Tag Archives: baseball field

Durham Bulls Open the Season at the Reborn DBAP

DurhamBulls-1-04032014-OpeningNightAdamczyk   Article and photos by Christine Adamczyk.

The Bulls are back in town! With great crowds and beautiful weather, the Durham Bulls were welcomed back to a sparkling stadium.

Fans loved the new spaces. Seeing the Bulls on the new, perfectly groomed field was like eye candy for winter-weary fans.

It was fun to open the season with an exciting win. there were towering home runs, close plays on the bases and a loud appreciative crowd!

Here are some of my favorite fan photos from the first two games.

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I started shooting Fan Faces. Here’s a group from the game on Sunday.

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You can see more photos from opening weekend games against the Gwinnett Braves here.

For a photo tour of the complete renovation in the off-season click here.

See more photos a www.ChrisAdamczykPhotography.com.

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I’ll see you at a Durham Bulls game!

One Step Closer: The Bulls Are Back!!

Article and photos by Christine Adamczyk.

I made a quick stop at the ballpark today to check on the progress. Oh, what a day!  The progress was tangible. The landscaping is going in; the new concession kitchens sparkle; and the suites are heading down the home stretch.

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The last details on the field are being put in order.

800 6 ca 16384Are you ready for balls & strikes, hits & runs, base runners and big innings?

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The best detail is that the Bulls are back in town. They have been arriving since Sunday and they took batting practice today. Here’s a look!

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If this doesn’t get everyone excited about Opening Day, I don’t know what will!!

Let’s play ball!

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You can see more photos from today at:

http://www.chrisadamczykphotography.com/organize/Sports/Baseball/201314-Renovation/One-Step-Closer-The-Bulls-Are-Back

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The DBAP Renovations Near the Finish Line

Words and photos by Christine Adamczyk.

Things are bustling at the DBAP! The massive off-season renovation is nearing the finish line. With Opening Day just 3 days away the scramble is on!

I thought I would show you some scenes from my visit to the DBAP late this afternoon. As the week progresses and construction comes to a close, I’ll show you how the new spaces look!

The final touches are being put on the new brick work on the exterior. There are two new fountains at the entrance that still have to be finished.

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The Fan Store is restocking your favorite Bulls hats, jerseys and souvenirs.

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There are THREE new upper concourses: one is above the seating along the right field line, one is above the seats along the left field line and the third one is in the VIP suite behind home plate.

The new right filed concourse is called Jackie’s Landing and will be home to a new BBQ and Fish Fry concession stand, the Bar 42 and a section of new bleachers.

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The concourse along the third base line is just getting the last of its roof put on.

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The new VIP suite will take the place of the central luxury suites. This really beautiful space has a wall finished in stone and new floors. It has the most polishing to be done, but will be nearing completion soon!

800 ca 16228 suites-horzThe dugouts are having a new murals painted in them.  The new press box, above the Bulls dugout, is having equipment installed as I’m writing this. The new scoreboard received its final touch up today, too!

800 ca 16337 scoreboard press box dugout-horzLet’s talk about the awesome new left field wall! The scoreboard is almost ready for balls and strikes and hits and runs. It has a gigantic LED screen to show you replays and to introduce players and sponsors. It is centered on the left field wall and is huge. In addition, there are new LED screens running from center field to right field for showing off the tons of sponsors that love the Bulls.

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The bases are ready to be installed and the final touches have been made to the batters box.

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The new sod is growing into a lush playing field. Head Groundskeeper Scott Strickland has manicured the grass. It is waiting for the fans to take their seats and the Bulls to take the field!

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800 ca 16159field-tileOver the next few days, it will be exciting to watch the finishing touches polish this jewel of a ballpark.

Opening Day is Thursday, April 3. See you at the ballpark!

More photos can be seen at http://www.chrisadamczykphotography.com/Sports/Baseball/201314-Renovation

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The DBAP Makeover People

Article and photos by Christine Adamczyk

How many people does it take bring to life a newer, better version of the DBAP? Hundreds of highly skilled, dedicated workers are re-imagining every nook and cranny. What have they been doing? Here’s a look at people hard at work.

They are keeping the facility secure by helping with traffic, issuing work badges and overseeing safety on the site.

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They are smoothing freshly poured cement, digging with backhoes, spreading tons of gravel and measuring precisely.

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As the work progresses, workers are removing old brick, putting in new plumbing, and welding beams.

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They are lifting steel, running miles of cable for the new sound system, and drilling thousands of holes for the installation of new seats.

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Once the field surface was ready, they began to lay the new sod. Each roll of sod was carefully prodded into place by hand after being rolled onto the field by a specially equipped tractor. The ends of the sod rolls were hand-cut with a machete to leave perfect seams.

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The mound was built with special clays. One will help the mound retain its shape; the other will stand up to the pounding of the pitcher’s landing step. The measurements and precision of building the mound could be the subject of an article by itself.

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All of the men and women who are rebuilding the DBAP inch-by-inch have experienced extreme conditions this off-season. They have persevered through rain, mud, frozen ground and snow.

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 …. and at the end of the day, they go home satisfied that you re going to be overwhelmed by the fabulous-ness of the reborn DBAP!

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See you at the ballpark!

Extreme Makeover for the DBAP

March 8, 2014

Extreme Makeover at the DBAP

Article and photos by Christine Adamczyk.

Since early October, 2013, I have been prowling around the DBAP renovations in Durham on January 14, 2014. Photos by Christine Adamczyk.Durham Bulls Athletic Park (the DBAP) in my hardhat and safety vest with my cameras slung over my shoulder. The DBAP is undergoing a major off-season makeover. Wait until you see what’s in store for you. Ever wish for a bigger-than-life LED jumbo screen on the left field wall? Done. Have you wished the concourses in the ballpark could hold more party space? Wish granted. Have you ever noticed that the seats have served us for way too long? New ones have been installed. Have you ever wished for more food service? A new kitchen and more concessions are waiting for you.

The players will love the new playing field. It was scraped clean of turf and dug out almost to bedrock to make way for a brand-new, quickly-draining major league playing surface. Yikes! The new field can drain more than 7″ of rain per hour!!

As we get closer to opening day on April 3, 2014, I will post some of the 4,000 photos that I took during the renovation. They will give you an idea of what was happening behind the scaffolding, fences and walls.

The whole metamorphosis was fun to watch. Here’s a taste of what is going on inside the DBAP.

Since September, the DBAP has been covered in scaffolding and tarps as nearly every inch of the ballpark has been renovated.

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Fresh cement platforms were poured for the new seats behind home plate. New seat brackets were installed throughout the stadium to get ready for the installation of thousands of new seats.

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Workers dismantled the old scoreboard to make way for a new one that will sit next to the gigantic LED screen on the left field wall.

2013 Durham Bulls DBAP renovation. 10-24-13.

Cranes and pulleys lifted steel. New beams were installed and new roofs took shape.

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The old ‘home plates’ in the bullpens were set aside to make way for new pitching mounds.

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After the playing field had been scraped almost to bedrock, new high-volume drainage ditches were dug and hundreds of feet of drainage pipe were installed. Over eight inches of sand covered a hefty layer of gravel to become the base for the new sod, which was installed in late December. The new sod already has roots that are 3″-4″ deep!

laying sod

In the coming days, I’ll show you people at work, temporary art captured during the construction process and a preview of the new spaces inside the DBAP. So, come back often to see what’s new.

If you’d like to see more photo galleries from the renovation, you can find them by clicking here or by pasting this link below into your browser. http://www.chrisadamczykphotography.com/Sports/Baseball/201314-Renovation.

See you at the DBAP!!