Courtesy: South Bend Silver HawksA big award on for the Cove on the last day of the South Bend Silver Hawks' season. Ballpark Digest awarded Coveleski Stadium its "Renovation of the Year" award on Friday.
The award came after more than $4 million dollars in renovations at the Cove for the 2012 season.
"People don't realize how close South Bend came to losing minor league baseball," Ballpark Digest publisher Kevin Reichard said in a release. "But the renovations at Coveleski Stadium brought out fans and showed (Silver Hawks owner) Andrew Berlin's commitment to the market. Seeing a game in South Bend was incredibly enhanced by the ballpark improvements."
Some of the improvements included a children's play area with inflatable attractions, a splash pad and converting an abandoned synagogue into a team store.
After Friday night's game, the Silver Hawks expect 2012 total attendance to top 180,000, up from 112,000 in 2011.
Previous winners of the award include Metro Bank Park, home of the Eastern League Harrisburg Senators and Cheney Stadium, home of the Pacific Coast League Tacoma Rainiers.
