Minor League Baseball and the City of Durham held a groundbreaking at the old Durham Bulls Ballpark to begin a renovation that will turn the old girl into a state of the art facility. It will be training grounds for MLiB teams to send staff to learn about marketing, umpiring, stadium operations and even grounds keeping. Pat O'Conner, President of MLiB was on hand along with City Officials to do the honorary hole digging. Ron Shelton, producer of the movie Bull Durham was also there. He told some great stories about the movie that was made there in 1987. He stated that 80% of the movie starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon was shot in Durham.
Another part of the renovation will include the development of a Minor League museum using the old tobacco building behind the right field fence. The building will house the history of Minor league baseball and provide an interactive experience about the game. A question was asked why Durham? Well ... Durham is home to 2 division I college baseball schools, USA Baseball's Olympic Training Facility, The Bulls triple AAA franchise to Tampa Bay and not to mention the best baseball Movie ever made according to ESPN and numerous news agencies.
Having worked as a groundskeeper in this league back in the mid 70's I went to the old Durham Bulls stadium often. Its good to see old parks getting a face lift instead of a wrecking ball. It will be fun working on this park. The grand opening will take place in the spring of 2009.
Mr. Cook
Thanks a lot for commenting on my blog about my future groundskeeping. when i saw that i got a message from you i was blown away. i have been reading your blog for a few years now. I really appreciate that message. Sorry it took me a while to get back to you, it has been crunch time at school with finals no more than a week away, and cal poly is winding down their baseball season, so i have been working a lot. but thanks again.
Sincerely,
Sam Titchener
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