To All Interested Players/Managers
a few updates, responses and testimonials from the Dome

saw one of the posts...clarify that games will not be limited to 1:25...games can and will go 2-21/2 hours. Guys will get their $$'s worth



Hi Guys, hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. I was at the
"dome" yesterday for the "baseball open house" and I thought I would share
some details for those who had interest.

First of all the dome is huge and its looks to me like its going to be
here for a while. All sports can be played inside, there are no
limitations. I can't imagine business-wise the dome not being a success,
they have no competition.

As far as baseball is concerned we will be able to play a real game. I
brought a laser rangefinder (for golf) with me to get some dimensions...
this sucker is BIG. To left center we've got 420ft, to dead left 390 to
center 340 and to right a short porch at 270. The field is set up on the
right point corner of the facility, with home plate being where the side
and end lines meet or where you would put a end-zone pylon in football.
That doesn't leave a lot of room behind the plate and because it's tucked
in the corner the roof is only about 20 feet high in that area. Rules will
have to be made for pop-ups.

Right field is really short and balls will definitely hit the wall, again
we will need special rules.

I shagged flys for about twenty minutes and surprisingly not a single one
hit the roof. During game situations with pitched balls the roof will come
into play but only for monster shots and straight up infield pop-ups, the
balls I shagged had a normal height for a lazy flyball to the middle of
the outfield and they didn't come close to touching the top. Big sluggers
who hit moonshots will probably get cheated on homers, maybe special
rules? I doubt many guys are going to be affected.

The turf is AWESOME. Its synthetic but looks like grass. It's about 3
inches long and has a spongy feel to it. It's soft and cushioned
underneath, you can dive and slide on it. Grounders are a pleasure to
field, the ball bounces perfectly. There are no seams and no imperfections
to cause a bad hop. And the ball comes off the turf beautifully without
any high bounces associated with astroturf which I don't think this stuff
is. Infielders, you are going to LOVE this stuff. I felt like Ozzie Smith
fielding the ball and I can butcher a grounder better than anyone, the
ball never takes a bad hop, it's just fun to take grounders on. The field
is all grass with no cutouts and I was told a portable "mound" will be in
place for games.

There will be issues with visibility for the outfielders and the hitters.
The dome is bright white with strong lighting around all the sides and the
ceiling. Outfielders will have a hard time picking up and tracking a
normal colored baseball in game situations. Easy fly balls won't be a
problem but hard line drives and balls that require a player to run to a
spot and then re-pick-up the ball will be tough. It's not so much the roof
as the bright lights. I heard that this can be fixed by using colored
balls.

As far as hitting, there will have to be a background draped in the
outfield and there should be no problem.

The facility also has batting tunnels for bp and pitching and coin
operated pitching machines which would be fun to warm up with before a
game.

All in all this should be a lot of fun for years to come. Get ready to
playball.

Dave (Orioles of Roy Hobbs League)

AGAIN - LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TAKE CHARGE OF A TEAM...WQILL KEEP YOU POSTED, AND LOOKING AT MID-JANURAY START-UP. Jim Dalton

I was told by one player it's the most fun he's had with his clothes on!!