While players have already started to circle the bases, the official grand opening of Aberdeen’s newest sports venue is set for Friday night.

The new $4.5 million Players South Complex softball facility will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m., followed by a free ball park meal (hot dogs, chips and pop or water) and then games, including a home run contest.

The four diamonds (northwest of Fossum Field) are state of the art with plenty of seating and shade for spectators.

“It’s up to speed, whether it’s the restrooms, the concessions, the shade structures over the bleachers, it’s just really nice,” said Mark Hoven, Director of the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department. “It’s well designed.”

The facility literally has everything, from underground drainage on the infield to remote controlled scoreboards.

“It’s going to really serve the needs of the softball community,” Hoven said. “It’s got upgraded lights, it’s got deep fences, it’s got cool scoreboards that they run off their cellphones, even the lights will run off their cell phones.”

It even has special lights that will help outfielders track fly balls off the bat.

Hoven’s favorite part of the new complex? You might be surprised.

“My favorite part, this might seem kind of weird, but it’s the bathrooms. They’re really cool. I’m a parks superintendent, so it’s really nice to have some restrooms here that function really well for the softball players,” Hoven said. “The second part would be the shade structures. I think that people are really going to enjoy the shade structures over the bleachers. It will be a great way to watch a game.”

There are three sets of shaded bleachers on each of the four diamonds, not including the grass areas where people can spread a blanket and camp out.

The facility was needed because the city’s old ball parks were not regulation in size so it could not host state tournaments. That will change now with a state tourney already on the schedule for this summer.

“We’ll bring in a 12-inch state tournament for the first time in many, many, many years,” Hoven said.

Teams have already played a few games at the facility and enjoyed the experience.

“We’re hoping to get a lot more tournaments in here, but we’re playing every night of the week,” Hoven said. “All the divisions now have been playing up here and have been able to really enjoy the complex.”

The facility has been 10 years in the planning. While much of the groundwork was done last season, players had to wait until grass was planted and took root before getting a chance to hop on the fields this spring.

“We had hoped to get them in here the first of May, but with the weather being cool, and wet and windy, the grass just didn’t come out of dormancy like we hoped,” Hoven said, “but now it’s here so they’ll be ready to go.”

Hoven is hoping that there will be a solid turnout on Friday evening to help celebrate a facility that should serve the needs of the community for decades to come.

“We’re really excited,” Hoven said, “and as a city we should be very excited for this complex.”

The Players South Complex literally has something for everyone, whether swinging for the fences or cheering on your favorite players.

“It’s a complex for people to come and visit and be able to have some space and be able to view the games,” Hoven said. “You look at what we were on and what we have here, it’s night and day. I’m excited.”