SUMTER, S.C. — A historic baseball stadium in Sumter just got a facelift. The city has been renovating Riley Park since this fall. Now, players are able to enjoy the upgrades as the baseball season starts up.
“It’s one of the best fields in South Carolina,” baseball player Tijawan Black smiled. “It’s real good.”
Black has been playing baseball at Riley park since he started as a freshman at Morris College. Now, Black and his teammates have an upgraded field for their senior season.
“It looks like a big league ballpark,” Black shared. “So that probably want to bring people out and just to come see the field.”
People like Joe McGriff, who comes out to watch his son play on the new field.
“They’ve done a fantastic job,” McGriff explained. “It's great, and I’m sure it makes the kids want to play harder too. And it makes the fans and the players, we’re all happy, satisfied with it.”
“If you look at the fields, ain’t that beautiful?” P15 Athletic Director Ken Mixon looked around. “They have come in, they’ve put padding on the walls, astroturf all the way down first base, third base line, all out here, padding on the walls behind the home plate
Mixon works with the P15s, a youth baseball team run by the local American Legion Post.
“American Legion has baseball teams all over the country and we've been playing since 1929. We’re the next to oldest team in the nation,” Mixon detailed. “We have two teams. We have a junior team which is 17 years and under. And then we have a senior team which is 19 and under.”
Now, those teams will get to play on the new field along with the P15 softball teams, the University of South Carolina Sumter Fire Ants baseball and little league teams.
“Sumter’s a baseball town,” Mixon explained about the impact this new space’s facelift will have for the area. “I’m hoping we're going to be able to bring either a state tournament or a junior tournament here for the seniors and the juniors.”
“It's a really historical stadium just been supported by the community and they really support our baseball program,” Post 15 Commander Bill Lyons added.
Lyons says he’s been watching his two grandsons, both pitchers, play at Riley Park for years.
“It was wonderful. I loved it… I've watched them play since they were, the youngest one since he was three years old,” Lyons said. “I just love coming out here and watching the kids play and watch them grow and become good citizens for the community.”
They’re playing on a field now named after former Yankees player and Sumter native Bobby Richardson.
“This is a historical stadium here that we've just redone in honor of Bobby Richardson who played for the Yankees from 1955 to 1966. And he's a big part of our community,” Lyons detailed. “He's really a community-oriented person that really helps anybody that needs help. If he can help them, he does.”
Another key player who got his start at Riley Park: Jordan Montgomery.
“Jordan Montgomery, who now plays for the Texas Rangers, played here on this field in the P15s. 2011 was his last year and he went to USC, drafted by the Yankees, traded to the Cardinals and traded to the Texas Rangers and they won the world championship last year,” Lyons shared. “So it's a very storied program.”
The renovations were orchestrated by the city, which got funding from a state facilities improvement grant. The project cost $1.3 million. Lyons says next up, the city will work on renovating the dugouts once this year's season ends.