A 6,000 square foot, year-round indoor baseball practice facility will soon open its doors in Grande Prairie.
Owner and Operator of Off Season Nick Darke says with the Grande Prairie area having such a giant baseball and softball community, it’s difficult to give athletes much time to enjoy the sport they love, especially when the weather is uncooperative eight months out of the year. He adds it’s also a little surprising that the idea hasn’t been carried out in the past.
“That’s actually the feedback I’ve got from so many people, we can’t believe no one has done it or pulled the trigger on it… It’s been a few years in the making, at first it was an idea that you talk amongst friends and others in the community, and it kinda snowballed into something else,”
“It’s hard to train and find the next level in your game when you only get to practice and play it for a few months of the year, so our facility will give everyone the opportunity to train and play as they much on a yearly basis,”
Darke says in addition to pitching mounds, pitching machines and individual batting cages, they’ll also be able to open up the space fully for teams to practice. He says as they get closer to the expected January 2022 opening, the feedback he is getting makes him feel like he’s hit a grand slam.
“Seeing everyone else’s excitement is now [getting] me more excited, which I didn’t think was possible,” he says.
You can find more information on The Off Season Facebook page.