Vote will give Cary one of best baseball training centers ‘in the world,’ says CEO

The Cary Town Council approved a $13 million expansion of the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Thursday night that backers say will give the town one of the world’s best baseball training centers.

“This community has just become synonymous with the highest level of baseball, and it really is a venue that serves all elements of the sport, both from the grassroots up to the elite level,” said Paul Seiler, executive director and CEO of USA Baseball, the national governing body for amateur baseball.

“Many major leaguers have come through here. Future major leaguers are going to come through here,” he said. “It’s not only one of the best facilities in this country, it’s one of the best facilities in the world.”

According to Alexandra Jones, director of capital planning and facilities for Cary, the expansion will add a new 40,000-square-foot facility to the site on Green Hope School Road between the complex parking lot and Coleman Field.

The new facility will have a covered 20,000-square-foot practice infield. The full-size infield could also be used to for pitching or batting lanes or recreation space. This building will also have offices, private instruction areas, classrooms and warehouse space, Jones said.

“This type of facility is unique to our area, and would be among the first of its kind on the East Coast operated by a municipality,” Jones said.

Solar panels to offset energy costs

Thursday’s vote authorized taking $4.5 million from the town’s general fund balance to help pay Monteith Construction Corp.

The total cost for the project is roughly $13.3 million, Jones said, which includes $6.6 million from the existing project budget with an additional $2.2 million from Cary’s allocation of the Wake County hospitality and occupancy tax revenue available for use following the completed construction of covered tennis courts, Jones said.

The facility will use roof-top solar panels to offset around half of the estimated energy costs, and the parking lot will have about 60 electric-vehicle charging stations, according to Jones.

Council member Lori Bush highlighted the importance of having sustainable energy features.

“I think the idea that the solar photovoltaic addition will generate almost half – 46% or something like that – of the power that’s needed is exactly where we want to go,” she said.

The agreement approved by the Town Council will allow USA Baseball use the four baseball fields at the National Training Complex, the four fields at Thomas Brooks Park and the new covered practice field in the new facility for 20 years, according to Chris Duty, stadium and facility operations manager.

“The intent of staff and our board is for this to be our home forever,” Seiler said.

USA Baseball will pay $8.9 million over this 20-year period for use of the fields, and provide an additional $6.8 million to lease offices for over 60 staff members, warehouse and retail space, paying $800,000 upfront as an investment to construction of the new facility.

‘It’s an amazing thing’

Initially constructed in 2007, the training complex is home to local baseball and softball programming for Cary residents. The complex also hosts local, regional and national games and events, including the inaugural Major League Baseball Draft Combine and the opportunity to host the 2021 United States Olympic baseball team, according to Duty.

“We love hosting these events and games which generate great value to our Cary community,” Duty said. “In addition, the facility generates revenue from college and local high school play.”

The Town of Cary and USA Baseball started discussing expanding in 2011 , according to Duty.

Council member Ed Yerha emphasized the impact the training complex has had by allowing Cary to be part of the careers of baseball players such as Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Mike Trout and New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole.

“It’s an amazing thing,” Yerha said. “The players that are coming through here that you’ve never heard of, you’re going to hear from them someday. And they owe it to the facility here at Cary, North Carolina, for a lot of their careers, so I totally support it.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 1:49 PM.