The Harsh Reality of Running an Indoor Baseball Facility — And How CageList Is Changing the Game
Running a baseball or softball training facility sounds like a dream job. For many former players and passionate coaches, it’s the ultimate way to stay in the game, give back, and build a business around the sport they love.
But here’s the truth few people talk about:
Operating a brick-and-mortar indoor facility is one of the toughest and least scalable business models in the industry.
And if you're paying attention to the direction of youth baseball and softball, you know — everything is changing.
Why Indoor Facilities Are So Hard to Sustain
On paper, the business model seems solid:
- Rent a big warehouse
- Fill it with cages and turf
- Run lessons, camps, and travel teams
- Grow a community
But the economics don’t lie.
Here’s why most indoor facilities struggle:
- Huge square footage = massive rent or mortgage
- High insurance and utility costs
- Constant maintenance (netting, turf, lighting, HVAC)
- Low margins on private lessons unless running 12+ hours/day
- Weekend traffic only spikes during tryouts or pre-season
To stay afloat, most facilities pivot into running multiple travel teams, which seems smart at first… until it waters down the quality of coaching, culture, and player development.
Instead of high-level training, it becomes a high-volume hustle — teams for profit, not purpose.
How Travel Ball Became the Crutch
Facilities rely on travel teams to stay profitable. That means:
- 6–10+ teams under one brand
- Dozens of kids to manage
- Coaches stretched thin
- Less individual attention
- More politics, less player focus
What was meant to be a training hub often turns into a youth sports machine. Players and parents feel it. Coaches feel it. The purity of the game gets diluted.
CageList Is Disrupting the Industry Overnight
We’re not here to throw stones — we’re here to offer a better way.
Introducing: CageList
The first national platform where anyone can list or rent private batting cages — often located in:
- Backyards
- Side yards
- Barns
- Garages
- Custom home builds
With CageList, coaches no longer need to sign a 5-year lease and take on $200,000+ in overhead just to train kids.
Now, they can:
- Build a high-quality cage right on their property
- Rent it out to local players
- Run small-group lessons with no travel time
- Stay independent, flexible, and profitable
Parents no longer have to drive 40 minutes to a packed warehouse to get reps.
They can train next door.
We’re Building the Future — One Cage at a Time
At CageList, we believe every community in America should have access to local, high-quality training — without needing a mega facility.
As we grow:
- Coaches will take control of their careers
- Families will find better, closer options
- Cage owners will make passive income
- The best facilities will pop up overnight
This isn’t a prediction — it’s already happening.
Will Indoor Facilities Survive?
Some will. Especially the ones that innovate, create culture, and prioritize training over transactions.
But many?
They’ll be replaced by a more flexible, smarter model.
Not because of competition — but because of evolution.
It will no longer make sense to open an indoor facility with sky-high overhead when you can:
- Build a turf-covered, fully lit cage in your yard
- Rent it on CageList
- Coach whenever you want
- Train with no commute
- Own your time and your space
The New Era of Training Is Here
CageList is building the Airbnb of baseball and softball training.
If you’re a coach, parent, player, or league — you already know the game is changing.
We’re just giving you the platform to lead the change, not just react to it.
Join the Movement
The old way is breaking down.
The new way is being built.
And we’re doing it — one backyard at a time.
🧢 CageList is changing the game.