Durham Athletic Park up for new management

DURHAM -- Minor League Baseball is giving up management of the Durham Athletic Park next year.

MiLB Management President Pat O'Conner gave notice Thursday that it does not intend to renew its management agreement for the city-owned ballpark when it expires Aug. 1. Notice came in email to Kevin Dick, Durham's economic and workforce development director.

The letter was "a slight surprise," Dick said Friday. "There had been no specific conversation leading up to this letter with me."

MiLB, an umbrella organization of minor-league baseball teams, has managed the DAP since it reopened in 2009 after a $5 million renovation. City Manager Tom Bonfield said he had intended to discuss extending the agreement with MiLB, but not until after this winter's baseball meetings.

"The fact that this was the last year of a three-year agreement was something we were well aware of," Bonfield said.

The letter did not give MiLB's reason for terminating the contract. Spokesman Steve Densa said it was due to "the state of the economy."

"The program opportunities didn't develop as we had hoped," Densa said.

Bonfield said city authorities will contact MiLB next week to learn more details.

In his letter, O'Conner said the company "is pleased to have been a party to the restoration of the DAP to some of its former glory."

MiLB contracted to manage the park before the recent renovation began, and for some time prior there had been expectations that an interactive baseball museum, described as a "Fan Experience," would be developed adjacent to the DAP as part of MiLB's Durham operation. With the national economy in prolonged doldrums, that has not materialized.

As planned, though, MiLB uses the stadium for ballpark personnel training, such as a sports turf clinic next week. Earlier this year, the company donated a $150,000 lighting system to the park, and it operates an online store for DAP clothing and souvenirs.

The organization also operates its Long Ball Program, in which "underserved" youngsters get to learn and play baseball at the stadium. The DAP is the home field for N.C. Central University, Durham School of the Arts and Durham American Legion Post 7 teams.

While its contract did not require MiLB to give notice so far in advance, "We wanted to let you know earlier so that the city could begin seeking a successor operator right now," O'Conner wrote.

"As far as I know, we have an amicable relationship" with MiLB, Dick said, "and will continue working with them through the transition."