When Dustin Clark and his wife looked for a place where their son could practice batting indoors, they found few convenient options near Long Beach.
“There’s a couple of facilities over on Pass Road and Gulfport — both really great facilities — just a little bit of a drive,” Clark said. “Some of those facilities are just too busy to even get in and rent a cage.”
The couple decided to fill that gap with Long Beach Fieldhouse, a 22,000-square-foot indoor sports facility under construction in the former Tuesday Morningstore at Pineville Plaza. Scheduled to open Dec. 19, it will offer batting cages, pickleball courts and other recreational activities.
The facility could also provide additional practice space for local youth leagues when weather prevents outdoor training.
Destin Guillot, president of the Long Beach Youth Baseball Association, said the league averages more than 550 players during its spring season.
“When it rains, we’re kind of limited on where we can go because we can’t use the fields,” Guillot said. “We don’t want to tear them up.”
Guillot said most existing batting cages in the area cater to travel teams, leaving fewer options for recreational leagues.
The association plans to purchase an annual membership at the fieldhouse once it opens, allowing coaches to schedule indoor training sessions.
“It provides more reps, more realistic type training. It gives the kids the opportunity to train under multiple individuals rather than just a specific coach,” Guillot said.
The facility will have two main areas: one for baseball and softball batting cages and another with three pickleballcourts. It will also offer individual and group lessons, along with recreational activities such as dodgeball and floor hockey.
Batting cage rentals will cost $45 an hour, while a $99 monthly membership will include four one-hour sessions. Pickleball court rentals will cost $30 an hour, with memberships available for $59 a month. Pickleball memberships also include access to designated drop-in play sessions.
Clark said high school athletes will be eligible for a 25% discount on facility use if their coaches verify their participation on a school team.
He is also working with local youth baseball and softball leagues to arrange discounted access during their spring seasons.
On opening day, Clark plans to offer free use of the batting cages and pickleball courts while encouraging donations to help cover registration fees for local youth baseball and softball players.
“Everything inside will be free use, the batting cages and the pickleball courts,” Clark said. “We’re going to ask folks to leave a donation for the youth baseball and softball leagues here in Long Beach.”
Construction is underway, with crews preparing the floors for the pickleball courts and turf areas. The fieldhouse also plans to host camps for school-aged children during Christmas week and the following week.
For Guillot, recreational sports provide more than opportunities to improve athletic skills.
“A lot of these kids, this may be the only outlet they have to building relationships and friendships and things like that,” he said.
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