Durham Bullls to Host 2012 National Championship Game

The Durham Bulls and their namesake Athletic Park in Downtown Durham were today announced as the site of the 2012 National Championship Game to be held Thursday, September 20th, 2012.  Held most recently in Oklahoma City from 2006 to 2010 and Albuquerque this year, the event is expected to bring more than 10,000 visitors and representatives of 30 baseball teams to Durham over the two day span of the event.

The Bulls are the most famous team in Triple A baseball and The Durham Bulls Athletic Park, modeled after Camden Yards and tucked into a bustling downtown district adjacent to dining, is a popular destination for visitors and residents alike.  Games have an average of 7,000 attendees and approximately 10 sell out per year, according to the team's spokesperson.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the Bulls and Durham," said Shelly Green, President and CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We estimate approximately $2.5 million in visitor spending from this event and we are hugely appreciative of the hard work the Bulls did to bring next year's National Championship Game to Durham, " she added.

At the announcement of this game, Randy Mobley, International League President, of which the Bulls are a part, said "I made no secret of my fandamonium for this area and this ball club, and did all in my power to keep encouraging them.  Fortunately, it worked out," with regard to bringing the game to Durham. 

The game will be held in a different city each year as of this year, and Durham quickly rose to the top of the list of considered locations.  Mike Birling, General Manager of the Bulls continually referred to Durham as "The City of Baseball" given the number of events and entities related to the sport that make their home here.

Also announced at today's event is that Bulls player Russ Canzler is the 2011 International League MVP, the fitth Durham Bull in 14 years to do so.