On August 21, 2017 the Columbia Fireflies Minor League Baseball team broke attendance records at Spirit Communications Park at BullStreet by hosting a total solar eclipse viewing event during their afternoon game against the Rome Braves, drawing 9,629 fans to enjoy the historic phenomenon in the “Total Eclipse Capital of the East Coast.”

Because Columbia, S.C. was the third largest American city on the center line of the path of totality and had the longest period of totality for any metro area on the East Coast, visitors from all over the nation and the world, as well as locals and regional fans, converged on the park to watch the sky go dark the in the afternoon and experience the magnificent effects of totality. The moon blocked the sun, the elusive “corona” and “diamond ring” became visible, a 360-degree sunset ringed the horizon, the sky dimmed to a twilight darkness, and the temperature dropped as much as ten degrees.

Watch the video of totality from the Columbia Fireflies’ MiLB HD streaming feed, shared on YouTube for all to enjoy:

Media from around the world were onsite at the stadium to record the once-in-a-lifetime event, including ABC News, CNBC News and Channel 4 UK.

Players’ glow-in-the-dark jerseys were auctioned for charity, with the highest bids coming from one of the world’s most acclaimed eclipse chasers, Dan McGlaun of www.eclipse2017.org. (You may have heard the phrase “Close is not close enough” — that was Dan!)

Thank you to everyone who chose to experience the eclipse at Spirit Communications Park with the Columbia Fireflies! #Letsglow