USA Baseball Coming To Durham, Cary

, the organization that fields the U.S. Olympic Baseball team and others, is moving its headquarters and operations from Tucson, Ariz. to the Triangle.

Officials believe the announcement that USA Baseball will begin operations in the Triangle is another feather in the cap of the area.

"What we found with the Hurricanes, it was something everybody could unite behind," said Cary Mayor Glen Lang.

The move of USA Baseball's headquarters to the Triangle is another uniting event. The organization will move into offices at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham. Modifications will be made for more locker room space. George Habel, general manager of the Durham Bulls, said this partnership is a big deal.

"The governing body of an Olympic sport, and a significant Olympic sport, is headquartered here in Durham and based here in the Triangle, I think that's important," he said.

Cary is a major part of this deal. Four new baseball fields will be built at Thomas Brooks Park off Highway 55, which is good for business and Cary sports fans.

"The playoffs and that sort of thing that USA Baseball sponsors, you know picking the Olympic team goes on over a period of weeks every year, entails a lot of people coming to town, a lot of room nights," Lang said.

Cary's Thomas Brooks Park would be the venue for USA Baseball's tournament events, but the big games, international in scope, would be played at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

"The U.S. national team will play Japan. It's likely they'll play Cuba. The Cuban national team hasn't come to the U.S. in years," Habel said.

The Durham Bulls say they will make USA Baseball events an extension of their season. The Bulls are owned by WRAL's parent company, Capitol Broadcasting.