New Neighbors in Left Field

Capitol Broadcasting Co. will begin construction in April on another office building in our outfield. Diamond View III will be located in the left field corner, and that will complete the office park palisade surrounding the ballpark.

The occupancy rate hovers around 98% at the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham. Our real estate division aims to capitalize on the demand.

I'm looking forward to one or two new restaurants...but that will have to wait until the 2013 season.

More info at wral.com and check out the video at the DV3 website.

Clubhouse Rehab

We’re renovating our home clubhouse this winter. After seventeen seasons of men behaving badly the Durham Bulls' locker room was in need of some rehab.

And our team has earned the upgrade: ten division titles since we moved up to Triple A ball in ’98, three International League titles and a National Championship.

We’re knocking down walls to improve the coaches’ quarters, staff offices, weight room and player lounge.

Our staff joined in the demo work for some stress relief Friday afternoon. GM Mike Birling takes the first kick…

Lend Lease is our contractor. (They did not sanction our participation in the demo work.) Belk Architecture of Durham and BridgePoint Construction Services are on the job, too.

David Price - off season update

I'm not a celebrity stalker, but...

Our former colleague at 99.9 The Fan, Dave Shore, is now with ESPN in LA. He produces the Lakers' radio broadcasts. Dave was working in the Triangle when Rays' pitcher David Price was playing for the Bulls. Dave spotted Price at a Lakers' game earlier this month...nabbed him from the crowd, gave him a headset and put him to work!

Lids for the Kids

Our retail manager, Bryan Wilson, was out of control at the Baseball Winter Meetings trade show. His 2012 apparel purchases are arriving daily on the UPS truck, and the Ballpark Corner Store looked like a warehouse earlier this week.

Here's a preview of the fashion forward lids for 2012...

Bryan has unpacked the boxes and filled the shelves. Drop by the store and get a head start (great pun!!!) on the 2012 season.

~ Shop on-line ~

The Blue Monster bares it all!

With the exception of the LED video screen, our venerated outfield wall is decidedly low-tech. The facade is plywood, and it deteriorates over time. This past season a well hit ball would actually penetrate the surface. (And even when the ball disappears, that doesn't count as a home run!)

We weren't especially proud of the divots...so the Blue Monster is getting a facelift for the 2012 season.

Maybe we should experiment with Kevlar or that secret coating they use on stealth fighter jets?

College Hoops - time to get serious

The Atlantic Coast Conference basketball season began in earnest this weekend. That's how we get through the long, hard winter in these parts...even though it was 72 degrees on Saturday!

If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend our new wralSPORTSfan.com app for scores and news. You can listen to 99.9 The Fan and 620 The Buzz, too. It's the multipurpose Swiss army knife of sports apps...free at iTunes; click here.

Adam Gold, my trusty - or should I say crusty - colleague at 99.9 The Fan, penned a prospectus on each ACC basketball team. Check it out. He doesn't share my enthusiasm for conference play, but he's a smart guy...and you can hear him on 99.9 The Fan every afternoon from 3-7 with his sidekick Joe Ovies.

More on the DAP...

Aaron Schoonmaker at wralSPORTSfan.com added to the story with this post on Wednesday: CLICK HERE.

Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner, nose to nose, at the DAP.

The movie classic Bull Durham was filmed here in 1987.