Saturday, January 11, 2014

Risk/Reward


A busload of folks from downtown Richmond visited Durham on Wednesday. They are debating a new ballpark for the Richmond Squirrels, and the group came here for a first hand view of Durham's renaissance - a revival that began with the 1995 opening of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

While every city has a unique personality, these ballpark projects have one thing in common. They are always controversial. 

“It was a risk,” Durham Mayor Bill Bell admitted to the Richmond visitors. “And I can tell you, everything you do is a risk. If you’re not prepared to do risk, you might as well get out of this business.” 

Durham's risk resulted in a high return: the Bulls moved up to Triple-A, the American Tobacco campus, the Durham Performing Arts Center and the unfolding revival of downtown. 

Media clips from the visit: Richmond Times-Dispatch | WWBT TV