Batting Facility Feature: Saint Ignatius High School, Ohio

I NEED A FIELD!

Located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, Saint Ignatius High School doesn’t have a lot of room for a baseball field. Head Baseball Coach, Brad Ganor, needed to give his players better access to practice fields so he teamed up with On Deck Sports to complete the Magis Center, a more than 16,000 square foot indoor facility.

Ganor had purchased equipment from On Deck Sports in the past but had no idea of their extensiveness and expertise in building indoor sports facilities.

“We had many conversations around the planning and design,” said Ganor.  “On Deck Sports spent a lot of time with me on designing the facility, presenting 3D options I could show our committee and donor and ensuring we optimized the space.”

VERY VERSATILE BATTING CAGES

To start, Saint Ignatius High School chose 30-foot-wide retractable ceiling batting cages that Ganor wanted to have at full ceiling height. “I wanted it for ball flight. Sometimes players think they are hitting well in a batting cage because it’s reaching the other end, but on a field, it isn’t a good hit.”

Within the 30-foot-wide cages, On Deck Sports installed retractable dividers on separate motors, giving Ganor and his team the ability to use the full 30-foot width of the cage, or split the cage into two 15-foot wide batting cages. Ganor noted the great versatility the retractable nets provide, stating, “We can have just one batting cage down, up to 9 different stations going, or if we put the cages up, we have one big open field.  It’s great.”

FUN FOR ALL SPORTS TEAMS

Moreover, Ganor noticed the opportunity to have multiple teams practicing at the same time. “We can have baseball, golf, and lacrosse in here all at once. I never thought lacrosse could practice anywhere near another team but now they do.”

For the batting cages, Ganor chose #36-gauge netting, the most common type for baseball and softball use. So the facility could host other sports teams, Ganor chose a #30-gauge perimeter net, most common for lacrosse.  Lastly, Saint Ignatius chose to create a small, square cage with #18-gauge netting for the golf team to practice.

On Deck Sports completed the facility with wall padding, which Ganor says helps optimize their space while providing safety and comfort to the players and the building.

HAPPY CUSTOMER / CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

Thrilled with the result of the project, Ganor states, “On Deck Sports’ retractable product is the Cadillac of batting cages. I couldn’t be happier.  In just 30 seconds the batting cages are either up or down.”

“The feedback on the facility has been great,” Ganor says. “People are completely shocked and amazed. They’ve never seen anything like this before.”

St. Ignatius won the Ohio state championship in 2019.  With the new Magis Center, Ganor is looking for even greater skill development and results for his future teams.

Thinking about building an indoor facility? Talk to us: https://www.ondecksports.com/facility-request