Ribbon cutting ceremony held to officially reopen the updated Byers Softball Complex

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- There have been some big upgrades for the Byers Softball Complex on South Bend's southwest side. 

Those who have played there for years say these improvements are something they're ecstatic about, and a who's-who of South Bend officials were on hand at the ribbon-cutting to celebrate a new era for Byers Softball Complex.

The nearly 30-year-old facility is getting some major upgrades: an updated press box, field improvements, new signage, and of course, a touch up to the concession stand; all thanks to a 3-million-dollar grant from the state of Indiana. South Bend Mayor James Mueller called the upgrades a great investment in the city. 

TJ Jorgensen a Hall of Fame softball player said "By having these renovations done, and Byers has always been a great field, but now renovating it to make it more player friendly is huge, and it's way overdue, it's something that every player wants to feel comfortable, when they walk onto the field, they want to know they're getting on to a field they're going to feel comfortable playing on."

Jorgensen played at Byers for years before retiring. The addition to the complex he's most excited to see doesn't require the ability to hit a pitch of any speed.

"I think the biggest thing I'm excited for is the splash pad honestly, and the reason why I'm so excited for that honesty is when people go to tournaments, or league nights or whatever and they bring their kids out, sometimes, they just see the kids sitting on the bench, and they're just kind of bored. Now, the kids have something to do while the adults are playing," he said.

"To go back and look at this 30 years ago, never in a million years, it's just a transformation team effort, I'm really fortunate, I think the thing that gets lost at times is the people behind the scenes, I have amazing diamond supervisors, we also have athletic maintenance staff that work tirelessly around the clock and I do mean around the clock," said Gary Demski, the South Bend Venues, Parks, and Arts athletics manager.

"It looks a lot different, all the trees are gone, fields have been rebuilt, we got a lot of play out throughout the years, I mean the signs look great, the concession stand has been redone, it looks really great, I'm very appreciative," said Jim Byers, a 1997 Byers Complex project manager.