2010 ACC Baseball Championship moves to Greensboro, N.C.’s NewBridge Bank Park

Championship moves to more central location for cost-containment purposes.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship will be held at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C., ACC commissioner John Swofford announced today.

Swofford said the 37th annual tournament will be moved to Greensboro from Boston’s Fenway Park due to the current economic climate and an effort to keep travel costs down by locating the event closer to the center of the league’s footprint.

“Cost-containment is very much universal at this point, and our conference and our schools are no exception,” Swofford said. “With so many issues at the moment in terms of budget and travel, we simply felt it was in the best interests of all concerned to hold the 2010 event at a more centrally located venue. As we look to the future, we do foresee holding the ACC Baseball Championship in Boston, and we are thankful to the Fenway Sports Group for their understanding and for maintaining a strong working relationship.

“We’re also very fortunate that our partnership with Greensboro allowed us to make this transition so smoothly,” Swofford added. “We greatly appreciate the commitment they have made to the ACC, and we anticipate another successful Championship.”

Located in downtown Greensboro, NewBridge Bank Park opened its gates to a crowd of 8,540 on April 3, 2005 with an exhibition game between the Class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers and its major-league parent club Florida Marlins. Built at an original construction cost of $21.5 million, the state-of-the-art facility features a 30-foot wide, open-air concourse and 36 concession points of sale, a child-safe play park and the second largest video board in the minor leagues.

Seating capacity currently stands at 7,499, which includes 5,300 chair back seats, 16 luxury suites and two grass banks, as well as picnic areas. Baseball America recently rated NewBridge Bank Park the top stadium in the South Atlantic League and the No. 8 overall minor league stadium nationally.

“We are excited to be able to hold the 2010 ACC Baseball Championship at such a first-class facility,” Swofford said. “Anyone who has attended a game there knows it is a beautiful stadium and one we believe fans from throughout the conference will enjoy. Again, we thank the city of Greensboro and the Grasshoppers for all that they have done, and for their willingness to extend a hand to the ACC and work with us to make this happen.”

“We are thrilled to have such a great event here at NewBridge Bank Park,” said Grasshoppers President and GM Donald Moore. “It is a wonderful opportunity for our fans and for the city of Greensboro as a whole.”

The event marks the first time NewBridge Bank Park will play host to the ACC Baseball Championship, but is no stranger to big-time baseball festivities after hosting the South Atlantic League All-Star Game in 2008.

The 2010 Championship will begin Wednesday, May 26, and conclude with the championship game Sunday, May 30 of next year.

This year’s ACC Baseball Championship will be held May 20-24, 2009, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. For more information, please see the ACC Baseball Championship site at www.theACC.com/Durham09.

*****from www.theacc.com*****