DBAP updates include bigger locker room, ability for fans to watch batting practice
Posted March 31, 2023 2:00 p.m. EDT
Updated March 31, 2023 5:32 p.m. EDT
In February 2021, MLB (Major League Baseball) completed a multi-year process to end its Professional Baseball Agreement with MiLB (Minor League Baseball) and re-organize its minor leagues in a 120-team regional alignment. As part of the new agreement, MLB raised the minimum standards for MiLB ballparks to enhance the players' experience. MLB is requiring teams to have the renovations completed by 2025. The Durham Bulls already have a majority of them finished.
"This is probably the area we are most proud of for our guys to experience," Bulls assistant general manager Scott Strickland said while providing a tour of the team's locker room.
The Bulls locker room has been expanded to twice the original size and features homages to the team's history on the walls. You'll find pictures of the Bulls International League and Triple A championships as well as slightly smaller lockers.
The story behind that dates back to a funny misstep when the original locker room was built.
"They assigned the locker selection in 1994 to an intern," Strickland said. "Told her go out get some lockers from a previous job and those will be the lockers that go to Durham. The lockers come into Durham in 1995, they get installed and everyone's like why are they so tall? Apparently the intern went to a NBA job they had built. We've had NBA lockers from 1995 to 2022."
In addition to the expanded team locker room, there's also a locker room for female coaches and trainers.
Another MLB-required upgrade was indoor batting tunnels. Durham Bulls Athletic Park didn't have enough room to house one, so they added it onto the outside of the stadium. The tunnels are still under construction and should be completed in April. The tunnels feature windows so fans can watch the Bulls hit from the street.
"It connects right to our home clubhouse," Strickland said. "And it will be a beautiful addition on the street. Fans can walk down and watch through the windows our guys taking batting practice every day."
If you're feeling nostalgic, you'll want to check out the new Hall of Fame Hallway which is located right next to the gift shop. A Kansas City design firm helped create a series of displays and video boards to pay tribute to team legends, the City of Durham and of course the Kevin Costner classic "Bull Durham."
"We found some very cool old photos from the production of the movie that you'll just have to come see and experience it," Strickland said.
