Professional baseball returns to Kinston with Bird Dawgs

KINSTON, N.C. (WNCT) — A big announcement Tuesday at Grainger Stadium took baseball fans by storm.

“I am thrilled to share some exciting news about the future of baseball in Kinston! Today, we are proud to announce that Kinston’s Historic Grainger Stadium will be the new home of the Down East Bird Dawgs, an expansion team in the Frontier League, an MLB Partner League,” Kinston City Councilman Chris J. Suggs said.

After the Down East Wood Ducks said farewell to the community, fans will now have a new team to root for. The new team, the Down East Bird Dawgs, is part of the Frontier League . They won’t have a one-to-one tie with major league teams, instead, they will be able to work with all 30 teams at once.

Local entrepreneurs and business leaders Cameron McRae and Jeff Turner were thanked for their leadership and investment as the managing members of the new team’s ownership entity.

The announcement garnered attention from local leaders, baseball commissioners and of course, Wood Ducks fans, who eagerly awaited what was next for Grainger Stadium. The team will be ready just in time for the 2025 baseball season.

“Everybody’s excited. I am, as well, as much or more than anybody, because professional baseball has been such an important part of this community after World War II. And it will continue and it will be professional baseball,” McRae said.

The new lease agreement between the City of Kinston and the Down East Bird Dawgs will run for an initial term of three years, from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2027, with two optional three-year extensions that could extend the lease through Sept. 30, 2033. This lease is expected to be presented to, and voted on, by the Kinston City Council during its meeting on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

Grainger Stadium has had 75 years of teams, with affiliates that include teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and most recently, the World Champion Texas Rangers. The Bird Dawgs are the newest iteration of baseball in the city.

With a new team, comes stadium improvements such as a new scoreboard and new kitchen equipment for the concession areas. Painting, upgrades to locker rooms and enhancements to the fan areas will be pursued based on funding availability, as well as, mutual agreement.

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