Because there are so many opportunities to participate in recreational activities throughout the year in Savannah, most spectator sports tend to come along on a smaller scale and take a backseat to enjoying Savannah’s many outdoor venues. Even so, fan interest in minor-league baseball, professional golf, and automobile racing remains strong.
Minor-league baseball has been a part of the Savannah sports scene since the turn of the century (the 20th century, that is), with the most recent in the city’s long line of diamond organizations being the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats are affiliated with the New York Mets, and they play their games in Grayson Stadium, the city’s gem of an old-time ballpark.
If you’re seeking some big-league sporting action, you can find it within reasonable driving distance of Savannah. Atlanta, with its Falcons of the National Football League, Braves of Major League Baseball, Thrashers of the National Hockey League, and Hawks of the National Basketball Association, is five hours to the northwest. The NFL’s Jaguars of Jacksonville, Florida, are even closer—about two and a half hours south on I-95. You can always walk up and purchase tickets at these venues. Nearer still is Hilton Head Island, the site of a major sporting event in the spring: the Verizon Heritage PGA golf tournament (although the tournament was seeking a new sponsor at press time; for more on this event, see our Hilton Head chapter).
If you’re into intercollegiate sports, you’ll find a lot to choose from close to home at the city schools, or you can hit the road for Georgia Southern University in Statesboro (about an hour away), the University of Georgia in Athens (four and a half hours), or Georgia Tech in Atlanta.