NewBridge Bank Park Gets New Look From Local Artist

(Greensboro, NC) For the first five years of its existence, Greensboro Grasshopper players and staff were greeted by a 50-foot blank concrete wall as they entered or exited their clubhouse to the playing field.

"Anytime I was downstairs I would look at that wall and think, it should would be nice to make it into a neat mural," said Grasshoppers President and General Manager Donald Moore.

Late last season Moore contacted Northern High AP Art Teacher Wade Billeisen with the idea and Billeisen arranged for one of his students, Ashley Trogdon, to meet with Moore to see if she had any ideas for the wall.

"I needed to complete a Senior Project for graduation, and I couldn't think of anything more fun than combining my love of art and baseball," said Trogdon, who is also the catcher on her school's softball team. "I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to be a part of my city's baseball stadium. It is wonderful to know that my artwork is now a part of such an exciting organization," Trogdon continued.

The mural is multi-colored, with the Grasshoppers logo as a centerpiece, and includes baseballs as big as eight feet in diameter. The balls have famous quotes on them from baseball legends such as Satchel Paige and Yogi Berra. A city landscape is interwoven between the baseballs.

"Ashley is incredibly talented and she has clearly brought this area to life. I already see players stop and admire her work as they go by on their way to the field," Moore said.

The Grasshoppers have welcomed over 2.1 million fans to NewBridge Bank Park, drawing over 400,000 fans in each of its first five years at the new downtown ballpark. The team is the proud recipient of both the South Atlantic League's Club Merit Award and the General Manager of the Year Award in 2005 through 2008.