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Durham Bulls Athletic Park / Durham Bulls

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Year Opened	1995
Capacity	10,000
Dimensions	305L, 400C, 327R
Last Visit	2004
Web Site	www.durhambulls.com
Online Broadcasts	Yes
Online Ticket Sales	Yes
Phone	919/956-BULL
League	International League
Affiliation	Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Ticket Prices	Field Reserved, $6.50; Terrace Reserved, $6; Terrace View, $5.50; Diamond View, $4.50.The Bulls use a variable-price system, so add $2 to all ticket prices for Friday and Saturday games (except for lawn and standing-room-only tickets).
Parking	If you get to the ballpark early enough you can park for free on Willard Street west of the ballpark. Otherwise, the most convenient parking location is the American Tobacco South Parking deck, located next to the ballpark at 512 S. Mangum St. The charge: $3.
Address/Directions	409 Blackwell St., Durham. Some of the freeway signs pointing the direction to Durham Bulls Athletic park can be a tad misleading, so don't follow them. The easiest way to the ballpark is to get on the Durham Freeway, which can be accessed from I-40. When on I-40, take the Magnum/Roxboro Street exit (exit 12B). You'll be able to see the ballpark from the exit.
Rating

Durham is the most storied minor-league market thanks to the amazing popularity of the movie Bull Durham, which featured Kevin Costner as a battered catcher making one last minor-league stop with the Durham Bulls. Featured prominently in the movie was Durham Athletic Park and a wooden bull that would snort after a home run. (More on DAP below.)

The Durham Bulls don't play at Durham Athletic Park, but Durham Bulls Athletic Park capture the spirit of a classic Carolina League park while providing all the amenities sought by today's baseball fan. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is also proof that a minor-league ballpark can indeed be a stimulus for area redevelopment, as we'll look at improvements to the area that probably would not have occurred before the construction of the ballpark.

First, a description of the ballpark. Despite seating 10,000, DBAP is a single-level ballpark; most Class AAA parks seating that many are double-decked ballparks, but HOK and the Bulls avoided stacking a second deck by stretching seating all the way down the line and curving it around the foul pole in right field. Seating in the grandstand is divided into two levels, with a wide walkway dividing the two. Down each line are two group seating areas with picnic tables. Every fixed seat in the ballpark is an extra-wide theater seat (there are no bleachers), and 95 percent of the seats have drink holders. There really aren't any bad seats in the house: the outfield bleachers are close to the action, and for those who want to stretch out there is berm seating in centerfield near the scoreboard.

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The roof that covers the main grandstand and the luxury-box level is strongly reminiscent of a roof you can still find in most older ballparks; it looks like and is scaled like an old wooden grandstand roof. (It's also functional: as you can tell from the photos of this visit, it was a rainy evening, and the roof provided shelter to the fans who arrived early for the game.) The Bulls employ an organist; he's positioned in back of the inner set of seats. A 32-foot-high "Blue Monster" wall in left field -- which serves no purpose save a nostalgic one -- and a hand-operated scoreboard complete the old-time feel of the ballpark.

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Above the wall is a bull. One of the recurring motifs in Bull Durham was the presence of a bull in right field that would snort when struck by a home run. The bull above the Blue Monster is not the same one used in the movie; that is one is located in the concourse. The bull built for the movie was indeed a part of the old Durham Athletic Park from 1988 through 1994: the film crew left the bull intact.

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There's also one other way DBAP feels like an old-fashioned ballpark: there no concourse level ringing the ballpark. Concessions and restrooms are located in back of the grandstand, and it is not possible to traverse the entire ballpark on a walkway. Though the ballpark is crammed onto a smaller footprint, it's not hard to see that the ballpark could have been extended 10 feet into a parking lot past left field to allow for a walkway out to center field. Old ballparks are full of dead ends, and the dead end down the left-field line fits in that history.

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The ballpark is located at the edge of downtown Durham and has an urban feel to it. The building in right field was a few years after the ballpark opened and serves the purpose of giving the ballpark a more urban field. Next to the ballpark on the first-base side is the American Tobacco Historic District, which converted old tobacco-company warehouses and office space into a mixed-used developer that combines retail, commercial and residential space. You can see the former Lucky Strike manufacturing plant in the background of the photos below; if you look closely you can see the Lucky Strike logo on the water tower. (The city of Durham built the ballpark, but the ownership of the Bulls are benefiting: the American Tobacco Historic District redevelopment is being done by team owner Capitol Broadcasting Company.)

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At DBAP here's little of the circus atmosphere you find at most minor-league baseball games: the emphasis is on baseball, and the local fans are smart enough to know a good play and how to appreciate the game.

There are two three entrances to the ballpark: the main entrance (pictured below) as well as smaller gates in the left-field corner and in dead center field. The entire exterior of the ballpark is brick.

All in all, Durham Bulls Athletic Park is a great place to watch a baseball game and is certainly one of the finest ballparks in minor-league baseball. There really is not a bad seat in the house, and  Durham fans love their baseball -- a combination that makes for a great night at the ballpark.

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History
The Durham Bulls originally began play in 1902 in George Lyon Ball Park, competing in the North Carolina State Professional Baseball League. The name was a natural: Durham was a leader in the tobacco industry, and Bull Durham was the most popular brand.

By 1926 the ballpark had a new name -- El Toro Park -- but by 1933 it had been renamed Durham Athletic Park. The park was located near Durham's downtown tobacco warehouses, and the Bulls drew heavily from warehouse workers. In June 1939 Durham Athletic Park was severely damaged by fire, but within two weeks the ballpark was better than ever and served as the home of the Bulls until 1995, when Durham Bulls Athletic Park opened.

El Toro Park in the 1930s.

Durham Athletic Park today.              (click on the image for a larger photo)

After the Bulls moved into Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham Athletic Park sat empty, save for some occasional concerts. For a few years a college wood-bat Coastal Plain League team played there, through 2003.

Concessions
All of the main concession stands are located in the back of the grandstand. There's a wide variety of offerings: regular ballpark fare (hot dogs, burgers, pizza, nachos, et al), Mexican, barbeque, fried chicken and more. Recommended: the barbequed pork sandwich, any Berk's hot dog (and several kinds are sold at the ballpark), or the 24-ounce cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon sold by almost every beer vendor.

Watch out for some of the prices, however. While admission to the ballpark is relatively cheap, some of the concession prices are not: a "souvenir" beer runs you $6 and a specialty draft beer costs $4.25.

For the Kids
In 2002 the Bulls installed a kids' play area down the left-field line, while there are inflatable games in the center-field pavilion as well. In addition, there's a special sponsored area where kids can meet Wool E. Bull, the team mascot.

Parking
If you get to the ballpark early enough you can park for free on Willard Street west of the ballpark. Otherwise, the most convenient parking location is the American Tobacco South Parking deck, located next to the ballpark at 512 S. Mangum St. The charge: $3.

Before/After the Game
Durham is one part of the Triangle comprising Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham. Most people know Durham as the home of Duke University and Chapel Hill as the home of the University of North Carolina, and both universities play a large role in the entire area. Both main campuses are also scenic areas in the summer, so stretch your legs and walk through both.

Within six blocks of the game (at Duke and Peabody) is Fowler's, a combination deli/restaurant/bar/coffee shop with free wireless Internet.