Some things never change. Summer nights in downtown Durham have been filled with the crack of a ball against the bat, the steamy smell of mustard and ketchup on hot dogs and the crisp lines of newly mowed outfield since 1939. Some fans have cheered for their beloved Durham Bulls since childhood; others have grown to love the game during their adult years. Regardless of age, most have watched the Bulls grow from a small-town pastime into perhaps the most popular minor league franchise in baseball.

The fans recently outgrew the aging Durham Athletic Park on the corner of Washington and Corporation Streets, and the Bulls moved into a new stadium in 1994. Purists initially hated the new stadium, claiming that the old DAP was part of the team's charm. But now in its second season, the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park seems to have acquired a loyal following, drawing crowds of a little more than 6,000 to an average game.

But some things may soon change for the Durham Bulls, currently the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Bulls owner Jim Goodmon announced in late June that the Bulls have reapplied for an expansion Triple-A team for the 1998 season. With two new major league teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, coming up to bat in 1998, the Bulls decided this is the year to aim for the stars. Each new major league franchise needs a set of farm teams, opening up two slots in Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A competition, respectively. The Bulls applied for one of the Triple-A spots to help bring Durham closer to the big time.

Most fans support the change, but there is a group of dedicated game-watchers who are dead-set against the jump and vow to decrease their support for the team if the change does take place. Perched in the self-dubbed "Let Bubba Pitch" box behind the Bulls dugout, these fanatics maintain that turning Triple-A will mean nothing but heartache for the club. "I personally don't think that Triple-A is going to be enough of a draw to warrant the kind of [attendance] increase they are expecting," says season ticket-holder Dennis O'Dell, turning to watch the play as the crack of the bat creates a momentary distraction.

Faced with an attendance increase and the club's attracting higher caliber players, the Bubba Box fans are concerned about the way the players will interact with them once they've had a taste of the big time. "The players won't be as friendly," comments Bubba Box fan Martie Wilson, jotting down the latest game stats on her scorecard. "They'll be more concerned with the almighty dollar and their contracts and that kind of thing, and they think that since they've been there longer, they deserve more money than the next guy. It's more of a business at that point than a sport."

Fellow Bubba Box fan Mollie O'Dell is particularly concerned with the emerging corporate image of baseball. "Pardon my language here, but corporate baseball inhales wind," she opines after a July game in the DBAP ended in a 6-0 loss to the Winston-Salem Warthogs. "But this is not our decision, it's Jim Goodmon's decision, and he is not a good man."

The Bubba Box fans appear to be united in their opposition to the Bulls' application for Triple-A status, though some are more adamant than others. "It's a three-fold thing," says Pete Hall, also of Bubba Box fame. "There's the cost to the fans, the distance that will be created between the players and the fans, and we won't be with the Braves anymore."

The Bulls' bid for a Triple-A franchise is part of a contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Under their contract with the Bulls, the Devil Rays will own 75 percent of the Triple-A Bulls, while Capitol Broadcasting, the Bulls' parent organization, will own 25 percent of the team. Capitol Broadcasting will maintain full ownership of the Braves' Single-A franchise, which will relocate somewhere in the Carolina League. The Triple-A franchise would retain the Durham Bulls moniker, while the Braves' Single-A team would be renamed.

Right now, the youth of fresh Single-A players makes for exceptional player-fan interaction. Often the youngsters even remember their early fans once they have moved on to their big-time careers. "I can go to Atlanta and yell at half a dozen players on the field and they'll say, 'Hey!' and they'll know who I am," Hall continues, pointing out that Tampa is a lot farther than Atlanta, and will not afford him as many of those major league opportunities.

Goodmon assures fans, however, that the Braves are committed in their allegiance to the Carolina League and will remain with Capitol Broadcasting's Single-A team wherever it may move, keeping a Braves farm team within reach of local Braves fans. But to some fans, keeping the Braves within reach is not the point. They want the Durham Bulls to stay the way they are.

In addition to the loss of the Braves affiliation, fans across the board are concerned with the cost of expansion. John Evans brings his wife and two boys to the park a few times a year to the grassy knoll behind center field where they enjoy the game. "I don't care if it's Single-A, Double-A or Triple-A as long as the ticket prices stay the same; that's all I'm concerned about."

Higher ticket prices might directly jeopardize the small town family atmosphere of the DBAP. "With Triple-A, it's going to cost the franchise more money and all the fans will end up footing the bill. A family won't be able to afford to come out to the ballpark anymore," Hall complains, adding a sweeping gesture to indicate the approximate 3,500 seats which will have to be added to bring the DBAP's 9,300 standing-room to the 10,000 seats required by Triple-A regulations.

"Aside from [the seat additions], we have a beautiful facility here that was built in the hopes that we would someday have the opportunity to expand to Triple-A," says Bulls Assistant General Manager Gillian Zucker in a telephone interview. Zucker has pledged to keep costs down as a way of maintaining the team's loyal fan base. "Our philosophy is that this is affordable, fun family entertainment, and we're not going to waver from that," he says. Whatever rising ticket costs would occur would be kept to a minimum.

In addition to $1 million in stadium renovations, the Bulls and the Devil Rays will have to fork over a $7.5 million franchise fee to the Triple-A League. The Bulls originally applied for an expansion team last winter, but withdrew their application in March because of the cost. Instead, they attempted to move an Arizona Triple-A team to the Triangle. When that move failed, the Triple-A expansion committee asked the Bulls to reconsider their application because Bowie, Md. was the only other city to apply for an expansion team. With two slots open for new teams, the committee needed another applicant.

At about the same time, the Devil Rays came knocking at the Bulls' door, asking to form a partnership to bring up-and-coming Devil Ray players to Durham. Goodmon says that the Bulls' excellent reputation with the Braves organization helped the deal slide into home base. "The Devil Rays are very interested and concerned about developing their players along the way. They came to us because they very much wanted their Triple-A team to be here," Goodmon says, though the expansion is happening sooner than he had planned. "I've said before that this [jump] is four to five years sooner than I wanted to do this.... We've been only two years in the new park and I was really enjoying myself. This will be a tough step in the evolution of the club; it will be a year and a half of hard work.... But the opportunity for a partnership with a major league team is a great one."

So, yes, the Bulls would lose the Braves affiliation, and ticket prices probably would go up slightly with the jump to Triple-A ball. But would the players be any less friendly or accessible? Most fans besides those who occupy the "Let Bubba Pitch" box and baseball officials don't seem to think so. Triple-A Charlotte Knights General Manager Pete Moore was impressed by the homey atmosphere of the DBAP when he visited the stadium for a game this season. "I think they're doing a great job [in the DBAP]. They're putting family entertainment first, and the players second. It's true family atmosphere," Moore comments from his hotel room in Salt Lake City after the Triple-A all-star game in July. "They have a great ballpark, and the only change you'll see in that ballpark is the level of play on the field."

Moore and other baseball officials believe that a player's cordiality towards the fans is an inherent personality trait, not a function of their level in the organization. Bulls employee Bobby Lee takes a break from his hosting duties to address the friendliness question: "With any team, there are going to be guys who think they're superstars, and won't want to take time with the fans. But the majority of players are really nice and want to reach out."

Triple-A clubs often act as a holding pool for players who are not quite ready to make the major league jump. In other cases, major leaguers are sent to Triple-A to recuperate after an injury. But despite their not-close-enough involvement with "The Show," Moore says most Triple-A players are not a bitter bunch. "Some players feel like they should play at the next level because they've been in the major leagues and are back down because of bad luck. But they're not bitter."

Ten-year fan Tracy Watson, a chiropractor in Cary, N.C., agrees that friendliness is determined by a player's personality. "I have patients ask me, 'Do people get crabby when they're old?' I tell them they were crabby when they were young," he says. He believes that despite a few drawbacks, the club's jump to Triple-A will be good for the organization and for Durham. "It was sad when we moved from the old ballpark to the new ballpark, but the new ballpark is better. Going to Triple-A is going to bring a very high-quality athlete to the Triangle. The only thing that could make it better is if they served free beer," Watson comments, looking for his own beer.

Bob Truncale has sold programs for the Durham Bulls since 1989, and looks forward to the possible move because it would bring the Triangle to a higher level in the hierarchy of the sporting world. "It will make Durham get closer to the big time. In my eyes, the big time is major, professional sports and [Triple-A is] one step away, and that means Durham is one step away from the big time," he says, glancing around for potential customers. "And we're going to feel more proud of our Triple-A team. Everyone here is going to be more knowledgeable about them being in the International League, and we're going to like it better."

Even if the Bulls receive the expansion franchise, Goodmon says he will reject the contract if the Triple-A team is not placed in the International League. Made up of teams from Ottawa to Charlotte, N.C., the IL is one of three Triple-A leagues; the American Association and the Pacific Coast League are the other two. "We think it's really important to play Charlotte, Richmond and Norfolk, and it makes travel sense," Goodmon says, confident that the Bulls will be placed in the IL along with the teams from these towns. The IL contains farm teams for the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves.

IL officials expect a decision sometime in August or September, and agree that the Triangle is a good Triple-A market, citing the quality facilities and ownership as marks on the plus column for Durham. "If those things weren't in place, Triple-A wouldn't consider Durham to join the ranks," says IL president Randy Mobley in a telephone interview.

The Bulls certainly have the fan base to support a Triple-A team. The IL's average 1995 attendance was 6,477, compared to the Bulls' 1995 average of 6,007. The Bulls even outdrew four IL teams in 1995-Charlotte, Rochester, Syracuse and Toledo. But the Bubba Box's Hall discounts those numbers as beginner's luck. "Last year was the first year of the new ballpark. It was a novelty. A lot of people came out that weren't fans just to see the new building," he postulates.

But other fans and officials disagree. Even if this were the case, they argue that the players who grace the field in Triple-A would prove to be novel as well. "This is the fans' chance to see a rising star. These players are on the cusp of going into the major leagues," says Chris Katsares, an intern with the IL.

Durham Mayor Sylvia Kerckhoff agrees, excited about what Triple-A ball will mean for Durham. "We've had the largest number of people coming to games of any Single-A team. It's a fair assumption to see the same and better numbers with a Triple-A team," she says from her downtown office. "Becoming a Triple-A team will make us excel in bringing people to downtown Durham and economic development in the area," she adds.

One company in particular, Blue Devil Ventures, a real estate development company begun by former University basketball players Brian Davis and Christian Laettner, is looking to the Triple-A expansion to jump start its business. Davis recently secured an option to buy two historic abandoned tobacco warehouses near the DBAP, hoping to convert them into loft apartments. Durham residents like Bill Johnson, a lifelong Bulls fan, are hoping that the Bulls and Blue Devil Ventures will work together to revitalize the downtown area. "Hopefully, this Blue Devil Ventures will get the American Tobacco Company and the Liggett complexes, and I'm hopeful that all this will come together at the same time and that it will hopefully be a catalyst for downtown," he says, his eyes darting towards the field at the crack of a bat.

While there is little question that Triple-A baseball would help change Durham's downtown into a more enterprising area, few think the atmosphere in the stadium would change substantially. "The fans will still be close to the players and it will still have a homey atmosphere. What you're going to see is a difference on the field with the level of play. You're going to see the players play to win and the managers manage to win, not manage to teach quite as much, as is the case in Single-A ball," the Bulls' Zucker maintains.

"The single most noticeable difference will be the change on the field," Mobley says. "You see in Single-A baseball younger players beginning their quest, as opposed to higher level players with major league experience in Triple-A."

Current Bulls players are excited about the team's application, though most will not be affected. "Most of the guys here will be out of Durham in 1998 anyway," says catcher Mike Mahoney during a break in the action. "Obviously, it will be a step up, and the players that come here will play a little better ball. And you'll probably have more names that you'll see in the big leagues."

Catcher Sean Smith agrees, stating his affection for Durham. "It really doesn't affect us as players, but it will be great for the city. It's a great baseball city. The players will be a little older, but they really won't be any different," he says, signing autographs after the game.

But the Bubba Box fans still have some reservations. "We may see some former Bulls out here, but Triple-A is where major leaguers go to let their careers die. And I don't want to be part and parcel of a baseball morgue," says Mollie O'Dell after the game.

Other fans believe that Triple-A is the place where careers bloom rather than wilt, however. And for the fans, this growth would mean a higher level of enjoyment at the ballpark. As the IL's Mobley says, "The things people cherish in watching Single-A players develop will turn into the excitement of seeing the guy on the field tonight and on national TV the next night."