Durham Celebrates Duke

Duke fans have been celebrating since Tuesday's historic NCAA Championship Men's Basketball win and now the community is invited to Durham to celebrate.

The community will come together to show a little Durham love to the 2015 Duke University Men’s Basketball NCAA championship-winning team with an event on Tuesday, April 14 from 5-6 p.m. at the American Tobacco Campus lawn and amphitheater.

Music and pre-event festivities will start at 4:30 p.m. with the Duke pep band and Duke cheerleaders. At 5 p.m. the team will be welcomed by Durham Chamber President Casey Steinbacher and then recognized by Durham Mayor Bill Bell and Durham County Board of Commissioners Chairman Michael Page. The team will be presented and Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski will give remarks.

The celebration is presented by the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Downtown Durham Inc., The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, The City of Durham, and Durham County to recognize and thank the team for bringing such tremendous honor to Durham through their excellence as a team.

Durham to Host 2014 Triple A Baseball All Star Game

The Durham Bulls announced today they will host the 2014 Triple-A All-Star Game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The 27^th annual Triple-A All-Star Game will take place on July 16, 2014 and will be nationally televised on MLB Network. It will serve as the centerpiece of a five-day celebration that will make the Triangle the focal point of the Minor League Baseball world.

“This is a five day window for Durham to show its great assets,” said Mike Schoenfeld representing Duke University and the Durham Chamber of Commerce.

The Triple-A All-Star Game, featuring the premier players and most promising prospects from each of Major League Baseball’s top affiliates in the International and Pacific Coast Leagues, headlines a multi-day extravaganza which will include an All-Star Fan Fest, Luncheon, and Home Run Derby featuring Minor League’s Baseball’s most iconic home run target – the DBAP’s famous Snorting Bull.  Durham Bulls General Manager Mike Birling excitedly discussed the Home Run Derby saying that no other stadium has “such an iconic home run target” as the Snorting Bull.

“Hosting the Triple-A All-Star Game is a tremendous honor and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase not only the Bulls organization, but Durham and the entire Triangle community,” said Birling. Hosting this game also packs an economic punch.  According to Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau's Shelly Green, the event will bring about $3.3 million in visitor spending and bump the local tax rolls by over $100,000 as fans, media, and baseball executives from around the country converge in Durham for Minor League Baseball’s signature event.

During the announcement made at a press conference this morning, the Bulls also unveiled the logo for the 2014 Triple-A All-Star Game. The logo (see above) features depictions of some of the iconic buildings of the Durham skyline, including the Lucky Strike water tower and smoke stack, all set on a blue star representing the great players who have participated in the game – 77 of whom have gone on to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez, Mike Piazza, and Joey Votto are among the game’s most notable alumni.

“When baseball executives from around the country gathered in the Triangle last September for the Triple-A National Championship Game, players, fans and officials were treated to a first class experience which made the decision to award the 2014 Triple-A All-Star Game to the Bulls and the City of Durham a very easy one,” said International League President Randy Mobley. “The Bulls represent all that is right about Minor League Baseball and with an MLB Network broadcast, this will be yet another opportunity for Durham to shine in all its glory on a national stage.”

“Durham is a city of champions and championships,” said Schoenfeld.  That’s true.  Learn more about all of them online.

The City of Champions to Welcome Olympic Medalists at DBAP

As a city renowned for its athletic prowess, Durham has much to celebrate in the wake of the 2012 London Olympics. Two Duke student-athletes, Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory, secured berths on the U.S. Diving Team. Both dominated in synchronized diving and returned to the City of Champions as champions. 

In honor of their achievements, Olympic medalists Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory will throw out ceremonial first pitches prior to Thursday’s Durham Bulls game against the Norfolk Tides. The duo will also sign autographs for fans on the concourse during the game.

Abby Johnston, 22, captured a silver medal in London in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard diving competition along with partner Kelci Bryant. Their medal was the United States’ first diving medal since 2000.

Chapel Hill native Nick McCrory, 20, brought home the bronze in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform diving final along with his partner David Boudia. The junior collected the Duke diving program’s first national title on the platform at the 2010 NCAA Championships.

Meet the newest champions to make Durham great on Thursday, August 23rd. The game begins at  7:05pm and ceremonial first pitches are scheduled for approximately 6:45pm. Tickets for all Bulls regular season home games and the 2012 Gildan Triple-A National Championship Game are available online, by phone at 919.956.BULL, or in person at the DBAP ticket office.

Durham is where great sports happen.  Learn more about it online.