A new hitting facility coming soon will be fully equipped with around $25,000 dollars worth of equipment and build-out. Baseball and softball teams at Cleveland are working on this new hitting facility, which will be a much-needed addition to the Cleveland baseball and softball programs.
The push for the facility has been in the making since before the pandemic but was postponed. Located on 22nd and Powell in a warehouse, it is scheduled to be ready for players by Oct. 1. The teams are still working on a name for the facility, which is coming soon.
Many PPS schools have received funding through bonds to help pay for improvements. Franklin and Roosevelt received funding approved in 2024 for field improvement and hitting facilities. The turfing of Powell Park project was on the list of athletic improvements, but no money was granted because all the Cleveland athletic facility improvements are under the modernization plan budget.
The Cleveland baseball and softball programs wanted to move forward with the hitting facility instead of waiting for the modernization. Most of the facility was paid for by fundraising done before the pandemic.
“We have tried to get many different grants to help us pay for the facility, but we have not received anything substantial. Most of the grants have to go to resupplying the equipment we have lost through theft at Powell Park,” said head baseball coach Bradley Blocker.
The facility will cost around $25,000 to rent and stock it with quality baseball and softball equipment, and will be available to rent to other Southeast teams at the youth and college levels as well as individuals with a membership during select times. The money coming in from this will help pay to maintain the facility, which will cost $4,100 per month for three years.
Fully netted, the facility will have a wide range of equipment for baseball and softball. Some netting will be retractable to allow for infield practice. It will also be fully turfed with temporary mounds for pitching and catching. Pitchers will have a 9-pocket to practice accuracy and control, and a plyoboard for practicing explosive throwing and arm strength.
For hitting, there will be two baseball pitching machines, including one donated by the baseball team. The two softball pitching machines in the facility were donated by Richard Breece, head softball coach.
The teams are very excited about the new opportunities the facility will provide. “I would love to do some live pitching in the facility,” said Blocker, head baseball coach.
This new addition to the programs has great impacts on the teams. “We have so many freshmen joining this year, we might have three teams. The hitting facility will make it easy to split up practices and just send a team to go hit at the facility,” said Blocker.
