Zarifa Grant is going on her fifth year in Fayetteville.

Born in Jamaica, she learned to love cricket long before she'd ever heard of baseball. But the addition of the downtown ballpark is an exciting entertainment venue where she plans to spend time with her family.

"We keep seeing new things coming, and the Fayetteville we saw five years ago versus now — it’s really become a place that you would want to settle with your family," she said.

Grant's 7-year-old son is especially excited about the opportunity to see pro baseball so close to home.

"We love to do things as a family, and this is something that is basically in our backyard, which is real cool," Grant said.

Chris Britt is a lifelong baseball fan who played Little League in Eastover before moving on to play at Cape Fear High School.

Now 35, he's looking to attend Woodpecker games frequently with friends and family, noting that his dad and a close friend have already purchased season tickets.

“It’s just a fun sport,” Britt says. “I’ve always loved baseball, and I appreciate the fact that you have to play together as a team, and it’s a beautiful sport to watch.”

Britt frequently attends SwampDogs games at J.P. Riddle Stadium and has a deep respect for the history of the sport.

“Watch a game of baseball, eat a hot dog — ain't nothing better.”

For Donna Johnson, having a minor league team in town means she and her family won’t have to travel very far to see professional baseball.

They’ve been to watch the Bulls in Durham and the Mudcats in Zebulon. “We even go to spring training in Florida,” she said.

“Now, we have a hometown team.”

Johnson says her family will be at Segra Stadium for opening day on April 18, and many more games after that.

She has two sons at East Carolina University who love baseball. Her oldest has been an Astros fan since childhood.

“My whole family is into baseball," she said. “My husband can give you every stat from players 80 years back. He’s extremely excited about this.

“It’s going to be a good draw, I think, for our community.″

For high school baseball player Justin Ebert, minor league baseball is what this city needed.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” the 18-year-old says. “It’s a great opportunity for Fayetteville, especially. Fayetteville to me, and Cumberland County, in general is just a big sports area. Baseball’s never been a really big part of it. They more focus more on basketball and football.

“But as a baseball fan and sports fanatic, you always kind of dream of having that one place where it’s just like right there, where you don’t have to go too far to watch it all.”

Ebert is a senior shortstop for the Terry Sanford varsity team. When he graduates, he will enroll in High Point University, where he will play infield.

He said the stadium’s Hay Street location will make the team a draw.

“The center of downtown is just perfect,” he says. “It adds another aspect to Fayetteville we haven’t had.”

The word “superfan” may not have any formal qualifications, but when it comes to the Woodpeckers, Joe Dwyer would be the picture in the dictionary.

Dwyer, of Cary, followed the team when it was the Buies Creek Astros. He frequently attended games at Campbell University with his wife, Kathy, and their teenage children, Jolie and Landon. He also took many pictures, including when the Astros won the Carolina League championship last September. The team has used some of Dwyer’s pictures in its publicity.

The native of Rochester, New York, is a baseball fan from way back but calls his experience with the Astros “probably unlike anything I’ve experienced — just the smaller venue, just the interaction with players. You had us die-hard fans who were in there day in and day out, getting to know the players, and the players got to know us.”

Dwyer is a former airman who was stationed at Pope Air Force Base before it became part of the Army.

He is optimistic that the team will have a good first season as the Woodpeckers.

“I think based on the team that was here last year and based on just the Astros farm system, yeah, they’re going to compete.”

Don’t look for the Dwyer family at the stadium ribbon-cutting on April 13 — they plan to attend the Woodpeckers away game that day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.