'Holiday Lights on the Diamond' brings over 1 million lights to Four Winds Field
SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- For the first time ever, Four Winds Field is hosting a winter event to bring people downtown.
Tickets are $12, which covers parking, the entire light display, and a picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus. But that is only part of what is in store.
"Right now, we're putting over a million lights on the field, and it's not just going to be string lights," said South Bend Cubs General Manager Chris Hagstrom-Jones. He added that the team is working with a lighting company called Beloit to put on the massive show, plus a local company to help build the light structures.
"It's not just on the concourse; you can actually go down onto the field," Hagstrom-Jones said. "We'll have a tunnel of lights to walk through. It'll be a beautiful photo opportunity where you can stop and take a cool picture with the family with lights all around you, and the music will also be synced up to certain shows."
Hagstrom-Jones said the team wanted to offer interactive holiday fun for all ages.
"We've got some really cool stuff planned inside with cookie decorating and ornament decorating. We're going to have a train that's going to go around the concourse," Hagstrom-Jones said.
The South Bend Cubs hope to make Four Winds Field a true year-round destination, one that keeps families coming downtown while giving neighboring businesses a winter boost.
"You have apartments going up all around the ballpark, you have businesses like La Esperanza and Shamrocks continuing to help serve this part of the community that has been underserved for quite a while. So, the more we can do events like this, the more it's just going to help our community," Hagstrom-Jones said.
Nearby business owners are already preparing for the extra foot traffic.
"We're definitely going to put a little bit more decorations outside to kind of start the lights from outside of the stadium," said Monica Guzman, owner of La Esperanza. The Mexican restaurant is right next to the stadium.
"This year we are planning on doing more coffee like café de olla. We are going to possibly be doing like champurrado. It would be really nice to kind of do what we did for Cops and Goblins, and maybe sell it on the patio," Guzman said.
Opening night for Holiday Lights on the Diamond is Friday, Nov. 13. The show will run on weekends from 6 to 10 p.m., with additional dates scheduled throughout the holiday season.