twitter with the Bulls

If you really want to know what’s going on behind the scenes here at the DBAP…then twitter with us.

twitter is the latest Internet social networking sensation, and it has been embraced by Bulls’ General Manager Mike Birling. During the day, Mike broadcasts brief text messages (from his Blackberry) about ballpark happenings. You can read them on twitter’s web site and/or on your cell phone.

This is the cyber version of Tourette syndrome...or GPS for the frontal lobe…but I find it very useful. Thanks to twitter I’m thoroughly up-to-date. I know what Mike’s thinking…what he’s working on…what’s about to happen before it happens. You can, too: www.twitter.com (After you register, you will see a find people button. Click on that and search for Durham Bulls. You will soon find yourself swimming in Mike's stream of consciousness!)

Still, the web is no substitute for the real thing...so make a personal appearance at the ballpark on April 9th. Opening Day. First pitch: 7:05pm.

twitter screen shot from 4/3/09 - inside Mike Birling's head:

A Fresh Perspective on Baseball

Fans have a spectacular new view of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. It’s a vantage point from the outfield 30+ feet above the warning track and directly beneath the famous snorting bull. The plaza surrounding the Diamond View II office building has been completed just in time for Opening Day. (It was an outfield construction zone for most of last year.)

When the 2009 season begins, patrons will be able to walk the entire perimeter of the ballpark. Warning: the trek features yet another staircase, but that just adds to the adventure.

With the new plaza, the Bulls have an additional entertainment/picnic space – overlooking the field – that can accommodate several hundred people. We can host a gigantic company picnic, family reunion, even a wedding reception for those who would mix nuptials and baseball. We can stage a post-game concert on the plaza and other special events before or after a game.

Join us on Opening Day/April 9th, and be sure to take a walk around the DBAP. It’s good exercise and you will get a fresh perspective on the national pastime.

                                     The new plaza at Diamond View II.

                                     The ballpark view from beneath the Bull.

Downtown with Duke

You probably think Duke University is an enclave in west Durham, and that probably calls to mind the iconic Duke Chapel tower or the hardwood at Cameron.

…but I’m here to tell you that Duke is very much in downtown Durham. The University’s commitment to the center city is beyond impressive.

Duke contributed $7,000,000 to the new Durham Performing Arts Center and the University is a significant presence.

At the end of this month Duke University and Duke University Health System will have over 1,800 employees working in downtown Durham. Duke leases 530,000 square feet of office space - 30% of the leasable downtown office space.

Those figures come from Phail Wynn, Duke’s VP of Durham and Regional Affairs. He shared the info at a Durham Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors’ meeting last week.

By my count Duke has fourteen different departments represented on our American Tobacco Campus including the controller’s office, info technology and medical center development. Duke can be found in six ATC buildings.

Duke University is a powerful economic engine in our community. A report released last year pegged the University’s overall economic impact at $3.4 billion in Durham. That includes about 20,000 Durham residents earning $932 million. That includes $280 million for goods and services purchased from vendors in Durham. That includes student/vistor spending ($427 million), philanthropy ($51 million) and services/taxes/fees ($26 million).

All that cash aside, I’m very impressed with the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. Duke is working in twelve surrounding neighborhoods to improve the schools, housing and healthcare…utilizing staff, faculty and students…donations and in-kind support…and endowment funds. Back to the cash - it totals $16 million since the partnership was founded in 1996.

I trust the Blue Devils will do us proud during March Madness, but regardless, Duke is a CHAMPION.

This is the HQ of Duke Corporate Education at American Tobacco - the restored Lucky Strike building. Duke CE has offices in Durham; New York City; Carlsbad, CA; London, England; Johannesburg, South Africa; Ahmedabad, India.

valueBULL

The Durham Bulls are well positioned for current market conditions, as an economist might say. The annual Fan Cost Index has been released. To us, it’s a key economic indicator. 

Lifting a few lines from our news release…

A fun night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2009 will cost a family of four only $43.50, $11 less than the Minor League Baseball average and $18 less than the Triple-A average. Incredibly, the Bulls are almost $6.00 less expensive than the league average for Short Season/Rookie League Baseball. (The survey is based on the price of two adult tickets; two children’s tickets; four hot dogs; two sodas; two beers; a program and parking.)

An evening at the ballpark is the epitome of value investing. Maybe that explains why Warren Buffett is part owner of the Omaha Royals. (The Royals are giving away a Warren Buffet bobble-head in May!)

Despite that valueBull news, I have to admit that preseason ticket sales have been a little sluggish. However, we were greatly encouraged by the turnout for our annual Fanfest on March 6th. It was a beautiful day and a record-setting 2300 people showed up. I would like to think that’s another key economic indicator.

I apologize for the ticket and concession lines, but we weren’t expecting the big crowd. It spilled onto the diamond where fans could take BP and play catch. The field was covered with people.

It’s a good thing that our head groundskeeper, Scott Strickland, was out of town. He would have been pretty stressed with all those folks working out on his freshly cut, perfectly manicured, thick green grass. The upside: Scott was in Puerto Rico. He was invited to work on the grounds crew for the World Baseball Classic. An honor for Scott. A good forecast for the Bulls. Opening Day is April 9th.

Enjoy the View

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this one speaks volumes about our downtown Durham neighborhood.

Skanska, the company that built the new Durham Performing Arts Center, comissioned this aerial shot. To me, it's as grand as any Monet or Picasso. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park is surrounded by the Diamond View I and II office buildings. To the north is the new parking deck, theater and park. And the American Tobacco campus is on the left. As the late Fred Rogers said:

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood."

Baseball tickets, a Broadway show, office space, restuarants or just hangin' out in the park...

"Won't you be my neighbor?"

Bulls' Global Reach

5400 hundred miles from downtown Durham, on the west coast of Africa, we find the Bulls well represented in the deep bush of Ghana.

That’s the Chief of Yagaba with a Durham Bulls backpack.

No, he didn’t order it online. It was a gift from our good friend Winkie La Force. She was in Ghana over the holidays - lived in a mud hut for two weeks - on a mission trip with Chapel Hill Bible Church. Winkie has been to Africa six times; three of those trips have been to Ghana.

Winkie usually takes a box of Bulls caps, but she discovered a higher purpose for our backpacks: “They loved them…the Bible fits in them perfectly…and they all ride bikes, no cars...they were a hit!

Stateside, Winkie is Executive Director of Leadership Triangle. Her mission: train leaders in our community with a regional perspective. Winkie walks the talk…with a global perspective!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The famous Durham Bulls logo can show up just about anywhere in the world, typically on a cap. And often on a famous head. From Presidents...to rappers...to NPR hosts, check out our celebrity photos!

Baseball Hibernates

A blanket of snow covers the field at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on January 20th...the best snow we've had in five years. I was inspired to poetry:

Beneath the snow baseball waits.

The base paths and home plate, 

they hibernate.

...but the snow quickly melted and I lost my muse. Still, the mind wanders to sunny Florida, Spring Training and the Grapefruit League.

 

Our Tampa Bay Rays will be in a new venue at Port Charlotte. 

ROAD TRIP!

The field at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, FL. 

The ballpark seats six thousand.

Click here for Rays' Spring Training Info.

The Grapefruit League. Check out this interactive map.

In North Carolina, spring officially arrives on April 9th when the Durham Bulls open their season against the Norfolk Tides. The Bull City beckons. You are cordially invited to join us at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

ROAD TRIP!