As baseball season approaches, Four Winds Field’s expansion project is wrapping up.
South Bend Cubs Owner Andrew Berlin told the city’s common council Monday that the new upper deck suites will be ready by opening day April 3. “We now have a lower concourse and we have an upper concourse, and it’s going to be a really beautiful opportunity to enjoy the game,” Berlin said.
A new events building is expected to open in May.
Berlin said the expansion will push the stadium’s total capacity to over 10,000, allowing the Cubs to beat their current attendance record of 8,169 fans set in 2024. "To be able to add that to the stadium will also bring more sales taxes, more income taxes and so forth," Berlin told council members. "We’ll have to hire more people and more jobs."
Much of the work was made possible by a 2023 law that increased the amount of sales and income tax revenue South Bend can keep for improvements to city-owned entertainment venues. Now, Berlin says he wants the state to raise that more, from $5 million to $7.5 million.
“This will enable us to have all sorts of funds to be able to do many, many more things beyond the stadium, to improve our downtown with taxes that would’ve, of course, disappeared elsewhere,” Berlin said.
He said Downtown South Bend is experiencing a renaissance, and the South Bend Cubs have been a beacon attracting other businesses. While Four Winds Field is owned by the city, Berlin said he’s invested $32 million dollars of his own money into the stadium and surrounding area, helping to bring new apartment buildings and restaurants.
“When the crowd is walking down the center concourse from center field – you’ll have that concourse and that area right there – after the game, before the game, it’s going to be a real party in the plaza,” Berlin added.
He said the stadium’s estimated economic impact surpasses that of most Triple-A teams. The South Bend Cubs are a High-A team.
Council member Oliver Davis said he’s amazed by the team’s growth, something he noticed when he found himself stuck in traffic last summer.
"At first, I was frustrated . . . and then I smiled," Davis said. "I smiled because I said to myself, ‘This is all baseball traffic.’ That same situation would not have happened in 2011."
