SOUTH BEND — A $3 million renovation of the Byers Softball Complex got underway Thursday, May 15, with a groundbreaking for the improvements at 1300 S. Mayflower Road.
The city and South Bend Venues Parks & Arts department announced that the improvements will include park entrance signage, a new entry plaza gateway, and significant improvements to the bleachers that will add shade structures to help spectators at the venue.
The concession stand will be fully renovated, and all five infields will undergo complete refurbishment.
Officials also said they plan to remove overgrown outfield shrubbery and add historical signage to honor the complex’s legacy.
Two new batting cages are planned, and a new splash pad also will be installed at the complex.
Jordan Gathers, executive director of Venues, Parks & Arts, said the city rebuilding the fields to the 1997 softball complex will help not only the sports community but the spectators and residents who, with the new splash pad, will be able to use the park as well.
“This complex has been here since 1997, so (it’s a) longtime investment,” Gathers said. “We’re excited to be able to work with our state senators downstate in a bipartisan partnership as well as the Pokagon Band (Compact Fund) to be able to help and bring our community up.”
Indiana state Sen. David Niezgodski said Thursday the bipartisan effort with the help of state Sen. Ryan Mishler, Senate appropriations committee chair, helped bring the state along for the $3 million grant. He also credited House Rep. Jake Teshka for work on securing the money from the legislature. “That only happens through great bipartisan support,” Niezgodski said.
Officials have moved all spring and summer games this season to fields at Boehm Park, Potawatomi Park, and Boland Park while the work is being done.
Meanwhile, the work has begun, and officials hope to have the project completed by the end of September.
A softball history
Phil St. Clair, longtime South Bend Parks and Recreation superintendent, oversaw the $1.3 million Belleville Softball Complex that was opened in 1997 on Mayflower Road. The fields were the site of the city’s softball programs oversaw by the Byers family for decades in the city.
In 2016, the softball complex’ name was changed to “Byers Softball at St. Clair Park” to honor the long-time South Bend stewards.
The Byers complex is best known for hosting fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball events. Three times, the U.S. Women’s Olympic Softball team has appeared in exhibitions, and South Bend has hosted many Amateur Softball Association national championships over the years in addition to numerousd local and regional tournaments.
Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend breaks ground on $3 million project to upgrade Byers Softball Complex
Reporting by Greg Swiercz, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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