Fayetteville Woodpeckers

Lore & Background

The Houston Astros began scouting locations for a baseball stadium in Fayetteville in April 2016. In August 2016, a two-team expansion to the Carolina League was approved. The Fayetteville City Council approved plans to build a new stadium by 2019, requiring a temporary location for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. On November 17, it was announced the team would play at Jim Perry Stadium on the campus of Campbell University in Buies Creek and be known as the Buies Creek Astros. The Astros signed a 30-year lease agreement with the city of Fayetteville in December 2016. The Buies Creek Astros replaced the Bakersfield Blaze at the Class A-Advanced level but are not a continuation of the Blaze. The Astros won the 2018 Carolina League championship.

Reader's Guide

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers represent the culmination of a relocation and rebranding effort by the Houston Astros to establish a Minor League affiliate in Fayetteville, North Carolina. After two seasons as the Buies Creek Astros, the team moved to Segra Stadium in 2019 and adopted the Woodpeckers name, chosen from over 1,400 suggestions in a name-the-team contest. The name honors the red-cockaded woodpecker, once plentiful in the area but now endangered. The team won its first game 15–0 on the road and played its first home game before a sellout crowd. In 2021, the Woodpeckers were reorganized into the Low-A East, which became the Carolina League again in 2022. In December 2025, the Houston Astros sold the team, along with its other minor league affiliates, to Diamond Baseball Holdings.

Did You Know?

• The team was known as the Buies Creek Astros for its first two seasons (2017–2018) and played at Jim Perry Stadium on the campus of Campbell University.
• The name 'Woodpeckers' was selected from over 1,400 suggestions in a name-the-team contest.
• The Woodpeckers won their first game 15–0 against the Potomac Nationals on April 4, 2019.
• In December 2025, the Houston Astros sold the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings.