Latest news with #CraigBrown
CBS News
03-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
How a minor league ballpark revived a struggling downtown in South Carolina
For Greenville, South Carolina, Fluor Field is a field of dreams come true. The stadium is home to the Greenville Drive, the High-A Minor League Baseball team for the Boston Red Sox, complete with a replica of Fenway Park's Green Monster — the popular nickname for its massive, left field wall. But its big pitch is community. "We were really embraced by the community, and then we began to learn all that a baseball team can do for a community," said Craig Brown, a former high-powered Manhattan advertising executive who built the stadium for $20 million in 2006. Brown still owns the stadium and the team. "Fluor Field has become the front porch of the community. In the South, the front porch is where the family gathers. That's very much how we operate the place," Brown told CBS News. The ballpark has had a monster impact on the local economy. It draws roughly half a million people a year for ball games and other events. Over the last decade, the city says the team's financial impact has been nearly $300 million. But the stadium did much more. After a number of Greenville textile factories shuttered, Fluor Field — using bricks salvaged from demolished mills — jump-started a renaissance in the city's West End downtown, a blighted area that used to be viewed as seedy and scary. "There was a letter to the editor that said, you put a baseball stadium down there, only prostitutes will go to baseball games," Greenville Mayor Knox White said. White has been the city's mayor for 30 years. He says Greenville's approach 20 years ago was unusual for the time, but savvy. The city insisted that the downtown stadium be part of an ambitious, mixed-use development. "This was the transformational event. Suddenly, this area close into the stadium became a place for condos and some high rises and hotels. But beyond it, residential neighborhoods were transformed, as well," White said. The mixed-use approach draws people and new businesses downtown. Old Europe Desserts serves coffee and sweets several blocks from the ballpark. When asked why the baseball stadium was such a big draw, owner Bobby Daugherty said, "Bodies. I sell cake. I need bodies through the door. So I knew [it] was kinda right in the middle of all the traffic, if you will." It's symbolic of what Greenville found here: a sweet spot for development that touches all the bases.
Glasgow Times
10-05-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
NHS Lanarkshire celebrates grounds maintenance and biodiversity team
The team is part of NHS Lanarkshire's commitment to sustainability and the environment. They have been working across various sites, including Kirklands headquarters, Caird House, Monklands Hospital, and Udston CAMHS unit, to improve green spaces. Green Health Week runs from May 3 to 11. READ NEXT: 'Do you know who we are?': Pair knifed four strangers in less than two hours Craig Brown, head of sustainability and environmental performance at NHS Lanarkshire, said: "We are delighted to support Green Health Week by shedding light on the great work from the Grounds Maintenance and Biodiversity team. "NHS Lanarkshire is committed to improving our environmental sustainability, as well as making our sites a safe and clean place for staff, visitors and patients. "Our greenspace accounts for 36 per cent of our grounds, and it's great to be able to use these spaces as an opportunity to support, and positively impact, those who spend time there, as well as contribute to the planet, environment and wildlife." The green spaces provide homes for plants, insects, birds, and more, while also bringing health and wellbeing benefits to patients, staff, and visitors. READ NEXT: Warrant issued for woman who 'falsely claimed to be pregnant to extort £7k' Vicki Trim, Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership Lead at NHS Lanarkshire, said: "As an anchor institution, NHS Lanarkshire is working to provide good quality green spaces to improve biodiversity. "It also showcases how much patients – and the wider community - gain when we connect with different people, engage with the outdoors and gain the benefits these bring to our wellbeing, so it's a win-win for people and the planet." Tommy Whiteside, forensic support worker at NHS Lanarkshire, said: "We started up a gardening group in January at Caird House for inpatients as well as community patients. "The goal is to make the gardens a welcoming place for everyone to use as well as give our patients a sense of achievement in the project they have engaged with."
Daily Record
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
NHS Lanarkshire highlights garden projects to mark Green Health Week
Staff from the health board's grounds and biodiversity team are working with patients on garden improvements at a number of healthcare centres. NHS Lanarkshire is marking the current Green Health Week by highlighting the work of its grounds team – whose projects are supporting patients at facilities across the health board area. Staff in the grounds maintenance and biodiversity team help to encourage nature and environmental sustainability, with their projects including improving gardens at Udston Hospital and Caird House in Hamilton and at the Lanarkshire Beatson centre at Monklands Hospital. They are also working to add new pollinator-friendly plants at the health board's headquarters at Kirklands in Bothwell, and say the project will be a 'trailblazer rolled out across the wider estate'. Greenspace staff worked with patients at Caird House forensic mental health services base to rejuvenate the garden area, setting up a gardening group at the start of this year. Forensic support worker Tommy Whiteside said: 'The gardens needed some TLC and with the help of our community mental health, occupational therapy and grounds maintenance & biodiversity teams as well as patients, it is now starting to look amazing. 'The goal is to make the garden a welcoming place for everyone to use as well as give our patients a sense of achievement in the project they have engaged with. Feedback is that they feel pride on what they have completed and are looking forward to carrying on with the group, and they also feel it is more welcoming and relaxing.' Staff have also created new wildflower areas at the Udston CAMHS unit and improved the garden at the hospital's Brandon ward which supports patients with dementia, through funding from Vitalenergi, as well as improving the Beatson garden at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. NHS Lanarkshire say greenspace accounts for more than one-third of its grounds, and say these 'can make a real difference to biodiversity to encourage having lots of variety in nature, which in turn keeps the planet in balance. 'This also offers specific patient groups a chance to take part in outdoor activities that promote social inclusion, can improve their mental health, or [allow them to] enjoy some time in nature during their visit.' Lanarkshire has a newly-created role of horticultural and biodiversity grounds manager, described as one of the first positions of its kind in NHS Scotland, and say their greenspaces provide benefits ranging from homes for plants, insects, birds and more, to the health and wellbeing impact for patients, staff and visitors. Head of sustainability and environmental performance Craig Brown said: 'NHS Lanarkshire is committed to improving our environmental sustainability, as well as making our sites a safe and clean place for staff, visitors and patients. 'Our greenspace accounts for 36 per cent of our grounds, and it's great to be able to use these spaces as an opportunity to support, and positively impact, those who spend time there, as well as contribute to the planet, environment and wildlife.' Green health partnership lead Vicki Trim said: 'Our work within the hospital gardens is possible thanks to the Greener Communities Fund, a partnership between NHS Charities Together and environmental charity Hubbub, supported by Starbucks' 5p cup. 'NHS Lanarkshire is working to provide good quality greenspaces to improve biodiversity. It also showcases how much patients and the wider community gain when we connect with different people and engage with the outdoors, so it's win-win for people and the planet.' * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
CBC
02-05-2025
- CBC
Police identify man killed in shooting in restaurant parking lot in Burlington, Ont.
Halton police have identified the victim in a fatal shooting outside a Burlington, Ont., restaurant Tuesday night as a 55-year-old Oakville resident. Craig McIlquham, also known as Craig Brown, was shot in the parking lot of the Mandarin Restaurant near Fairview and Brant streets at around 8:30 p.m., Halton Regional Police said in a news release Thursday. First responders rushed McIlquham to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have previously said they believe this was a targeted incident. Police are asking anyone with dashcam footage of the area between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. to contact police. They're also trying to identify the occupants of grey, newer model Honda Civic with dark-tinted windows possibly connected to the shooting as part of their investigation.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Owner of Greenville Drive presented with Order of the Palmetto
GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – The owner and chairman of the Greenville Drive and Fluor Field was presented with South Carolina's highest civilian honor, Friday evening. Craig Brown was presented with the Order of the Palmetto, in recognition of a lifetime of extraordinary achievement, service, and contributions on a statewide scale. The Order of the Palmetto award was presented by Governor Henry McMaster in an on-field ceremony during the second inning of the Drive's Opening Night Game. Fluor Field earned the title of 'Ballpark of the Year' during its first season, and has since become a year-round gathering area, hosting festivals, educational programs, fundraisers, reunions, tributes and more. 'Craig's leadership as owner and chairman of the Greenville Drive, pivotal role in the revitalization of the West End of downtown Greenville, and philanthropic endeavors … speak volumes about his unwavering commitment to service and excellence,' said Rep. Bruce Bannister, who nominated Brown. 'This prestigious award is not only a fitting tribute to his remarkable legacy but also a source of inspiration for others to follow his example of selfless dedication and service.' Brown had made a pledge in 2005 to bring a minor league baseball team to Greenville and that he would build a new ballpark, wanting the community to come together. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
