Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium
| The Cove | |
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| Location | 501 West South Street South Bend, Indiana 46601 |
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| Coordinates | 41°40′13.42″N 86°15′19.72″W / 41.6703944°N 86.2554778°WCoordinates: 41°40′13.42″N 86°15′19.72″W / 41.6703944°N 86.2554778°W |
| Owner | City of South Bend |
| Operator | South Bend Parks & Recreation Department |
| Capacity | Baseball: 5,000 |
| Field size | Left field – 336 ft Left Center Field - 360 ft Center Field – 405 ft Right Center Field - 360 ft Right field – 336 ft |
| Surface | Natural Turf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 1986 |
| Opened | July 2, 1987 |
| Construction cost |
$11,000,000 ($23.2 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect |
Populous (original) Jones Petrie Rafinski (2010-2013 Renovations) |
| Tenants | |
| South Bend Cubs (MWL) (1988–present) | |
Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium is a baseball stadium in South Bend, Indiana, home to the South Bend Cubs, a minor league baseball team which plays in the Class-A Midwest League. The stadium opened in 1987, and its open concourse is considered the template for many later minor league ball parks built in the 1990s. It has a capacity of 5,000 spectators and is undergoing major renovations in time for the 2015 season.
The park is named for Stan Coveleski, the hall of fame pitcher who once lived in South Bend. It is colloquially known as "The Cove".
Coveleski Stadium is located on South Street in downtown South Bend.
Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium was built in 1987 for $11 million under the leadership of then-Mayor Roger O. Parent. The facility is owned by the City of South Bend and managed by the South Bend Parks & Recreation Department. Stanley Coveleski was a Hall of Fame pitcher who settled in South Bend after his successful baseball career came to an end in 1929. The stadium is now affectionately known as "The Cove". The 5,000-seat stadium is worth an estimated $35 million to $40 million today.
The stadium is home to the South Bend Cubs, a Class A minor league baseball team affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs, for many years known as the "'Silver Hawks"', which play in the Midwest League, were originally named in homage to the Studebaker Silver Hawk, once made in South Bend. Originally affiliated with the Chicago White Sox, the team switched to the Diamondbacks in 1997 and to the Cubs for the 2015 season.
Called "the grandfather of the modern ballpark" by BallParkReviews.com, Coveleski Stadium provided a design template for a move in recent years to bring ballparks back into City downtowns. HOK Sport Inc. (now Populous), original architect of Coveleski Stadium, also designed Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and Cleveland's Progressive Field.
On July 4, 1987, the stadium held a "Homerun Derby" to see who could "make history" by hitting the first home run out of the brand new park. Norm Bogunia, a 1985 graduate of South Bend's Washington High School and former baseball player there, was the first to hit a home run. He was joined by five other people who also hit home runs that day. LaSalle High School baseball coach Scott Sill ran the pitching machine. Two days later, on July 6, 1987, Joel Reinebold hit the first home run at the stadium during a regular game. A plaque hangs in the stadium with all the names of those who hit home runs.
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