Durham Athletic Park, nicknamed "The DAP", is a former minor league baseball stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The stadium was home to the Durham Bulls from 1926 through 1994, the North Carolina Central Eagles and the Durham School of the Arts Bulldogs. The DAP sits north of the downtown area of Durham, 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 the Bulls, Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Most of the filming was done at the DAP following the end of the Carolina League's 1987 season. The film's wide acclaim helped fuel the burgeoning public interest in minor league baseball in general. In the case of both the city and the film, this explosion of popularity caused the DAP to become a victim of its own success; despite expansion with temporary bleachers, it became too small to handle the increase in crowd size and the Bulls’ Triple-A ambitions.

The Bulls moved to their new home, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (also known as "DBAP") in downtown Durham, starting with the 1995 season. The DBAP was originally built with a capacity befitting Carolina League standards, but more land was acquired so that the park could to be expanded for Triple-A baseball. Triple-A baseball came to Durham in 1998, with the Bulls moving up and the DBAP being expanded.

El Toro Park

Before El Toro

In their early days, the Durham Bulls played at Trinity College's Hanes Field,—named for the founder of the clothing company, a Trinity graduate—now called Williams Field and still used for field hockey on Duke's east campus.

From 1913 until early summer 1926, the Bulls played their games at Doherty Park in what was then called East Durham.[https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/east-durham-baseball-park]

A place to call their own

On July 7, 1926,

The Depression and disaster

The Bulls sat out the 1934 and 1935 seasons, owing to the Great Depression.

Bull Durham and beyond

The team's popularity was boosted when the ballpark became the primary setting for the film Bull Durham, which also unfortunately contributed to the end of the DAP; increased attendance with frequent capacity crowds and an interest in attracting a Triple-A franchise prompted the city to build a new ballpark on the other side of downtown, adjacent to the former American Tobacco campus. 1993 was promoted as the final season for the DAP, but construction delays compelled the team to play the 1994 season there; in 1994, the club sold T-shirts bearing the legend "2nd Annual Final Season at the DAP". On September 5, 1994, the Bulls played their final game at the DAP, a 6–2 loss to the Winston-Salem Spirits in Game 1 of the Carolina League's South Division playoffs. In early 2008, the City of Durham pledged an additional $1 million to the renovation, the money coming from interest earned on unspent bond funds. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on April 30, with reconstruction beginning in late July 2008.

The stadium re-opened on August 15, 2009, concluding the renovation with a picnic featuring former Bulls players and local celebrities.

The Bulls return to the DAP

On the evening of May 10, 2010, before a crowd of 3,911, the now Triple-A Bulls returned to The DAP for a single regular-season game against the Toledo Mud Hens. With additional lighting on-hand to raise the field to Triple-A standards, the Bulls fell to the Mud Hens 6–4, mirroring the score of the Single-A club's final game in the stadium 16 years prior.

Among other events scheduled for 2011 was another return to the DAP by the Bulls, again on the second Monday night in May.[http://www.durhambulls.com/team/press_release.html?id=1437] The game was played on May 9 and resulted in a loss to the Indianapolis Indians.[http://www.durhambulls.com/team/game_story.html?id=1672&y=2011]

MiLB Departs the DAP

On September 2, 2011, Minor League Baseball announced that it would not renew its contract to manage the DAP, with the Bulls announcing on December 27, 2011, that they would be assuming the operating agreement.

Future

In April 2024, the City of Durham issued a Request for Proposals to select a firm to conduct a feasibility study on the future of the Durham Athletic Park. On October 7, 2024, the Durham City Council voted to select architecture firm Perkins & Will. Concepts produced by Perkins & Will will focus on reinvigorating DAP as a public destination and may include expanding or substantially altering the existing facility. The City is reportedly not interested in selling the land or using it for a private purpose. In January and February 2025, the City conducted an online survey and in-person meetings to solicit community input. The study is expected to run through Summer 2025.

Dimensions

During its final years as a regular minor league ballpark:

  • Left Field –
  • Left Center Field –
  • Center Field –
  • Center Field Corner, outer wall –
  • Deep Right Center Field –
  • Right Center Field – not posted
  • Right Field –

The refurbished ballpark for 2010 is even cozier, at to right field and (unmarked) to right-center field. Straightaway center is , left center is unmarked, and the left field line is slightly deeper at .

References

  • Ballpark Digest Visit to Durham Athletic Park
  • Durham Bulls team history
  • Durham Athletic Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues