Tim Bradley, Staff Writer

“South Bend would be nothing if it wasn’t for Notre Dame!” Sadly, that is a sentiment one hears far too often around these parts. Well folks, sorry to break it to you, but South Bend would indeed be something rather than nothing, even if Notre Dame were not around. Yes, people still care about this city, invest in it, and live in it (even in the winter). Nowhere is this more evident than Andrew Berlin’s 2011 purchase of the South Bend Silver Hawks baseball team. Berlin, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chicago-based company Berlin Packaging, has already invested $4 million of his own funds to renovate Coveleski Stadium in downtown South Bend. You thought South Bend had nothing to offer? Think again, and go check out the new Splash Pad down at The Cove.

The Silver Hawks are the single-A minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks and are entering their 26th year as a franchise. According to team president Joe Hart, the team was originally called the South Bend White Sox because its initial major league affiliate was the Chicago White Sox. In an interview with the Rover, Hart said that “In the late ‘90’s the team name was changed to the South Bend Silver Hawks as a result of an affiliation change to the Arizona Diamondbacks.” Why Silver Hawk, one may ask? And, for that matter, what is a Silver Hawk? Some would be tempted to answer, “a silver hawk, as in the bird.” Alas, that is not correct as the team is, in fact, named after an automobile. The official team website explains that the name was changed to Silver Hawks in 1994 “as a tribute to the Studebaker Silver Hawk automobile that was once manufactured across the street from the stadium from 1957 to 1961.”

Do not think that this franchise has not faced adversity; the South Bend weather often hurts home attendance early in the season, and before Berlin purchased the team in 2011, the team was experiencing low attendance rates that were seriously hurting the organization. Berlin’s willingness to invest in The Cove has been vital in turning the franchise around. “The fan base we know is here, but for some reason it hasn’t attached itself to the ballpark. The crowds used to be there, and they can come back,” said Berlin, who is also an investor in the Chicago White Sox.

According to Hart, in the last two years “there have been approximately $5.8 million in improvements made to The Cove. We felt that to get the facility up to the standards that would attract people, and especially those with families, we needed to make improvements that would enhance the ballpark experience.”

The aforementioned Splash Pad (for kids) is among the new improvements. It has 16 fountains and was a big success in 2012. “We consider it the mini Bellagio of South Bend,” Hart said. Another new feature is the inflatable play zone for kids. “We purchased 7 gigantic inflatables including a 28-foot slide, a bounce house, an obstacle course and much more.”

In addition, all of the old aluminum bleacher seats have been removed and replaced with individual theater style seats. “We felt it was important to provide the most comfortable seats that we could,”  Hart explained.

An additional $1 million was used to renovate an old synagogue building that sits just outside the left-field fence of the ballpark and convert it into the new team store. “This franchise has never had a walk-in team store to display and promote team merchandise. It is an amazing building that was built in 1901,” Hart said. And this one’s for all you adults out there: A brand new Tiki Hut was built in 2013 for fans 21 and over. Hart once again had the scoop: “It is a full service bar and deck area. In 2012, we felt like we took care of the kids and the families, so for this year we wanted to take care of the adults with their own play area.”

In 2012 the team drew just over 189,000 spectators to home games, which was a 68% increase over the 2011 season. The attendance goal for 2013: 250,000. “We know that this is another big jump, but we are an aggressive thinking organization that is never going to be satisfied, so we will continue to work on increasing our attendance,” said Hart.

The investment made by Berlin in this franchise, coming in the midst of an economic downturn, shows that South Bend is not the dying city that many seem to think it is. Hart sums up the new direction the franchise is headed since Berlin took over at the helm: “The financial investment made by [Berlin] shows he is committed to this team and to this region. It is almost unheard of for an owner to invest over $4 million into a publicly owned facility. We knew improvements needed to be made, and by us investing it shows the community that we are serious about the facility, and it helps with the long-term health of the franchise.”

Please visit the Silver Hawks website, http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t550, to see this season’s schedule and special promotions.

Tim Bradley is a South Bend native whose fastball was supposedly clocked at 93 mph on the radar gun at the Cove during a 5th grade field trip. He is still hoping that a Major league team will take notice of this fact and give him a shot at the big leagues—he might even help the Cubs bullpen! Contact him at tbradle5@nd.edu.