[Durham INC] New 20-year Agreement Lets Durham Bulls Continue to Call DBAP Home

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

News Media Contact:

Beverly B. Thompson

Public Affairs Director

(919) 560-4123 x 11229

(919) 475-2362 (cell)

Beverly.Thompson at DurhamNC.gov

http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC 

http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC    

 

For Immediate Release: April 19, 2013

 

 

New 20-year Agreement Lets Durham Bulls Continue to Call DBAP Home

 

DURHAM, N.C. - City Manager Tom Bonfield recommended yesterday that the
City of Durham continue its long-term relationship with the Durham Bulls
by extending the team's lease of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP),
which also restructures each party's financial obligations. The new
agreement, good until 2033, with two additional five-year options for
renewal, is projected to save the City about $7.4 million over the life
of the lease.

 

"This new proposed lease agreement is a win-win for the City, the Durham
Bulls and most of all, the fans," Bonfield said. "The DBAP and the Bulls
Baseball Club have become synonymous with the success and resurgence of
downtown Durham. During the season, the team attracts approximately
500,000 people to downtown with a vibrancy that extends well beyond the
boundaries of the ballpark itself."  

 

"The Durham Bulls Baseball Club and Capitol Broadcasting Company are
proud to build on the public-private partnership with the City of Durham
that has led to one of the country's most successful downtown renewals,"
said George Habel, Durham Bull's vice president. "In addition,
improvements will help the ballpark remain a premier attraction in a
highly competitive market. And the City will no longer bear the
responsibility of day-to-day maintenance, moving those chores instead to
the Bulls." 

 

Under the new proposed agreement, operating costs and expenses, which
cost the city yearly over $200,000 more than revenues, now becomes the
responsibility of the Bulls Club. Additionally, the Bulls will be
responsible for maintenance and repair costs up to $200,000 as well as
all utility costs.

 

About $6 million worth of deferred maintenance remains to be done by the
City, in addition to nearly $8 million worth of improvements requested
by the Bulls. The Bulls will contribute $2 million to the improvements
and will be responsible for any cost overruns.  

 

"This new financial model will help pay for debt service and other
capital improvements, eliminate the need to use general funds to support
the ballparks' day-to-day operations, and reduce the City's obligation
for future capital repairs and upgrades," Bonfield said. The current
lease agreement was scheduled to end in 2015.

 

City Council will vote on the proposed agreement, along with a
professional services agreement for preconstruction and construction
services for DBAP repairs and renovations, at its May 6 meeting at 7
p.m. 

 

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