DBAP Renovation Update

The $20 million DBAP do-over was front page news in today's Herald-Sun. Bulls' GM Mike Birling gave reporter Ray Gronberg a hard hat tour. Click here for the story. 

You can be a sidewalk supervisor - no hard hat required - via our web cam, live or time lapse…

Dawn at the DBAP on Friday, 12/27. A giant sandbox! The new turf 

will be "installed" next week.

Remembering Ben Ward

He was a very big man on campus at Duke. Professor Ben Ward died earlier this month. He was a regular at the DBAP.

The only thing "regular" about Ben was his presence behind the Bulls dugout, wearing his Duke and Bulls gear, accompanied by his headphones and radio to listen to the broadcast.
Bulls Head Groundskeeper Scott Strickland

Ben Ward was an expert in philosophy and languages. He had a gift for music…and a gift with people. Read more about him in this August post from Bull City Summer: The Adopter of the Bulls. It will be included in the Bull City Summer book to be published next year - a fitting tribute to an exceptional Durhamite.

Bull Durham to Broadway!??!

Bull Durham is the gift that keeps on giving! We celebrated the film's 25th anniversary this past summer, and now a musical is in the works. That announcement came last week at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Orlando. (MiLB.com story)

This isn't pie in the sky. The show has accomplished producers, a script and score. Casting is underway. It's off-Broadway debut will be in Atlanta next fall. That's where it's tweaked and readied for the Great White Way in 2015. Be patient. (Musical website)

At a reception hosted by the producers, Susan Werner - guitar in hand - performed a couple of the songs that she has written for the show. In my humble opinion, she has channeled Annie Savoy. It's uncanny! 

After talking with Werner, writer Ron Shelton and the producers, I'm predicting a raucous, southern fried extension of the beloved, iconic movie.

Speaking of gifts and Bull Durham, on Friday we received a shipment from Nike of the wildly popular Lollygaggers t-shirts. They are available online at our Ballpark Corner Store. 

ACC Baseball - A Return Engagement

The Bulls hosted the record setting ACC Baseball Championships this past spring. The event moves to Greensboro next year, but thereafter, we want the tournament to return to Durham.

The Atlantic Coast Conference issued an RFP for cities to host the championships in 2015 through 2018. Proposals were due last Friday, and we delivered Durham’s pitch with a personal touch. 

Wool E. Bull presented our bid to Kris Pierce, Senior Associate Commissioner of the ACC for the league’s championship events. Paparazzi hid in the bushes - click here for the video.

Wool E. Bull delivers the Durham bid to Kris Pierce
at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary - site of the ACC
women's soccer tournament.

In early 2014 the Conference will be evaluating the bids – attempting to determine which city (or cities) will be the best fit for the annual baseball championships. I’m thinking that community and local business support will be a major factor. 

The ten competing teams will bring their own entourage of fans and player families, but the ACC wants to know that the stands will be filled with “locals.” It seems to work that way in Birmingham Alabama where the SEC baseball tournament has been held for sixteen years, and of course, there’s Omaha where the NCAA baseball champion is crowned each year. That’s our aspiration for Durham and the Triangle!

Hill Carrow of Sports & Properties Inc., assisting with the

project, gives a helping hand to Bulls GM Mike Birling.

The box contained bound copies of the Durham 

proposal as well as an iPad version.

During the fall and winter the Bulls will work alongside the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce (serving as the Local Organizing Committee) and the Triangle Sports Commission to tell Durham's story to the ACC.

Miracle League Field of Dreams - a Reality!

Wool E. Bull was on hand for the November 2nd ribbon cutting at Franklin County's brand new Miracle League baseball field. 

The Durham Bulls and Minor League Baseball Charities supported the project. Tommy Piper, an assistant school superintendent for the Franklin County schools sold me on the project earlier this year…with his enthusiasm and commitment. 

It's no small feat to raise the big bucks for this special rubberized playing surface that accommodates children in wheelchairs. The baseball league serves kids with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities in Franklin, Vance, Granville, and Warren Counties. 

Speaking of commitment, Sunrock donated the stone, concrete and asphalt for the project…and the company continues to spread the word about Miracle League!

Miracle League of Franklin County on Facebook

Party in the Outfield

It's a pneumatic nuisance. There's a constant din from this jackhammerin' at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. They've been at it for three weeks...bustin' up the concrete on the lower rows of our outfield seating section.

Why are they doing this? Glad you asked!

The bottom-most rows of seating and the concrete underneath are being removed to create a new tier of terrace boxes. They boast an outstanding view of the outfield, hence the clever new name: Outfield Boxes. This is our expectation for the finished product:

This will be a great space for an office party, laid-back client entertainment or a ballpark outing with family and friends. You can make your reservation for the 2014 season now!!! Contact our Group Sales Department: groups@durhambulls.com

The New Age of Enlightenment

As I get older, I need more light to see well...so we are replacing our field lights! Seriously, it's for our players. We had some shadowy spots. For the 2014 season, the DBAP field will be brighter and evenly lit.

Musco Lighting is changing out all of the ballpark field lighting. It's a five week job and we're about two weeks in. This is a major component of our off-season renovation project. New seats, a new playing surface and the lighting upgrade are funded by the City of Durham. (Thank you!)

D3 Development is managing all of this work. D3's Shannon Moser tells me the lights are guaranteed for 10,000 hours or 10 years which means less maintenance over time. And with Musco's green lighting system the energy usage will be lower. 

Fewer bulbs, less power, more lumens. That's a big improvement since the original lights were installed in 1995. Baseball endures and technology improves.

Field renovation, 10/25/13