Raleigh has one of the 10 best batting cages in the country, USA Today says
One of the best batting cages in the United States, according to USA Today, is in the Triangle.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Grand Slam USA has been named of the 10 top batting cages by the publication.
“Speaking for the entire team at Grand Slam USA, we are passionate about baseball, softball and helping others love them as much as we do,” company president John Guyer said in a statement emailed to The News & Observer.
It’s one of two North Carolina businesses that made the list, after being nominated by an expert panel and voted on by readers.
Here’s what to know.
USA Today 10Best batting cages 2025
Here’s how Raleigh’s Grand Slam USA stacks up:
- No. 1: Swing Kings Miami (Miami, Florida)
- No. 2: Swing Science Hitting Lab (Chicago, Illinois)
- No. 3: On Deck Athletics (Clinton, Tennessee)
- No. 4: Top Gun Baseball Academy (Sykesville, Maryland)
- No. 5: Mannino’s Grand Slam USA (Dublin, Ohio)
- No. 6: Legends Miniature Golf & Batting Cages (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
- No. 7: The Baseball Zone (Gaithersburg, Maryland)
- No. 8: Cherokee Batting Range (Woodstock, Georgia)
- No. 9: Grand Slam USA (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- No. 10: Greensboro Batting Center (Greensboro, North Carolina)
About Grand Slam USA
Founded in 1995 as a franchise, Grand Slam USA just left its longtime home on Western Boulevard for a new location at 1515 Garner Station Blvd., which was most recently home to the discount retailer Big Lots.
The new space is 32,000 square feet, 12,000 square feet larger than its original location. The Western Boulevard site, owned by Raleigh-based Cityplat, is expected to be redeveloped into a mixed-use “live-work-play” complex.
With extra space at the new location, Grand Slam USA is:
- Increasing the size of its retail shop, which sells baseball and softball equipment
- Adding new, more customizable automated machines to accommodate more hitters
- Adding bigger tunnels
- Installing a golf simulator
- Creating a family lounge
“We are incredibly grateful to be able to serve the community by providing the services that we do,” Guyer told The N&O in a previous phone interview. “It’s something that work we love and are passionate about, and we love the fact that we’re able to share that with members of the community and and the region at large.”
Grand Slam USA 2.0 is open for select services, such as glove relacing and bat grip wrapping, but the store hasn’t celebrated its official grand opening. That is tentatively scheduled for late May.
About Greensboro Batting Center
The Greensboro facility was the only other North Carolina business to make USA Today’s 10Best list.
According to the batting center’s website, it was founded by former Boston Red Sox player Alan Ashkinazy in February 1987, making it a few years older than Grand Slam USA.
Greensboro Batting Center is 53,000 square feet, the website says. Like Grand Slam USA, it offers training areas for individuals and teams and lessons.
This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM.
