For owner-operators
How to start a batting cage business.
A seven-step plan for opening an indoor batting cage or baseball training facility, from the market check to the lease. Real fit-out costs from a signed build, a break-even you can run yourself, and the mistakes that sink first facilities.
Updated · From a builder of indoor facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska & Georgia
Three numbers to know before you sign a lease.
Fit-out
$23K to $35K
Per tunnel, for turf, netting, dividers, floor, fencing, electrical, and install in an existing building. A real 7-tunnel build came to about $29,400 per tunnel.
The building
14 ft clear
Minimum ceiling for machine work, 16 ft preferred, and about 80 ft of clear length for a 70 ft tunnel. Height eliminates more buildings than price does.
Break-even
Your utilization
The share of open tunnel-hours you must book to cover rent, staff, and utilities. It is the number that decides whether the building works.
The seven steps, in order.
- 1
Pick the business shape before the building
Hourly tunnel rental, private lessons, team rentals, memberships, and parties each need a different floor. Rental wants many tunnels and few staff. Lessons want fewer tunnels and a coach on the floor. Teams want a turf infield or fielding zone. Decide the mix you expect to earn on, because it sets the tunnel count, the building size, and the staffing line in your break-even.
- 2
Check your market with three phone calls
Rental cage time in DFW has run about $40 to $75 an hour. That is a Dallas-Fort Worth number, and yours will differ. Call three facilities near you, ask what a tunnel-hour costs at peak and off-peak, and ask how booked they are. Their answers are the two inputs that drive everything else: your rate and your utilization.
- 3
Find a building that can hold tunnels
Clear ceiling height is the number that eliminates the most buildings: 14 ft minimum for machine work and 16 ft preferred. Then clear length of 80 ft for a 70 ft tunnel, width of 12 to 15 ft per tunnel, no columns inside a lane, a flat slab, three-phase power if you plan machines, and a landlord who allows netting anchored to the structure. Run the dimensions through the building checklist before you tour the second building.
Building checklist → - 4
Size the facility to the building and the demand
Tunnel count is a trade between what the building holds and what the market will book. A 60 ft by 100 ft building fits four tunnels with a walkway. Do not size off cage length alone: the formulas for end clearance, aisle width, and ceiling height are in the space planning guide.
Space planning guide → - 5
Budget two budgets, not one
The fit-out is what Bearcat builds: turf, netting, frames, dividers, epoxy floor, fencing, electrical, sound, security, and install. Plan on roughly $23K to $35K per tunnel. The shell is the building plus HVAC, lighting, permits, restrooms, and parking, and it is usually the larger number over time. Machines, hit tracking, and working capital for the first months sit outside both.
Facility cost guide → - 6
Run the break-even before you sign
Break-even utilization is the share of open tunnel-hours you must book for revenue to cover costs. It is the most useful number in the plan because it does not depend on guessing revenue. If the market you checked in step 2 books below your break-even, the building is wrong, the rent is too high, or the tunnel count is too large.
Operator ROI calculator → - 7
Clear zoning, occupancy, and insurance in writing
A baseball training facility in an old warehouse is usually a change of use, and fire marshal, occupancy, and restroom requirements vary by city. Ask the city before the lease is final, and ask your insurer what they require for netting, machines, and minors on site. We scope the permitting the shell needs during the site visit, but the approvals are yours and the city's.
Worked example
What a break-even looks like.
A 7-tunnel facility. The $29,400 per tunnel is real, from our signed contract. Every other input is an example, not a benchmark. The point is the shape of the math, so replace each input with your own market's numbers in the calculator.
Example inputs
- Tunnels
- 7
- Build cost per tunnel (real)
- $29,400
- Machines, tracking, lighting, permits (example)
- $40,000
- Rate per booked tunnel-hour (example)
- $50
- Open hours per week (example)
- 60
- Booked share of open hours (example)
- 25%
- Rent, utilities, insurance, staff, other (example)
- $17,300 a month
What those inputs produce
- Total capital
- $245,800
- Booked tunnel-hours per week
- 105 of 420
- Monthly revenue
- $22,750
- Monthly net
- $5,450
- Payback
- 3 yr 9 mo
- Break-even utilization
- 19%
At these example inputs the facility has to book about 19% of its open tunnel-hours just to cover costs. The 25% booked share is a placeholder, not a forecast.
How sensitive it is to utilization.
| Booked share | Monthly revenue | Monthly net | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15% | $13,650 | -$3,650 | never |
| 25% | $22,750 | $5,450 | 3 yr 9 mo |
| 35% | $31,850 | $14,550 | 1 yr 5 mo |
| 50% | $45,500 | $28,200 | 9 mo |
| 65% | $59,150 | $41,850 | 6 mo |
Computed with the same function as the calculator, using 4.33 weeks a month. The swing between a quarter booked and a third booked is the lesson: small changes in utilization move payback by years, which is why step 2 matters more than the tunnel count.
Run it with your numbers →Five mistakes first-time operators make.
Sizing the building off cage length alone
A 70 ft tunnel needs about 80 ft of clear building length. Skip end clearance and the machine, the coach, or the second lane does not fit.
Leaving machines and lighting out of the budget
They are not in the build price. Pitching machines, hit tracking, high-bay LED lighting, and permits can add a meaningful share on top of the fit-out.
Averaging utilization across all open hours
Open hours include the slow ones. Weekday mornings book far below weeknights and weekends, so a facility can feel busy and still sit under break-even.
Signing the lease before the slab, ceiling, and zoning checks
A bad slab or a 12 ft eave is a lease you cannot undo. Do the checklist and the city call first.
Starting with no working capital
The first months of rent, utilities, and staff come before the bookings catch up. Budget for them separately from the build.
Starting a batting cage business: questions.
How much does it cost to start a batting cage business?
The fit-out of an existing building runs roughly $23K to $35K per tunnel, so a 3 to 4 tunnel Starter facility is about $90K to $140K and a 5 to 8 tunnel Training Center is about $160K to $245K. A real 7-tunnel build in North Texas came to about $29,400 per tunnel. On top of that you carry the building (lease deposits or a purchase), pitching machines, hit tracking, lighting, permits, and working capital for the first months.
Is a batting cage business profitable?
It depends on four numbers you control or can check: your rate per tunnel-hour, the hours you are open, the share of those hours you actually book, and your monthly costs, mostly rent and staff. We do not publish revenue benchmarks because we do not run the facilities we build. The operator calculator takes your own inputs and shows monthly net, payback, and the utilization you need to break even.
How many tunnels do I need?
Enough that the facility can cover its monthly costs at a utilization the market will actually book, and no more than the building holds. Small facilities start at 3 to 4 tunnels. Full-time training businesses with team rentals and lessons usually run 5 to 8. Run the break-even at your real rent and staff cost before picking a number.
How much space does a batting cage facility need?
Plan 12 to 15 ft of width and 80 ft or more of length per tunnel, with 14 ft of clear ceiling as the minimum and 16 ft preferred. A 5 to 8 tunnel facility wants roughly 6,000 to 10,000 sq ft of clear floor. The building checklist and the space planning guide both walk the clearances.
Do I need a permit or license to open an indoor batting facility?
Requirements are set by your city, county, and insurer, not by us. In an older warehouse the change of use, occupancy, fire marshal review, and restroom count are the usual items. Call the city planning office with the address and the use before you sign the lease, and ask your insurer what they require. We scope what the shell needs during the site visit.
Should I lease or buy the building?
Most first facilities lease, because it keeps the opening budget to the fit-out plus deposits and lets you prove the business before committing to real estate. The cost guide walks the lease and purchase arithmetic on an 8,000 sq ft floor, with market context that you should confirm with a broker.
Can I start small and add tunnels later?
Yes, if the building is laid out for it. We design the electrical, the walkway, and the divider rails so a Starter facility can add tunnels without tearing out what is already built. Tell us the building and the long-term tunnel count and we will lay out phase one so phase two does not rework it.
Can you help me plan before I have a building?
Yes. Send the address of a building you are considering, or the dimensions, and we will tell you how many tunnels fit and what the fit-out would cost. Outside DFW we start with a video walkthrough so nobody drives out before the budget makes sense. We build indoor facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska & Georgia.
Opening a facility outside Texas.
Climate, soil, public procurement, and what travels differ by state. Each page covers how a build works there.
Evaluating a building? Send us the address.
Tell us the building, the tunnels you are considering, and where you want to open. We will tell you how many tunnels fit, what the fit-out costs, and what to check before you sign. Free, and we respond within one business day.
Keep exploring
Cost guide
Indoor baseball facility cost
Per tunnel and per square foot, shell vs fit-out, and lease vs buy.
Real build
What a 7-tunnel build cost
A real contract, line by line, and how it scales to 6, 9, or 12 tunnels.
Calculator
Operator ROI calculator
Payback and break-even from your own rate, hours, and costs.
Checklist
Is this building a facility?
Enter your dimensions to see how many tunnels fit and what to verify before you sign.