How to Open a Public Batting Cage
Batting cages are a destination for baseball players of all ages who get hooked on their sport. Batting cages offer hitters the chance to practice, get better and gain confidence. Hitting has been called the most difficult thing to do in sports because you are attempting to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely. It calls for hand-eye coordination, timing, strength, excellent vision and anticipation. While you are hitting pitches throw by a machine as compared to a human pitcher, you can work on your swing, your timing and coordination when you go to a batting cages. It represents a solid business opportunity for batting cage owners.
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Instructions
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Think of your batting cages as you would games if you were an arcade owner. Batting cages will draw baseball and softball players, but it should be part of an arsenal of attractions to draw people who are looking to test their skills in baseball and other sports. Many facilities that offer batting cages to the public also have miniature golf courses, go karts, climbing walls and arcade games to draw customers.
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Purchase mechanical pitching machines for your machines. Pitching machines usually cost $350 to $500 and your customers will quickly cover the costs. Charge $4 for every 20 balls each player gets to hit.
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Purchase bats, helmets and netting to set up your batting cages. You will probably want to have eight or more batting cages available to the public. It will take about five to six minutes for a hitter to go through 20 balls at the cage and most people don't like to wait more than a round or two before heading into the cages themselves. Many hitters will have their own bats and helmets, but many other customers are more casual and just want to get into the cage and hit.
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Look for a high-traffic area for your batting cage business. Many of your customers will be listening to a baseball game on their car radio as they drive by or some form of sports radio. If they know they are going to be going by batting cages, they may want to stop and see how they fare.
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Make sure you have a sufficient number of cages that pitch slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball. Women are playing fast-pitch softball at the varsity level in high school and college and this is a very serious and growing sport. The idea of going to a batting cage when practice or the game is over just may be the edge a player needs to move into the starting lineup.
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Tips & Warnings
For every three baseball pitching machines you have, make sure you have at least one softball pitching machine.
