Baseball and softball players in town could soon have a place to swing their bats year-round.
Local residents Darcy and Nicolle Cruickshanks are opening a batting cage facility along Highway 2A, just north of Highway 27, under their company Digger Sports.
They have three kids, aged 13, 10 and seven enrolled in minor ball. But they've always had to travel outside of town to access such an amenity.
"We have to take our kids to Calgary if we want to take them to batting cages," said Darcy.
"(Now), they don't have to travel for that. In the winter, come in and swing the bat all year round."
Olds Minor Baseball Association president Greg Grover is looking forward to it.
It's a long winter in this province and he's excited about the prospect of players being able to train indoors.
"Baseball's a sport built on repetition and the more you can do it, the better you will be," Grover said.
Darcy's plan is to have two batting cages, equipped with pitching machines as well as a baseball simulator called HitTrax.
According to the product's website, HitTrax tracks the ball's velocity and trajectory off the bat. On a screen, users can see how far they would have hit the ball in an actual park, including MLB stadiums. It's part training tool, part entertainment device.
The town's municipal planning commission approved with conditions the Cruickshanks' application for a change of use to the property on April 21. The site is a "Fitness Centre," a discretionary use in the Light Industrial (L1) district.
In addition to the batting cages, they are also entering the market for sporting good retail -- selling equipment, team apparel, embroidery and heat pressing services.
Their goal is to keep customers local instead of driving elsewhere.
"People in our community have to drive outside of it to find a lot of the sporting goods they're looking for," Darcy said. "For example, skate sharpening. There's a need for that in town, which we're having as well."
Currently, renovations are being made to the building. They hope to open by the end of August.
