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Coordinates: 36°0′10.04″N 78°54′10.06″W / 36.0027889°N 78.9027944°W / 36.0027889; -78.9027944 (Durham Athletic Park)

Durham Athletic Park at the peak of its popularity, ca. 1990

Durham Athletic Park, affectionately known as "The DAP" (pronounced like the word "dap"), is a former minor league baseball park in Durham, North Carolina. The ballpark site was home to various incarnations of the Durham Bulls from 1926 through 1994. As of 2009, the DAP still stands north of the downtown, on the block bounded by Washington, Corporation, Foster and Geer Streets.

Durham Athletic Park became one of the most famous minor league ballparks in history, thanks to the 1988 film Bull Durham, featuring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Most of the filming was done at the DAP, following the end of the Carolina League season of 1987. The film's wide acclaim helped fuel the burgeoning public interest in minor league ball in general, and in the case of Durham this explosion of popularity caused the DAP to become a victim of its own success; despite expansion with temporary bleachers, it was just too small to handle the increase in crowd size. The Bulls moved to their new home in Downtown Durham, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park or "DBAP" in 1995.

[edit] Early homes for the Bulls

In their early days, the Durham Bulls played at Trinity College's Hanes Field, named for the founder of the clothing company, and who happened to have graduated from Trinity. The college eventually became the east campus of Duke University. Hanes Field is now called Williams Field and is still used for field hockey at Duke.

In mid-1926 the Bulls moved about a mile straight east, to a new field called El Toro Park. The facility was renamed Durham Athletic Park in 1933. In 1939 it was destroyed by fire. During the off-season of 1939–1940 it was replaced on-site by a mostly-steel-and-concrete structure.

[edit] The current stadium

1939 is the year from which the current DAP is normally dated. As for the Durham Bulls, they came and went over the years, par for the course for minor leagues and their teams. In 1980 the team was revived after a lengthy dormancy, and returned to the DAP. The park was painted in the bright blue and orange team colors. Over the interior entrance was a sign reading El Toro Stadium, a variation of its original name. The team led the Carolina League in attendance that first season.

The team's popularity received a large boost when the ballpark became the primary setting for the film Bull Durham, and ironically proved to spell the end of the DAP as an important baseball venue. Increased attendance at the DAP, with frequent capacity crowds, prompted the city to build a new ballpark on the other side of the downtown. 1993 was promoted as the final year for the DAP, but construction delays compelled the team to play one more season here. In 1994, the club sold T-shirts bearing the legend "2nd Annual Final Season at the DAP". In 1995, the Bulls finally abandoned their long-time home and moved to the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park or "D-BAP". Attendance continued to be so good that the Bulls were promoted to the AAA level 3 years later, when Major League Baseball's most recent round of expansion required the addition of two new AAA teams. Despite the relatively small size of the city, they continue to hold their own in attendance figures among the larger member cities of the International League.

[edit] After the Durham Bulls

Durham Athletic Park in July, 2008.

Until the $5 million renovation to the DAP began in July 2008, it was still used for events such as concerts and softball tournaments, and was the regular home field of the (now defunct) Durham Americans (formerly Durham Braves) of the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer league.

The Durham Dragons of the (now defunct) Women's Professional Softball League also made the park its home.

In the summer of 2005 rumors of baseball being played at the DAP surfaced again. Nearby North Carolina Central University is looking to expand its athletic department to include baseball and has released press statements identifying the DAP as a candidate venue for its new home stadium. As of 2008, the City of Durham has allocated over $4 million in general obligation bond funds to renovate the DAP; Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse is proceeding with a renovation of the historic facility, which will be operated by Minor League Baseball as a training facility for umpires, groundskeepers, and other crew. The DAP will be used for NCCU games and other athletic programming along with concerts, festivals and other events. MiLB is also considering building a Minor League Baseball "fan experience museum" with public-sector support; the buildings at the northeast corner of the ballpark are of the greatest interest for this significant tourist attraction.

From 1998 to 2004, the Durham Athletic Park's main parking lot was home to the Durham Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings during the Winter.

[edit] Dimensions

During its final years as a minor league ballpark

• Left Field - 330 ft
• Left Center Field - 365 ft
• Center Field - 405 ft
• Center Field Corner, outer wall - 500 ft
• Deep Right Center Field - 370 ft
• Right Center Field - not posted
• Right Field - 305 ft

[edit] External links

• Ballpark Digest Visit to Durham Athletic Park
• Primary source for team history
• USGS photo showing DAP, D-BAP and Hanes Field site
• Durham Athletic Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
• Renovation Update