Batting Facility Feature: Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island

Time For an Upgrade

For 7 years, the Johnson and Wales University baseball team was in a 10,000 square foot building, with 9,000 square feet being taken up by a poorly installed, stationary batting cage. The team could barely practice fielding drills, let alone allow any other teams use the facility. Finally, Assistant Athletic Director, John Larose, decided it was time for an upgrade.

Unique Solution

Larose chose to work with On Deck Sports because of their reputation as the best in the indoor facility design business, as well as his smooth and pleasurable past experiences with the company. Together, Larose and ODS facility expert, Ryan Kane, decided the best solution would be a walk-draw retractable lid system batting cage. This system allows the ceiling to stay protected, while the cage itself can split into two tunnels or open completely. Additionally, On Deck Sports’ walk-draw retractable solutions make it quick and easy to move the netting back and forth. As Larose states, “We can now smoothly transition between softball and baseball batting and fielding practices, and even to lacrosse and soccer practice. However long it takes you to walk 90 feet is how long it takes to retract the netting back and forth.”

Kane and Larose also decided to add door panels to the cage, which Larose says is not only convenient for the players to get in and out quickly, but also makes it easy to bring equipment into the cages. Moreover, the door panels are designed to keep balls from rolling outside of the cage.

Above and Beyond

Speaking on the installation process, Larose is grateful for On Deck Sports’ efforts and abilities. “We made a mistake by doing this project last minute and putting it on a really tight time frame, but On Deck Sports did us a huge favor by going above and beyond to get it completed on time.”

Asked about the feedback he has gotten, Larose says the players are thrilled with the new space they’ve gained thanks to the upgrade.