To say that Fayetteville's new baseball stadium is transforming the landscape in the city's center is an understatement.

The $40 million, city-owned Segra Stadium is the catalyst for more than $120 million in public and private investment happening in downtown, to include the renovation of the historic Prince Charles Hotel next door, a new Hyatt Place hotel in front of the stadium, and plans for an adjacent commercial tower above a Hay Street parking deck.

It is the largest investment in the heart of Fayetteville in our community's 250-plus year history.

The project is years in the making and follows a blueprint that other cities have found successful for revitalization. Minor league baseball stadiums in Durham, Winston-Salem and other midsize cities brought people back into their downtowns. Restaurants, shops, hotels, nightlife and residential development followed. Fayetteville is hoping to find the same success.

The stadium also marks the return of professional baseball to Fayetteville after a nearly 20-year absence. The Fayetteville Woodpeckers, an Advanced Class A farm team of the Houston Astros, has played the past two seasons in Buies Creek, but Segra Stadium is their new home starting with an opener Thursday, April 18, against the Carolina Mudcats.

The public gets its first look at the stadium on Saturday, April 13, during a free community ribbon-cutting and celebration. Matt Sabados, who will be the “voice of the Woodpeckers” for 2019, has already gotten a peak and compares the stadium to the home of the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, where he previously worked: The Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which has consistently been recognized as one of the top AAA stadiums in the country.

“I'm very much looking forward to the new stadium opening,” he said.

So is a sellout crowd for the April 18 home opener.

Segra Stadium features natural grass, a massive LED scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, a premium club level, an outdoor party deck and sports bar concept, and a Kids Zone play area in the outfield.

The ballpark will accommodate about 5,290 spectators for in-season baseball games, and possibly more during special events during the rest of the year, such as concerts and community festivals. There are 70 scheduled Woodpeckers home games and several days in May reserved for the NCAA Division I Big South Conference Tournament.

Viewing options include regular seats, picnic-style seating in the left outfield berm, and a section of rocking chairs past the center outfield wall. Concessions are throughout the stadium and are named after notable Fayetteville and Fort Bragg landmarks and people. Healey's Bar, above the right-field wall, will be open most days throughout the year, even when there are not games.

Perhaps most eye-catching when fans walk into the stadium will be the LED video board. Daktronics of Brookings, South Dakota, partnered with the Woodpeckers to design, manufacture and install the board that is a staggering 25 feet tall and 70 feet wide, one of the largest in the minor leagues.

It features a 15HD pixel screen “to create vibrant imagery with wide angle visibility to appeal to fans in every seat of the ballpark,” Daktronics says. “The display is capable of variable content zoning allowing it to show one large image or multiple windows of digital content. It can show live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics and animations. It can also help highlight Woodpecker sponsors throughout every game and other special events.”

Sabados said the stadium's LED lighting system turns on immediately without having to warm up and “is on par with what a lot of major league ballparks are doing.”

The Woodpeckers organization has hired more than 25 full-time employees and 200 part-time employees. Rachel Smith is the manager of events and is putting together lease agreements for other uses of the stadium on non-game days.

“She is doing an extreme amount of work to make sure that we get a lot of events that aren't necessarily baseball-oriented to the ballpark this season,” Sabados said. “It's going to be pretty much a decent-sized entertainment complex with all the amenities that are going to be available. We're looking at potential country concerts. We already have our youth baseball clinic set up by Chevy.”

Groups putting on corporate events or birthday parties can also lease out the stadium space and even play on the field.

Thousands more people are expected to visit downtown Fayetteville for Woodpeckers baseball games and other events at the new Segra Stadium.

Which begs the question: Where will everyone park?

The city of Fayetteville commissioned a parking study that found that downtown has enough existing parking to accommodate all but the busiest of days, such as when several large events are occurring on the same day.

On-street parking in the downtown area, limited to two or three hours, has been free for years, and those spaces typically go fast. The city has plans to convert streetside parking to paid spots, said traffic engineer Phillip Hart. Drivers may start paying for on-street parking at some point during in the inaugural Woodpeckers season.

The on-street locations that offer two-hour parking include Hay, Person, Green, Gillespie, Franklin and Mason streets, as well as Maiden Lane and Ray Avenue.

On April 13, during a free community ribbon-cutting event at the stadium, the city lots and garages will be free.

But on the Woodpeckers' home opener on April 18, the city will begin charging $10 for people to park in the city's surface lots and the Franklin Street deck, Hart said. In the past, city lots were free after hours and on weekends.

Chances are, many fans will avoid having to park at all by taking an Uber or Lyft to the stadium, especially if they plan to drink.

Hart recommends that people headed to games find a public lot in a location close to where they may want to visit before or after the game, such as a restaurant or bar.

“Most likely the (free) on-street parking is going to be full, so I might take a route and have an idea where I'm going to park on an off-street surface lot,” Hart said. “If there is an on-street spot on the way to the field that is available on the way there, I would park there and not have to pay. That would be my game plan. Short of having thousands of people driving around streets looking for free spaces, we'd recommend they just go to the service lot and pay for the parking.”

Public lots within walking distance of the stadium include the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, Freedom Memorial Park at Bragg Boulevard near Hay Street, the Board of Elections at 227 Fountainhead Lane and the Cumberland County Courthouse.

At least 600 parking spots are in private paid lots within about a five-minute walk to the stadium.

Numerous other privately owned lots, such as outside downtown businesses, are likely to start opening up as paid parking during games and other events.

From luxury boxes to rocking chairs and picnic tables, Segra Stadium will have a seat for all tastes and budgets — even for those who are more interested in socializing than watching baseball.

The stadium’s second level, which is known as the Club Level, will include a premium area with a party deck and a lounge called the AEVEX Veterans Club. The Club Level hangs over the home plate area on the first base side of the stadium, offering the most optimal view in the ballpark.

The club will provide an indoor and outdoor luxury experience with 110 traditional outdoor seats and lounge couches for networking and socializing. Fans can enjoy a full-service bar and premium food service. The Veterans Club will be available for rent, with an area that can accommodate up to 350 people. AEVEX, a global defense company with an office in downtown, paid for the sponsorship of the level.

The party deck next to the Veterans Club is available exclusively to groups of 50 to 100 people, according to Chaz Dawson, the director of sales.

The second level also will have six luxury suites with flat-screen televisions that can accommodate up to 20 people. The suites can be rented for single games or up to five seasons, and guests can access the AEVEX Veterans Club lounge. The suites are catered by Pro Sports Catering and include indoor and outdoor seating.

Sound enticing? Unless you've already secured your spot, you'll have to wait until next season, because all seats in the club level except the party deck are sold out.

Just below the club level, four field boxes on the concourse level will offer an outdoor suite with food and drink service. They can be used for parties of 12 to 15 clients or friends. The catered boxes offer luxury seating and flat-screen televisions. These field boxes are more focused on the baseball experience than a luxury experience.

A limited selection of the field boxes remain available this season. The cost starts at $420.

Servers also will wait on fans seated in the 4Topps area, which is off left field. Four semi-circular tables will have four seats that swivel to allow a view of the entire ballpark, he said. Seats in the 4-Topps area are $15 each, with a minimum purchase of four.

Picnic tables on the right field line offer a more casual atmosphere. The picnic area is for groups of 20 to 100 people.

Seats on the lower level, which is known as the main concourse, range from $15 behind home plate to $11 down the first and third base lines. The prices increase by $1 to $2 on some nights. People sitting behind home plate are on the same level as the players instead of being elevated as in most parks.

“Instead of regular padding that you see behind home plate, it's a net all the way down,” says Matt Sabados, who will be the primary play-by-play announcer for the Woodpeckers. “It's like you are literally on the field. It's a lot more fun when you are watching a game from that level.”

Healy’s, a bar beyond the right field fence, will serve 30 types of beer, including local craft beers.

A Kid’s Zone with playground equipment and inflatable games is on the left field side of the outfield. A berm with natural grass will let fans spread out a blanket to watch the game. Seating on the berm and in some areas in right field is not reserved. Those prices are $9 on Mondays through Wednesdays, $11 on Thursdays and Sundays, and $12 on Fridays and Saturdays.

A section of rocking chairs will be in the outfield as well. Those seats are $13 each on most nights.