Building Zebulon’s All‑Australian CPL Team And A Fan‑First Stadium Experience

We sit down with GM Caleb Whittimore to unpack how an all‑Australian roster, a fresh brand, and a $10 million renovation will turn Zebulon’s park into a fan‑first summer home. From turf and new concessions to playgrounds and concerts, we map the vision and the work underway.

• why a blank‑slate franchise unlocks bold choices
• Caleb’s path from scouting and coaching to GM
• the five team name finalists and what they signal
• the case for an all‑Australian roster in the CPL
• recruiting through Osball and valuing culture fit
• renovations that cut capacity and boost comfort
• turf, new bathrooms, premium refresh, video board
• a year‑round playground for families
• Aussie food concepts from meat pies to kangaroo
• plans for concerts, boxing and community events
• long‑term district development around the stadium

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Transcript

Vision And First Impressions

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We're putting$10 million into the place, but it's happening over three years. But we only have one chance to get that first depression, right? So we've got to do, hey, hey, what are the things we can do in this short amount of time this year? Understanding that there's going to be big changes to come, but we've got to make sure that when a fan walks through our gates in May, that they can feel that we're working hard to make this a special place for them.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

All right, all right, all right. And welcome everybody to yet another episode of the Dad Hat Chronicles podcast. My name is Ed, also known as the Dad Hat. And uh, guys, just pretty much you guys know what this uh deal is. This podcast is just to interview people that are in the business of baseball, specifically minor league baseball, um, and anything in between that we can uh find baseball related. Uh so today I am I am happy to uh have and uh I I'm I'm very excited because I kind of kind of called it, guys. I'm gonna give myself a little bit of a uh pat on the back. I kind of called this was gonna happen. So I'm happy for this. I'll explain it to you guys in a second. But with me, I have Caleb uh is it Whitemore?

SPEAKER_00 1:15

It's it's Whittimore, but Whitemore called all versions of it. Any or fine?

SPEAKER_02 1:20

No, no, no, no. We're gonna call it the right way, my friend. Caleb Whittimore. You are the general manager of Zebulin's, and we're gonna call it with this for now. Zebul's CPL baseball team. We're gonna because you know, the collegiate woodbed team here for the Coastal Plains League, um, that will be taking over in Zebulon this year. The name is to be determined, so I'm very excited for that. We're gonna talk about all of this right now, but uh Caleb, how are you, my friend?

SPEAKER_00 1:49

I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on the show.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Are you kidding me? I'm very excited. As soon as we find out what was going on, I saw the videos on TikTok and I saw the videos on Instagram, and I'm like, oh, we definitely gotta get a hold of this guy right here.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

So yeah, I gotta shout out our uh our social media manager, Andrew Green. He's been he's been killing the uh the social game. We we certainly knew he was talented, but I don't think even he expected to have 15,000 plus followers on Instagram and TikTok in a week. That was pretty great start for us.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

That is a pretty damn good start, absolutely, just because is you're like sitting there and I'm like, hold on a second. I knew this we're already um that we're gonna have a team there, and then just the first video dropped, then you're like, Yep, here we go.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Yes, yeah, absolutely.

Caleb’s Path Through Sports

SPEAKER_02 2:32

All right, so Caleb, tell me a little bit about yourself. Let's start with that. Tell me, you know, how did you get into you know baseball, the the business of baseball? How did you become the general manager of this baseball team?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Yeah, for a pretty long road. Uh, so I actually started uh in minor league sports, in minor league baseball. My first couple years, uh kind of in college, I did uh two super valuable internships with the Portland Sea Dogs as the Red Sox AA affiliate. Uh, that's where I'm from, from about 30 minutes from there. Uh went to college in Maine. So uh learned a ton, made a bunch of really good connections through that, uh, and was able to kind of to land a scouting internship out of that, met some really cool people uh while I was there. So I kind of chased that route for a while. I had a blast. I did uh an internship with a company called Sox Prospects, uh, which anyone who's a Red Sox fan knows they're uh about as good as it gets in terms of the minor league scouting space uh on the fan side. So did that. Uh then I worked for a company called uh Sports Info Solutions uh for another year there uh and had a blast with it. Uh and it just got to a point where my wife and I were ready to get married, and and the scouting life was not gonna allow me to be the uh the level of husband and uh down the line father I wanted to be. So uh I kind of kind of changed paths a little bit, uh, started coaching. I coached some Division III baseball for about two years. Uh, worked at a travel facility, did the coaching thing. Uh, and then when we had our first son, I moved into the business side, uh, still in Maine there. So uh I was the assistant AD for ticket sales uh in operations at the University of Maine for four years. And then we really just wanted to get to North Carolina. We love North Carolina, that's where we wanted to live, that's where we wanted to grow uh our son to grow. Uh so I took a job at the University of North Carolina in their ticket office, overseeing men's basketball tickets, uh, did that for a year. Yeah, I got to do the chartered flights and the uh the the uh coach buses and kind of all the bright lights that come with UNC basketball, and it was a thrill, but uh my heart has always been in in kind of smaller front offices where you wear a bunch of hats and in baseball specifically. So uh this opportunity popped up, and my wife and I looked at each other like, hey, this is this is kind of what I'm meant to do. Uh, and it was it was kind of go from there.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

That's amazing. Uh going from the Portland Sea Dogs to you know on the fan side, then doing ticket sales, division three coaching. That's awesome, first of all. Uh coaching, good for you, dude. So you definitely know both sides of the of baseball, right? The business of baseball. Actually, three sides, because you also did the scouting side, and so I'm sure that was uh instrumental in you um what uh achieving what you have right now as a general manager of this baseball club.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, it's it's super valuable. You know, right now, obviously, the the priority is we've got a build a fan base, uh, so the business side of my brain is is working extra time, but uh, and we've got some great support on the coaching staff, but uh it is certainly a a benefit that I'm able to be a resource for them as well.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

So let's talk about that. Like, you know, you you you want to uh get back into the the world of baseball, minor league baseball, collegiate woodbat, right? And so what made you start, you know, like you know, like what attracted you to this position that you have right now? I mean, you are starting literally from scratch, like there's no name, um, it's a blank canvas at the in the in the ballpark, right? Because obviously you guys are doing some renovations there as well. And you know, the uniqueness, which we'll talk about later, of putting together a very specific baseball team. Uh, what attracted you to there to that?

Why Start From Scratch

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Yeah, I mean, I'll I've said this to a bunch of people, but I think I really do believe this, uh, and it's not just I'm not just saying it because I probably kind of have to, but I think this is about as cool of an opportunity uh as there is in in sports and sports business. Um, you know, as someone who's worked everywhere from a a Division I school that uh doesn't turn a profit up through Carolina, where you pretty much put things on sale and people come and it generates huge money. Um you know, there's there's positives and negatives to both, but what you pretty much never get to do is really get to write your own story from the front. You're coming in and there's there's something established, there's this is how it's been done. Uh, we had none of that. Uh and I I uh I've always kind of hated the idea of well, we we're gonna do this because it's the way it's been done. Well, guess what? We don't we don't have to worry about that here. Um, so that's that's a huge part of why I like this, uh, and just the ability to to start something and and take things from a bunch of different teams, but not have to fight against those barriers, uh, and really get to see what we can make out of it. Um now on on the CPL side, you know, I've I've learned throughout my time in different jobs that what I really care about is again the ability to wear hats and to lead people and things like that. And uh, you know, I've had some really great spots, but some jobs, you know, there's just with bigger companies, you just don't get to do as much of that, right? Uh it's it's nobody's fault, it's just it's a 300-person athletic department. You only have to do a really little piece. Um, everybody does their little piece, and uh that just didn't fire me up, and it doesn't fire the people that work for me up now, and that's that's kind of why we all get along. We're all just here to do a whole lot and uh and hopefully put an imprint on on something long term.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

I like that a lot. Uh and it's it's different. You're definitely gonna be wearing a lot of hats, right? You know, from the the business size to you know, you gotta get out there and you know pull the tarp uh when it's raining. That's that's gonna be you, right? So you're I'm sure you already know tarp is nebulin, but everything else, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

We're we're doing uh a massive renovation into turf. So uh looking at selling our tarp right now, actually. I'm uh I I look back fondly on my intern days of pulling tarp, but with our uh with our size and the amount of games we need to get in in a short period of time, I'm happy to not have to worry about it.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

You're like, I'm done with that, that's it.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Never again.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

But I'm sorry, because it's not gonna be natural grass uh on the field. So you're right, you're 100% right. Um, okay. So up to this point, right? From from the moment that you took uh that you took, you know, like you're gonna be the general manager, you're you're that's your job, up to this point. What has been the hardest part for you building um the organization that you really you know obviously didn't have a year ago?

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah, I think the hardest part was um you know that first we'll call it six weeks on the job. I started about mid-November. Uh, and we didn't hire anybody else until uh January 1st. Oh wow. So and they it was it was a blessing in some ways that the the ownership group was super supportive of me and wanted to make sure that I got my imprint in what we hired and who we hired uh with our spots. Uh, but that also means you know, there was no searches done, there was nothing posted when I got here. So um, you know, we're making a lot of really critical decisions in those first three weeks. Uh, and I am certainly not arrogant enough to try to say that I am an expert in all of those fields. So, you know, not having that kind of team every day uh to start was was certainly challenging. Uh, I'm super grateful for for the guys that we've brought in here now to help me. Uh and we do have a big ownership group, so there was some some other folks that that were helpful. Uh the Holly Spring Salamander is another team in our league, is owned by the same ownership group. Uh Michael Vilafano, the GM there, was a great sounding board for me. I spent a ton of time in his office in those weeks just trying to figure things out, what to do. But uh yeah, I would say that was the biggest part is just you know trying to get that team together so we could really make decisions uh in a way that uh where we're all bought in and we're all kind of moving together.

Early Challenges And Hiring

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Gotcha. And um, you're right, the same company that owns the Holly Spring Salamanders, owns the Zebulin team, uh, the Durham Bulls. Yes, sir. It's a big one, yeah. Right. Which I know, I know a lot of the people, some people there, they're great people. Brian, you know, um, who works in in the merchandise department, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

He is super helpful. They're they're taking a lot of that over for us, and uh, he has got just a a crazy amount of knowledge on the in the merch world for sure.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

He most certainly does. I love gonna you know talking to him when it comes to merchandise. It is an absolute like he has such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to that, and so uh you definitely lucked out there. All right. So so what did you do? Like, you know, the you you say that you you from the moment that you took over, right? So it was uh in November till January when you fire finally hired somebody. Like, what was that looking like? Like, you know, I know you said you're you're meeting with Mike, you know, the general manager uh in Holly Springs. What else did you know were you working on? Were you putting um implementing uh things to take over in in for the league for the team, actually?

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Yeah, so it was a you know, as you can imagine, when something like this every day was different for sure. But uh a lot of it was you know, we got to get a name. So uh they had already done uh that first submission. I kind of helped work through that before I had started. So we had gotten nominations and stuff. So right when I started was around when we were ready to put kind of our finalists out. Um so we started with that, we got to get that decided. Um, I went into the community, did some events, started to meet people, try to figure out what are we working with, what do people like, what don't they like? Uh so we put those names out. Um, and as you can imagine, it's not just picking a name, it's licensing, it's you know, logo, jerseys, colors, the whole, the whole nine there. So that couldn't wait because it's a long process, you know, we're still in it. So uh we started with that right away. Uh, and then you know, it's it's a full new business, it's not just a new team. So there's all sorts of, you know, we didn't have an employee handbook, like how are we going to share work together? You know, uh, what are our timelines gonna be for ticket sales? How are we gonna track sponsorships? Like, none of this was designed. Now we had other teams that had done it, but it was designed for them, not for us. So I'm trying to figure out okay, how is this gonna make sense with a small front office where we've all got to have our hands in things? How are we gonna, you know, start to collaborate and things like that? So it was a lot of like policy setup there early just to make sure we were we were kind of moving in the same direction because you know, we we still don't have tickets on sale. We're getting really close. Hopefully, in the next week or two, we'll be able to announce some things there. But um, you know, trying to make sure that we have as many of those, I guess, clerical details set up so that once we've got the ability to sell, we've got a name to market and things, we can just be focusing on how do we get as many people uh to come to games and have a great time as possible.

Naming The Team

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Okay, so this is the part I'm gonna I I'm enjoying, right? So here we go. All right, so you said there were some names, okay, and and this really ties into what have would really intrigued me about this whole situation, okay. I'm gonna read the names because I think they're great, okay? Okay. Uh uh, so um we have here five finalists, right? We got the Bush Rangers, sir, we got the croc hunters, we got the devil dogs, the iron horses, and the thunderous. I'm loving this. Okay, so as if you're listening to this, you're like, Ed, what kind of names are you are you naming up? So, Caleb, why did you why are these five finalists? And it is very specific, obviously, uh, as to why you guys chose those five finalists. So tell me, why did you yeah?

SPEAKER_00 14:30

So the the kind of thought is there's a spectrum of names there, right? Uh, we are an all-Australian team, okay? But we are also more than anything, we are Zebulin's team, and that's really, really important. Like the fact that we're Australian makes us interesting. Um, you know, there's an entertainment level there, some characters that we're gonna get, and that's great, but we've got to be Zebulin's team too. So the goal was kind of a spectrum of um, I would say maybe the iron horses as like all the way Zebulin, yep, to the Thunderoos, which might be all the way Australia, and trying to kind of, I guess, gauge people's interest in how how Aussie do they want this to be. Um, and that was really the goal is that we kind of get a get a spectrum of names there. You know, they all I could go through like the you know, the iron horses, obviously, it's the railroad in this area.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Um, the Thunderoos is is pretty self-explanatory. The the Kangaroo is Aussie, uh, and then the Thunderstorms and stuff of this area. Um, you know, crocodile hunters again, pretty self-explanatory with the Aussie side. Uh Devil Dogs uh has the the Gene Company in Zebulin. Um that that's kind of a big piece of the history. Uh the uh the Bush Rangers was again another one of the more Aussie ones that's an outlaw in Zebulin in um in Australia.

Why An All‑Australian Roster

SPEAKER_02 15:48

So why did you guys decide to bring an all-Australian team to Zebulon? What would like what was the the the thinking and the rationale behind it? Which by the way, I am all for this. I think it's amazing. I love this. I've always wanted to go to Australia and really take part in the Australian Baseball League. So the fact that you bring in a full Australian team, coaches and everything, I think it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Yeah, we're really excited about it. So uh, you know, we announced actually, I don't even know if we had announced it, but the town at least had announced that we had uh they had received a bid and that we were going to be uh awarded the stadium to put a CPL team in. At this point, uh Australian baseball here, not really a factor. The the plan is a team. Uh that's pretty much it at this point. Um my boss, Chip Allen, uh, who's fantastic, great resource, he's also the commissioner of the league. Um, and he had had a company called Osball reach out to him about playing some games against teams in this league, not necessarily being a part of the league, but coming in for sure a week or two and doing exhibitions with several different teams in the league kind of early on. Um and this company Osball had been a huge part of uh a team called the Aussie Drop Bears, which had got together to play the Savannah Bananas who come from our league. They're the epitome of baseball entertainment right now. Uh, so they really got it. They were all in on the idea of fan entertainment and all those things. And so uh Chip, my boss, being the opportunistic person that he is, was like, well, you know, you say you want to play 10 games, what if we just put a team in the league? If you've gonna if you're gonna have a whole group here, and that kind of uh stirred the Zebulin idea, and he's got you know big dreams of of this potentially getting even bigger, where there's several CPL teams that have uh complete countries, you know, maybe a Japanese team or you know, whatever, a Dominican Republic and things like that, um, as a way to add a different entertainment value and to give these kids that are in American colleges a level of community where they can come be around some some people that they grew up playing with, uh, or you know, those kind of things.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

I I love that that you know, different teams from different countries to have, you know, obviously, we I I'm well aware of the the CPL, right? Like I'm like 10 minutes from uh from here from the salamanders. Okay, so I'm yeah, we're right down the road from them. And so uh I I go to a lot of salamanders games all the time, and so to say I was like, you know, one potentially could be like, hey, the salamanders are no longer you know college students, they're college students from Japan, you know, that's that's a very cool novel idea. I love that a lot. Um, how did the you know, obviously, how is the recruiting who is taking care of that? Is it like is it Osball that's get taking care of that, or is it that you guys are are also helping in that part?

Recruiting And Culture Fit

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Yeah, I mean Osball is absolutely uh carrying the load there. Uh, like I said, I've I've got some experience and just kind of here to be a sounding board for them. Um, but you know, Australian baseball, there is some legit talent, and we don't have a roster we can release yet, but there's several guys from really, really good schools coming. But there's also uh, you know, a lot of kids, just because of the the level of exposure there isn't super great, that are probably a higher caliber player than the school they're playing. And you know, nobody's gonna know that except them. You know, there's just not a whole lot of baseball over there. So the way they word it to me is everyone that we're looking at right now, they have either coached, played against, or know the coach of. It's just the the baseball community in Australia is that kind of tight-knit and small that it's in it's an easy reach for them. Uh, and they can also help on the vetting side, you know, because of the nature of this team and the community engagement, it's it's important that we put together a good product, but it's also important that we're putting together a group of kids or young men who are willing to hang out at the gate before the game and say thanks for coming, to go up into the stands when they're not playing and sign an autograph or be part of a a wiffle ball game in between innings or whatever, you know. Those kind of things are super important to us, and I think that's what makes the CPL great. So you've got to you've got to find the right kind of person for that. You don't yeah, that's not for everybody. So having having them as a resource to the people that are gonna really know know these guys and know what they're willing to do is is super valuable.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

I that's that's that's very cool. I like that. Like you know, it's like we're we're laying, you know, this is a partnership, so we're relying heavily on you on you know, making sure that you are there. You're obviously you're here in Zebulon, right? Like, you know, here in North Carolina, so it's it's a little hard for you to go to you know Australia.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

I'm sure you would mind, you know, yeah, if the old company wants to wants to make that a business trip. I'm happy to do it for sure.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Absolutely, why not, right? I mean, absolutely, that's amazing. Uh that's awesome. So let me ask you this. Uh, so now you're you're you you're starting your hire people and you're you know you're getting you know going and everything, right? And now uh we're also seeing some videos. I mean, like I said, follow you guys on on TikTok and on Instagram. So you guys are doing uh the social media thing, which you know that's amazing. It's absolutely like you guys are doing an amazing job. And shout out to your social media manager for killing it, um, showing you some new renovations that are going on in the ballpark, right? As you know, the the the Mudcats were there before that, right? And they obviously they're now in Wilson. Um, and every time I go there, I always say, I'm like, man, if this stadium will just like get a facelift, you know, you could definitely do something special here. Um and then once we found out that you know they were leaving, I was like, you know what? You could definitely put a collegiate woodbat team here. This will be perfect stadium for that because of the how small of a stadium it is. And if, like I said, if you do some renovations, it could be it could be great.

Renovations And Fan Experience

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Yeah. Yeah, I'm a baseball nerd. Uh, and I I went there last year, had no idea about this job at that point. I think the the move had obviously been announced, but there was there were they weren't taking bids yet. Um, you know, there was no rumor of this team. I'm just a baseball fan, and we had recently moved to the area, so I'm trying to go into as many different ballparks as I can in the area, and it's really cool. Just the setup of it. It's got that small uh lower concourse with a really big kind of upper concourse that's steep and right on top of you. Um, and so it does, it feels really intimate. Uh, it seems 8,000. Now we're gonna do renovations to get that down to 5,000. Um, okay, but it it doesn't, you know, because of how on top of you it is, it doesn't really even feel like 5,000. It really feels like you're part of the action no matter where you're sitting, which is a super cool uh part of the stadium that that we intend to keep just like like it is, but it does absolutely need a facelift. You're 100% right there. Um, you know, it it's only 25 years old, yeah. Like it's got some really good bones, um, but it it just hasn't had a whole lot change to it in those 25 years or a whole lot of uh the love and care that it needs. So uh yeah, we're working really hard with the city to get some tangible things done this year. Uh, you know, one of our battles is we're putting$10 million into the place, but it's happening over three years. But we only have one chance to get that first depression, right? So we've got to do hey, hey, what are the things we can do in the short amount of time this year? Understanding that there's gonna be big changes to come, but we've got to make sure that when a fan walks through our gates in May that they can feel that we're working hard to make this a special place for them. So uh we've got a guy, uh his name's Ryan, he's our facilities guy. He's he's unreal. Uh like he his first week though we needed half of our office space was just cubicles, crazy high cubicles. All that ripped the whole thing's out in like three or four days. Like he's just a machine, he's painted the club area, he's he's doing something else every day. Um, just just getting after it. So uh we're doing everything we can just to clean it up. Uh new bathrooms are going in. Uh, we're painting the the premium area, turfs going in this year, and then we'll have some more a new concession stands as well this year. And then we'll get uh yeah, that's that's a big one. Uh we'll get a whole new video board, we're gonna redo the wall, uh, completely redo the premium area uh and put in a park as well here in the next couple of years after the season. What you're putting a park? A playground, yeah. So down the first baseline. Sure, yeah. There's those grand, the green seats, the grand seats. Those are going away, yeah. Uh so the the first base side, we're gonna have uh a kids' playground that's open year round, so it'll be double gated, non-game days. Anybody can use it. Game days will lock the back gate and it'll be available to fans, kids, or whatever to go and play while they're at the game. Uh and then that will third base side will have like a patio for now that's kind of a multi-purpose space for sure for whatever.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

That's awesome. First of all, it's gonna be really cool. Okay, listen, I've been on those those uh stadium seats, those seats, and during the summer, during the summer, during the middle of the day, dude, those things get they get hot.

Turf, Seats, And A Playground

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Yeah, and no one wants to yeah, and I mean maybe once or twice a year they might have put people in it, and we'll have them this year, so fourth of July and things like that. We'll mobilize them to get people in, but long term it's just not realistic for um for our size uh community. Uh, you know, if it continues to double in size every three years, maybe we gotta look at putting some outfield seats in or something way down the line. But uh for now, 5,000 seats is is plenty for for our size, and and I think we can do that really well that way.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

I like the the the the kids park, that'd be cool. Hey, you know, just because listen, like you said, you have you have a young one, I have a young one, right? And I'm gonna be completely honest, my daughter does not have the attention span, just sit there for a full nine innings, and for me to just be like, all right, let's go sit, let's go in the park so you can play in the playground, and then while I can still watch the game, that's I'm all for that.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Yeah, I don't know if uh yeah maybe when he gets a little older, my my uh soon-to-be four-year-old still remembers the days of me coaching and doesn't really grasp the idea of him not being uh able to get on the field. Uh so if I let him go to the park, he might be finding his way through a stadium gate and into the dugout. So all of a sudden he's playing first base. You're right. My mom might need to uh to uh oversee that one for for a while.

SPEAKER_02 28:35

That's cool. I like that. All right, so you guys are doing some facelift to it, right? So you guys are working on the on the uh stands, you guys are working on the the the concession stands and all that. So that's cool. I like that a lot. Like, so let me ask you this. And of course, I have to ask, will you be bringing, you know, like food items that are specifically Australia, you know, specific food? I is that part of the plan right now?

Food Program With Aussie Favorites

SPEAKER_00 29:00

100%, yeah. Yeah. So we actually uh we've got a partnership with US Foods, which is right across the street there. Uh super fortunate to have them. They they handle concessions food in Durham and Holly Springs for our ownership group as well. And we're lucky enough to be a hundred yards from them at most. So we went over there. Yeah, delivery is really easy, and they've got a full kind of kitchen there with some uh some executive chefs and stuff that help kind of generate ideas for them and create new items. So uh we went there I think last week and they had like six or seven or so uh food items for us to try. Uh so you know, no decisions are 100% yet, but we tried everything from you know meat pies, uh Australian meat pies, which is kind of like an empanada without the cilantro, a little more butter. They're really good. Yeah. Um chicken schnitty, which is basically a chicken sandwich uh on like a hoagie roll type of thing. Um, uh sausage snag, which is their version of uh of uh like Italian sausage or something, they serve it on a piece of wonder bread instead of a sausage roll.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

Really?

SPEAKER_00 30:09

Uh so we tried that. Um we're looking at potentially having like some kangaroo meat available, like in burger form, all sorts of things. Nothing's off the table. Any especially on the food side, anyway, we can make it interesting and some extra options people can try. We want to do it.

SPEAKER_02 30:25

I like that a lot. That's cool. That's that's pretty cool. So I I can just see, like, you know, people will just be like, you know what? Let's try the kangaroo uh burger. Why not? Let's do it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

It brings in and in our goal, like you know, I'm a baseball guy, I want us to have a high level of baseball, I want us to compete, I want us to win championships, all of those things, absolutely. But we've also got to reach everybody else, too. Like, our goal is to be a fan experience. So, you know, we're gonna have the families, we're gonna push hard on the families in terms of in-game entertainment and stuff. We're gonna get the baseball people because our our guys are really gonna care about winning, and that's gonna be uh really easy to tell. But you know, we're also now we can get the foodies that maybe they're not here for a baseball game per se, but they want to try where else are you gonna get a kangaroo burger in Zegulin, North Carolina? You could try it here, come on to a game, and so now you're getting a whole nother market, and then they see, okay, this is actually fun. You know, this is a ton of fun. I might not have thought about baseball, but now that I see what you guys are doing, we've got you in with the food, uh, and we can make new fans that way too.

SPEAKER_02 31:26

That's I like that. I like this, I like to hear that a lot. Um, okay, so I'm very I'm still in this, you know, the stadium, right? Because I I see it in this I called it a concrete jungle. It's a good way to say it for sure, right? Because that's that's what it is. And you know, like their the stands are so like steep when you're like uh when you see it and everything. I was like, this is such a NASCAR stadium. Uh, if it was if it could be, you know, put in a in a NASCAR because you got the stands and then right underneath you got all the concessions that's how it always been. Um and so obviously you said that you're gonna go from 8,000 to 5,000, right? And and I think that's you know, for a collegiate baseball team, absolutely. Um in saying that are you thinking about like full like entertainment, like as you come in, like you know, you when you come in through those gates right from the parking lot, there is like all that open spot right there. You know, like have you guys thought about like the full designs of that? You know, what is it, you know, what's the long-term uh vision for that?

Beyond Baseball: Concerts And Events

SPEAKER_00 32:32

A hundred percent. Um I'm glad you you brought that up. So let's kind of two twofold a little bit. So, in terms of the entertainment venue, like that has to start at the end of this year. Uh, you know, we can't do it right now because we're we're about to start a CTRF. Right. Yeah, and we've got to get turf put in by May. Uh so we're we're we're in a we're in a crunch right now, and you know, they're they've got the concourse uh ripped up, putting in new bathrooms and things. So it's it's not super usable until May. But um as soon as we get out of that, the the the idea has to be how do we make this a 10-month venue? Um, you know, this is an asset for the town. We've got to build this first. So that's concerts is a big one. Just like you said, it's so steep and you're so on top of you there that you could essentially fill that upper bowl, don't worry about the lower bowl because it's four rows, and you could put a huge standing room on the field because it's turf, so you can just put people on it and then put a stage in the outfield. Uh, so now you're looking at, you know, you could put a concert of 15,000 people in there with standing room and stuff like that, and still do it. Um, so yeah, we've thought about concerts, we've thought about putting a boxing ring at home plate, and then now you've got the the people right on top of you and stuff like that. Uh, you know, monster trucks, dirt bike racing, whatever. That's uh one of the big assets of the turf is we can do all of those things. Um, so yeah, that that is the goal, is we want it to be used, we want it to be more than just a baseball stadium. Uh no, baseball is my thing, and and that's got to be a really important part of it, but it can't be the the only piece. Um, and then on the the development sides, you mentioned we've got so much space out there. Yeah, uh, and and capital broadcasting is is a lot of things. It's it's radio, it's TV, it's sports, but a pretty big piece of it is real estate. Uh so anybody who's been to the bulls knows that American tobacco campus that it surrounds it. So there's a real potential for us to develop that area and turn it into a smaller version of that, uh, where there's office buildings, restaurants, all those things. You know, Zebulin's Zebulin's blowing up. Like I looked the other day, uh, it's grown 50% in three years. Uh people are just coming here. Like, so if it I mean, if we keep getting that kind of growth, like there's just not the infrastructure in the area yet to support the amount of houses that are going in. So people are looking for things to do, and we got to be able to provide it to them, whether they're baseball fans or not.

SPEAKER_02 35:00

Listen, I'm just gonna throw it out there. Like, if you put a uh like a brewery there and then people will go hang out there after the game or before the game, now we're talking.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

Okay, I'm just letting you know we gotta have it. Uh, I'm with you 100%.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

That's amazing. I see when I go to ballparks, I always look around what's what's happening around there, right? Like, you know, like you said, American Tobacco, you got all those, like, you know, you got some restaurants, you got some bars, uh, you know, you got the playhouse that's like not too far from there. Um, and so you got a lot going on right there in Durham. And so having a uh at the very least start with a smaller version of that in that area, I think could go wonders because there's not a whole lot, it's just a park, and that's pretty much it there.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

Yeah, it's it's a huge, huge importance, and there's a there's a huge uh housing development coming in kind of right behind us. Um, so the goal, if we can get those to kind of touch, and then it becomes one big community there. Uh, and then as the other side starts to grow too, but yeah, you hit her on the head, it's it's gotta be a whole thing, uh especially because it's a little bit out there right now. No, I don't know how long it'll be, but you've got to have some things for people to do where you know, if they wanna, for example, if they want to come to the stadium and have a few beverages, they can go do something after, um, without you know having to worry about trying to get home right away and things like that.

District Development And Community

SPEAKER_02 36:18

No, absolutely, absolutely. Um, all right. I hope you guys enjoy this episode with Caleb of the Zebulun well TBD, and um make sure you guys come back next week so that way we'll continue the conversation of the actual team, um, the Australian team, the food, the ballpark itself, all that fun stuff. We're gonna finish all that. And obviously, my famous, not so famous question. But before you go, make sure you hit the subscribe button, make sure you hit the likes uh, make sure you share with this uh episode with one more person. Obviously, why? Because it goes a long way, and then you want to enjoy it, they want to enjoy it. There you go. Do that, go ahead, do that. All right, guys. Well, uh, until then, keep on grinding, and then always support the minor legs. We'll see you guys later.