DURHAM - Two signature Durham events, the World Beer Festival and the Bull Durham Blues Festival, will be held this year at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park instead of the old Durham Athletic Park, which is undergoing renovations.

The Bull Durham Blues Festival is scheduled for Sept. 18-20, and the World Beer Festival is on Oct. 4.

The $6.3 million renovation to the DAP, the former home of the Durham Bulls and a setting for the 1988 movie "Bull Durham," will begin late this month. The park should be ready for use as a training facility for Minor League Baseball by early next year, said Alan Delisle, the city's economic development director.

Daniel Bradford, organizer of the World Beer Festival, said he's thrilled at the prospect of staging the 12th annual event at what he says is a "spectacular facility."

Bradford said officials are taking pains to tread lightly on the DBAP's field. In 2005, the DAP field was badly damaged when the beer festival was held after heavy rains.

A protective cover called Terraplas will be placed on the field to avoid a repeat.

Delisle said the plan is for both festivals to move back to the DAP next year.

But Bradford is hoping the World Beer Festival won't be forced back.

"It'd be wonderful if we had a choice," he said. "We'll see how things play out."