N&O: MiLB grumpy over DAP construction effort

Kudos to Jim Wise over at the N&O for breaking this news article on the N&O's Bulls Eye blog and in the paper's online edition late Monday:

Minor League Baseball is not pleased with progress on the Durham Athletic Park's renovation, and City Manager Tom Bonfield has called for a report by next Tuesday.

In a Dec. 19 letter to Alan DeLisle, assistant city manager for economic development, Minor League Baseball CEO Pat O'Conner wrote that, "the DAP renovation project is falling short of everyone's goals and expectations."

Specifically, O'Conner mentioned construction delays that have "affected the enthusiasm and support" for the project; fear that Minor League Baseball could be blamed for the delays; and that the work performed at the DAP is of poor quality....

"This is a very serious matter for the project, the city’s relationship with Minor League Baseball and the City’s credibility as a whole," [Bonfield] wrote in an e-mail to several city administrators asking for the report.

Coming in the wake of the failure of the prepared foods tax -- a move which, according to the rumor mill, may have been seen by some minor league baseball enthusiasts as a sign of low interest among Durhamites for a baseball museum, regardless of who pays for it -- the impact of this item is something to watch.

Look for all eyes to rest on how Bonfield -- himself a one-time member of the Yankees' farm system -- handles what looks to be some high heat on this one.

Read more over at the N&O.