The Curious Case of the Winston-Salem Dash

A team allegedly breaks fire code - like, REALLY breaks it

*This game occurred on September 5, 2025, but I didn't attend it - and neither did most of the people who bought tickets! Keep reading on to find out why I'm writing about a game which would not have been on this blog otherwise.

The Winston-Salem Dash have operated under quite a few names and affiliates, but have been continuously in operation since 1946 - making them one of the oldest continuously operating teams in Minor League Baseball. Currently, they're the High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox - an affiliation they've had since 1997.

Originally, I was going to try and write about the stadium like one of my normal posts, but then I realized that would probably not be a great idea - because WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS GAME.

The game on the field was actually kinda interesting - the Dash blew a four run lead in the ninth inning before going on to lose in extras to the Greenville Drive (the High-A affiliate of YOUR Boston Red Sox) - a team the Dash are trying to chase in "hopes" of winning a playoff spot¹. However, it's what happened in the stands that warrants discussion.

First, let's talk a LITTLE bit about Truist Stadium. It was opened in 2010 (around the time the team rebranded from the Warthogs to the Dash for some reason), and from what I've heard, was built using public money - remember this because it's VERY important (and also rather common practice across the U.S. for better or worse).

On September 3, the Dash posted on Instagram about their upcoming weeklong series. If you go to the post (i.e. by clicking the link in the previous sentence), you'll notice something rather strange: the dates listed are "September 2-4, 6-7". For some reason, the 5th is conspicuously absent - and there's no reason for it not to be (especially with the Dash playing a team they're chasing for a playoff spot).

At 12:45 PM on September 5, the Dash made what I can only assume is their standard "promotional" post about that day's game. However, it had a very unexpected message:

"Please note that today's game at Truist Stadium is a private event. If you have tickets for September 5 but are not part of the private event, please contact us to exchange your ticket for a different date."

That's right - someone (or, to be more precise, some company) bought EVERY SEAT at the stadium - even ones that had already been sold²! The Dash has (have?) not disclosed who's event it was anyway (emphasis on "the Dash"); in addition, they've gone FULL "North Korea" about attendance: the box score lists an attendance of 10,500 at a stadium that has an official capacity of 5,500 (the Savannah Bananas WISH they could oversell a venue like this). However, what little evidence we have (that doesn't involve paying to watch the VOD of this game) points to the crowd being much, MUCH smaller - I don't know how to get a good estimate, but it appears to be around 40% of the stadium's capacity at most. This isn't exactly something that is uncommon, mind you - it's just that they're claiming that they nearly doubled the stadium capacity.

In case you were curious, here's the Facebook post announcing that the game is closed to the public. I chose this one to share as it's got more activity than their Twitter post (plus, well, Twitter - though Facebook isn't exactly better):

Some highlights from the comments include:

• The team attempting to explain this as if it were just a regular suite rental when THEY JUST KICKED PAYING CUSTOMERS OUT OF THEIR SEATS - INCLUDING SEASON TICKET HOLDERS. This is probably where I should mention that since this is the third-to-last game of the season, going to another game (which the team was trying to offer) is not an option for a lot of folks...not to mention the season ticket holders losing a game.
• A fan asking if it would be streamed (it was, and that's how we know the actual attendance). Someone's reply: "count how many people you see in the stands!"
• People saying "it's one game". Under normal circumstances, I think this is somewhat valid, but I'll give my thoughts on this as it pertains to this situation later.
• Reminders that the stadium was PUBLICLY FUNDED (as I mentioned earlier) and that shutting it down for a private event is .
• Someone simping for...I'm not really sure. It's either the team's drone show (which one fan said was awful) or the company that bought out the seats, since they're claiming the stadium was packed (when, again, there's strong evidence it wasn't), and most importantly, POSTING A PHOTO OUTING THE COMPANY BEHIND THIS WHOLE THING - a local tobacco company (tobacco being a product MLB has a strange history with³).

Honestly, I feel like this is a DANGEROUS precedent being set by the Dash. If they are willing to CANCEL fans' tickets just so a company can entertain themselves, who knows what other teams and/or companies might get ideas. It should also be noted that the Dash are owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings (i.e. the megacorp buying Minor League Baseball teams left and right), so knowing that they basically signed off on this by allowing it to happen only adds to the worry...

(Also, as a testament to how outrageous I think this whole thing is, I found out about it, wrote this entire post, and published it within a span of about four hours...)