Round Rock Express

SPARTANBURG — Sheriff Chuck Wright’s days of Apple.com buys, dollar store deals and Amazon Prime on a county-funded credit card could be over.

At Spartanburg County Council’s Jan. 27 meeting, Andrew Coleman of the accounting firm Greene Finney Cauley presented the annual audit of the county finances, with one recommendation:

Wright’s card should be part of the county’s purchasing card — or P-card — program or at least be subject to the same rules and restrictions that govern them.

“The county does have a very robust and good purchasing card program,” Coleman said. “So as we looked at that card, there weren’t the same reviews and approvals and support that we were seeing in your purchasing card program.”

There are 141 county employees with a P-card, including elected Clerk of Court Amy Cox. Wright’s card was the only one outside of the program, and predated the program, which started in 2006. Wright was elected in 2004.

Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt said while Wright’s card still isn’t part of the P-card program, the county began treating it with the same rules that govern the P-cards following The Post and Courier’s reporting on Wright’s expenses.

“It just mirrors our P-card system, you have to put down the purpose for the charge and the reason for that charge,” Britt said.

From December 2017 to April 2024, Wright spent more than $53,600 in public money on Apple.com, video streaming services, hotels, food and gas stations, according to credit card statements reviewed by The Post and Courier.

Many of those purchases wouldn’t have been allowed under the county’s P-card program, which prevents employees from using the card on Amazon purchases or food.

Employees are not allowed to use the cards for non-governmental purposes and must retain receipts.

Wright used his card for food, Amazon Prime and Pure Flix video streaming services and a host of other online purchases. He did not keep receipts.

Wright has not responded to numerous requests for comments about his credit card spending and did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.

Britt said after The Post and Courier’s initial reporting was published, he, council Chairman Manning Lynch and county Administrator Cole Alverson met with Wright to get an explanation.

“The sheriff had two credit cards,” Britt said, explaining that both cards were red. “He just mistakenly used his county card when he should have used his personal card. It was just an oversight on his part, not something he meant to do.”

Wright, whose salary surpasses $200,000, spent almost $12,000 at Apple.com, $8,000 on fast food, steakhouses and pizza and $8,000 on high-end hotels, alongside purchases at Best Buy, Tractor Supply, Wish.com and diet and fitness websites.

The Post and Courier’s initial review covered more than six years of spending, ending in April 2024. Even after the paper began sending records requests, Wright continued to use his county card on food, Amazon Prime, Dollar General and Apple.com, among other purchases.

For example, Wright in August spent more than $1,400, including $845 on Apple.com, $100 at Longhorn Steakhouse, $16.09 on Amazon Prime, $250 at C and C Ammo, $32 on OnStar, $45 on SiriusXM radio, $45 at Shine on 9 carwash and $19.99 at Truefitnessonline.

The Post and Courier’s story was published in September and Britt said the new policies governing Wright’s card were put in place in September or October.

Britt said Wright has since tossed out his old card to avoid further confusion and paid back around $1,100 in charges, mostly from the Apple.com expenses. He said the county relied on Wright to decide which charges he felt he should repay.

“He was very, very positive and supportive and said he would absolutely support the new policies and procedures and would follow them, no reservation,” Britt recalled. “Which is typical of what I thought Chuck would do. He’s a team player and he was just as bothered by it.”

Max White contributed to this report.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) is permanently closing its Yokohama Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) tire manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, S.C., less than two years after the Japanese tire maker acquired the plant as part of its $2.3 billion acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems A.B.

The 43,000-sq.-meter plant, which opened in January 2016, manufactures radial agricultural tires under the Trelleborg brand.

Ninety employees will lose their jobs once the plant ceases production at the end of March. The plant will continue to produce tires until that time.

YRC filed a federal layoff notification report with the state on Feb. 18. The WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification) requires employers to provide notice 60 days before making significant job cuts.

Marc Margossian, business development director for Yokohama TWS North America, optimization, told Tire Business that the plant closing is about optimizing efficiencies.

“It's part of a three-pillar strategy: product innovations, digitalization and optimizing,” he said during the Tire Industry Association’s Off-the-Road Conference, held Feb. 19-22 in San Juan.

Margossian said the workers at the factory are not unionized, and that YWS will “abide by all rules,” and work “to help them with job placement.”

“It's not fun. It's hard,” he said. “You're dealing with 90 jobs, and it hurts. It’s not something we ever want to do.”

Margossian said the TWS plant in Charles City, Iowa, as well as its European plants, would pick up the capacity lost by the closure.

“(The closure) has absolutely nothing to do with the plant performances,” Margossian said. “It's not about the people. It's about factory efficiencies, manufacturing efficiencies, optimizing.”

In July of last year, Yokohama TWS said it had increased the production capacity at the Spartanburg plant by 20% since it opened. At the time, the company said the increase helps make it "a brilliant example of a local-for-local business model that scores high results through deep market listening."

The company did not specify the plant's capacity at that time.

Yokohama TWS valued the North American agriculture tire market at more than $930 million in 2023, forecasting it to grow to $1.3 billion by 2030 as a result of mechanization in agriculture, larger farm operations, increases in crop yields and shorter replacement cycles.

This marks the third plant closing Yokohama has announced over the past four months.

In late January, YRC announced it is planning to close its Prague, Czech Republic, off-highway tire factory by June and move production of cross-ply OHT to other plants.

The plant, operated by YRC subsidiary Yokohama TWS Czech Republic a.s., is the oldest of three factories YRC operates in Czech Republic and is rated at 28,000 metric tons a year of bias and radial tires, including tires for farm, industrial and earthmover use. The closing affects 270 workers.

And in mid-November of 2024, YRC said it was closing its OTR tire plant in Hadera, Israel by year-end. That plant — called the Alliance Tire Co. Ltd., and member of the Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) group — produced 42,000 metric tons of farm, earthmover and industrial bias and radial tires per year and had a workforce of 474.

YRC appears to be in the middle of a major restructuring, in the wake of its OTR acquisitions over the last few years.

In late July, YRC reached a deal to acquire Goodyear’s OTR tire business in a $905 million cash. Goodyear's OTR business included specialized tires for mining and construction, among other industries. The sale is expected to close by early 2025.

That came a little more than year after YRC completed a $2.3 billion acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems from Sweden's Trelleborg A.B., effectively doubling the size of Yokohama Rubber's off-highway tire business to better than $2 billion in sales annually.

The plant closing in Spartanburg also continues an ominous trend for U.S. tire manufacturing as well. This marks the third tire plant closing announced in the U.S. in the last four months.

In early November, Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. said it was closing its 102-year old factory in Tonawanda, N.Y., citing its inability to make tires profitably.

All production of passenger, light truck and truck/bus tires at the Tonawanda facility stopped at that point, with all activities set to shut down within 24 months.

And on Jan. 23, Bridgestone Americas Inc. announced it was planning to close its LaVergne, Tenn., truck/bus tire plant by July 31, impacting 700 salaried and hourly employees. The tire maker also said it is undertaking additional workforce reductions at its Des Moines, Iowa, farm tire plant as well as in its corporate and sales workforce.

On the eve of a potential snowfall event, some uncertainty remains as to how much precipitation - if any - the Upstate will receive.

The latest Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by the National Weather Service at 4:37 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, called for potential winter weather hazards in the Upstate.

Here's what the NWS told the News about the impending weather.

More:Spring weather outlook: Old Farmer's Almanac SC, Southeast forecast

Hazardous Weather Outlook for the Upstate

The forecast was not firm by late Tuesday afternoon. But here's what the outlook says:

"An area of low pressure passing to the south of the region is expected to spread wintry precipitation across the area north of a line from Clayton, Georgia, to Greenville, Spartanburg, and Rock Hill in Upstate South Carolina, and Monroe, North Carolina, on Wednesday and Wednesday night," the NWS said. "Confidence remains low on snow or ice accumulations across the Georgia and South Carolina Piedmont. But any amounts are expected to be light."

How much snow will Upstate South Carolina get?

In Upstate South Carolina, NWS Meteorologist Jeffrey Taylor said that some areas are expected to see light snow.

"There are some parts in northernmost upstate, along the North Carolina border, some of those areas that may get a tenth or a couple of tenths of an inch," Taylor said.

He added that the northeastern corner of the region including York, Chester and Cherokee Counties could see small amounts. Some areas along the N.C. border may also see ice or freezing rain.

Chance of precipitation in the Upstate South Carolina

NWS forecasts for the Greenville-Spartanburg area show a chance of snow showers before 5 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow showers, with an overall chance of precipitation resting at 80%.

On Wednesday night, there is a chance of rain and snow showers before 7 p.m., then a slight chance of snow. The overall chance of precipitation overnight is 30%. By Thursday, the area is expected to be mostly sunny.

Winter weather advisory in Western NC

The latest advisory for WNC from the weather service goes into effect at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, and ends at noon Thursday, Feb. 20.

WNC as well as portions of northeast Georgia could see snow accumulations mainly under an inch in valleys, and up to 1-3 inches on ridgetops. Ice accumulations are also a risk, as well as winds gusting as high as 40 mph.

How much snow will Asheville get? Western NC?

Meanwhile, Taylor told the Citizen Times that Asheville will likely only see a small amount of snow and ice throughout the storm.

"We've got about a half an inch of snow over the Asheville area to the whole event tomorrow," Taylor said. "So it's not very much. It's still looking pretty low end."

Taylor added that coming precipitation could include potential for rain, snow and freezing rain. As usual, higher elevations of WNC are likely to see the most snow and ice in the region.

Chance of precipitation in Asheville, Western NC

According to NWS forecasts, overall chance of precipitation in the Asheville area on Wednesday, Feb. 19, rests at 70%. In the Hendersonville area, the chance is slightly higher at 80%. Snow showers are most likely before 5 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow showers.

On Wednesday night, there is a 30% chance of rain and snow showers before 7 p.m. in both Asheville and Hendersonville.

When will the snow start?

In the Asheville area and much of WNC, Taylor said that chances for snow jump to about 50% at around 8-9 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

By Wednesday night, chances of precipitation drop to 30% in the area, and by Thursday, partly sunny weather is expected.

Todd Runkle, Carolinas Connect editor, contributed.

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].

GREENVILLE — A former Spartanburg County day care director who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $200,000 after giving herself bonuses and using company accounts for hotel stays, shopping trips and meals will spend more than a year in prison and must repay what she took, a judge ruled last week.

Under a Nov. 6 deal, Tammy Renee Taylor agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud with two other counts dismissed.

Taylor, who also uses the last name Gibson, was the director of My House Day Care, a state-licensed child care facility that is locally owned and operated at 1197 Highway 417 in Moore.

She used the day care’s credit card and business account “to pay for personal expenses such as hotels, meals, shopping, and entertainment,” a four-page indictment said.

In one filing, she admitted to giving herself $40,253.33 in bonuses that she alone approved. And while she provided receipts for $16,733.04 in legitimate purchases that initially were part of what investigators allege she stole, the total sum was still $214,703.19, which she must repay.

Taylor made a bid to avoid prison time, with the 49-year-old mother and grandmother getting several parents of her former students to write the court asking for leniency.

One recalled the comfort Taylor gave their terrified child during the first day at the center.

“Her warmth and kindness was apparent immediately, and I felt comfortable knowing my child was with her. ... We’ve never had a caregiver or teacher that we have loved more than Tammy,” one wrote.

Another recounted Taylor’s work raising money for a child who needed a cochlear implant. A third said the “list of qualities in regard to Tammy trail on and on. I cannot recommend her enough.”

However, that six-figure sum was too much for U.S. District Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin to look past.

She sentenced Taylor on Feb. 13 to 16 months in prison.

That will be followed by three years of supervised release, with a stipulation that she can’t open new credit lines or incur new credit card charges during that span without permission from her probation officer.

Starting 60 days after her release, she must start making restitution payments in monthly installments of $500 — which would take more than 35 years to pay.