I celebrated my 800th baseball game in my career as a baseball fan. The occasion was a Sunday afternoon game at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC, home of the Carolina Mudcats. I have watched over 150 Mudcats games since my first game at the end of 2004 season, but I usually found myself celebrating milestones with other teams.
The game itself between the Delmarva Shorebirds and the host Mudcats was disappointing. Both teams managed to combine poor pitching with sloppy fielding. And the subpar umpiring efforts did little to improve the experience. (In other words, a not uncommon experience in the low-minors, where potential far exceeds polish.) Jumping out to an 8-1 lead after just five outs, the Mudcats blew the lead in the seventh, falling behind 11-10. Never fear, the Mudcats came back to win it, 13-12.
The Carolina Mudcats’ days appear to be numbered. They have signed a letter of intent to relocate to Wilson after the 2025 season, dependent on Wilson’s ability to build a new stadium. Wilson plans a downtown stadium and has done a little more than break ground, voting to vacate an adjacent street to expand the site enough. It remains to be seen if the stadium will be finished on time, or if the supporting infrastructure will be ready. (The city may encounter construction problems or other delays.)
I’m not sure how I feel about the Mudcats’ move. When they first moved to North Carolina in 1990, the owner wanted to build the stadium near the Research Triangle Park. (I’m not sure where exactly, probably in the sprawl that is now Morrisville.) The Durham Bulls’ owner blocked the move and reserved a 30-mile radius from home plate at the Durham Athletic Park, preventing the Mudcats from Raleigh and all but extreme eastern Wake County. Five County Stadium was “value engineered” from the start: its lower deck has just four rows of seats in the main grandstand, which itself was finished years into the Mudcats’ tenure. The upper deck does provide the best views in the park, in part because the pitch is steep. As far as the General Admission bleachers – don’t sit down the right field line until the sun goes down, or else you can’t see the action.
Why is it called Five County? Because it’s at the easternmost point of Wake County. If you park down the first base line, you are in Johnston County. If you take the wrong turn on US 39, you’ll be in Franklin County. If you miss the exit completely, you’ll be in Nash. To get five counties you need a map – Wilson County is not immediately adjacent.
When Rob Manfred and the Major League commissioner’s office took over the minor leagues in 2021, they mandated improved facilities by 2025. (Many teams have already complied, others are asking if “plans” are good enough.) Five County Stadium could clearly use some renovations – the clubhouses are pole barns behind the outfield fences, there is minimum shade for fans, the whole place has an unfinished, exposed concrete feel. To the Mudcats’ credit, they approached Wake County with a renovation plan (one idea would tear out the right-field, sun-drenched GA section and build modern clubhouses, group spaces, really anything added post-2000 in other ballparks). Wake County slow-walked them. The Mudcats’ owner (a corporation called Diamond Baseball Holdings that owns almost half-the minor league teams now) shopped around local towns. Wilson stepped forward.
What has always struck me as odd is the lousy relationship the Mudcats have had with Wake County. The residents of Raleigh and western Wake really do not show up to watch the Mudcats. When I first moved here, I pointed out that it took the same time to get from west Raleigh to Five County as it did to the Durham Bulls. My neighbor didn’t believe me – something about driving through (then-) rural eastern Wake County made him think it was considerably farther. I liked that I could decide the day of the game to go see the Mudcats and get tickets on the front row. (If you try same-day sales in Durham, you end up on the lawn in center field). The Mudcats have done minimal promotions most of the years I have lived here. They have never had fan days, for instance – which encourage the local community to come out. The fan base has developed into Johnston County and surrounding areas, but the stadium was at least half-empty all but one (July 4th) game a year. In recent years, the Mudcats have done Souvenir Saturdays, where they sell tickets for a premium, which has helped with those games. The strategy backfired in my opinion – Sunday crowds are even sparser now, and the team shuts off a parking lot and half the concessions. But for a $10 savings, I’ll pass on the Saturday giveaways.
I’m not surprised that Wilson wanted the Mudcats – they hosted the team in 1990 while Five County was being built. And I think most of their Johnston County base will follow them out there. They stand to gain from Kinston losing its team after this season. But Wilson is a fraction the size of Raleigh and Wilson County has a fraction of the wealth of Wake County. (The growth patterns in Wake County have finally turned east, which means the Mudcats are leaving a potentially bigger fan base for a smaller one.) It seems to me that Wake County would prefer to focus on the Carolina Hurricanes and forever attempting to get an MLS franchise than putting any money into minor league baseball. It’s a shame.
(On a side note, there is some opposition in Wilson to the Mudcats moving there. But I’ll save that for another time.)
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