Facility Feature: Colby Community College, Kansas

In October 2019, Colby Community College (CCC) began the process of building and outfitting a new multi-purpose facility to give campus sports a place to train year-round. To accommodate baseball and softball, the Athletics Department knew they needed protective netting, but had a hard time formalizing their ideas and deciding how the layout should be designed to optimize their space.

Athletic Director, Mike Saddler, started looking around at who could help them put their ideas onto paper, and found On Deck Sports. “We chose ODS because of their clear indoor facility design expertise. The design team was great at answering our questions and helping us figure out what we actually wanted. They gave us new ideas and perspectives that really helped us maximize the value of our space,” says Saddler.

The multi-purpose facility at CCC now has a 4,500 sq.ft. turf section specifically designed for baseball and softball usage. The turf field is enclosed by a large 42-gauge shell net. Within the shell net are 2 walk-draw retractable dividers that give them the ability to separate the field into 3 individual batting cages.

While ODS strives for perfection in all we do, not every project goes exactly as planned. In the case of Colby Community College, a short divider curtain created a minor issue, but we were able to get a replacement net to the school right away, without delaying the timing of the project. “ODS makes it so easy to work with them. Although there was a mistake, I actually don’t have any suggestions to improve the company because they handled it so well,” states Saddler.

Saddler says the CCC sports teams love and appreciate the new facility. In fact, he reports the baseball coach said the new facility makes it harder to go outside because they would rather stay in the high-class space.

CCC was so impressed with the new facility they decided to open it up to the entire Colby, KS community. The response has been outstanding and Saddler states, “On rainy days, my phone doesn’t stop ringing from people who want to come in and use the space.”

On Deck Sports is proud to have helped more than 1,500 customers get their indoor facilities up and running since 2001. Thinking about building your own? Check out our most frequently asked questions to help get you started.

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