City awaits occupancy permit to stage fans baseball stadium tour

With a planned public tour of the new Segra Stadium scheduled to occur only one day from now, the contractor on the project by late Thursday afternoon had not yet received a temporary certificate of occupancy that is required before the public can enter the downtown stadium.

But city officials say they are confident the certificate will be issued that will allow the “Fayetteville Fans First Look” event to go off as planned.

“I think Friday was the day they targeted to have everything complete,” Mayor Mitch Colvin said of the tour scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the $40.2 million city-owned stadium.

Michael Martin, assistant director of development services for the city, said late Thursday the certificate, which is given after a wide range of safety inspections are complete, had not yet been issued.

“Our inspectors continue to conduct final inspections at Segra Stadium to ensure that the project is in compliance with state building codes, and will continue until the stadium is ready and the certificate of occupancy can be issued,” he said. “At the end of the day, we want this to be a fun and safe experience for everyone who visits the stadium.”

Construction workers were feverishly working Thursday inside the stadium in preparation for the tour.

Concrete steps from the Bill Hurley Plaza leading into the stadium were poured on Wednesday, according to Martin, and on top of the columns in front of the stadium workers on Thursday placed three-foot letters to form the words “Segra Stadium.”

The event Saturday is proposed to be a chance for the public to get a sneak preview of the stadium before opening day on April 18. In the home opener, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, a Class-A-Advanced minor league team of the Houston Astros, play the Carolina Mudcats.

Councilman Jim Arp, chairman of the city’s Baseball Committee, said Thursday he is confident the certificate will be approved so the “Fayetteville Fans First Look” can happen as planned.

“We’re expecting somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 people,” Arp said. “Probably more.”

The jumbotron is working and will be providing entertainment to guests, city and Woodpeckers officials said.

Fans will not be allowed on the field other than youth sports team athletes, who will line up on the warning track but will be prohibited from walking on the outfield grass, Arp said, so not to disturb the turf for the opening game.

More than 100 youth sports teams with 1,452 players, Arp said, have been invited to participate in the festivities.

“They will have a parade of their teams in uniforms going around the warning track on the field,” said city spokesman Keven Arata, “so that will be kind of like their Olympic moment to get in there and be part of the official groundbreaking.”

City leaders, Woodpeckers and Segra stadium officials are scheduled to make remarks Saturday, as well as Congressman Richard Hudson and N.C. Rep. John Szoka, who represents the local delegation in Cumberland County. After the ribbon-cutting in front of the plaza, the stadium will be open.