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The existing purpose-built baseball facility at Hydebank Playing Fields in Belfast has been enhanced with the region's first ever baseball batting cage.
Recently opening at Hydebank, the batting cage is an essential piece of equipment for sports development in learning and mastering the essential skills of hitting and pitching in the sports of baseball and softball.
This project demonstrates Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council's commitment to offering a diverse range of sports and further develop its sporting offering to the community.
The new baseball batting cage was initiated, co-ordinated and facilitated through a sports diplomacy initiative lead by Dr Christopher Stange of the Consulate General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in Northern Ireland. Funding was secured from Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council's 'Keep the Ball Rolling' grant and Baseball Ireland.
Speaking at the opening, Councillor Sharon Skillen, Chair of the Leisure & Community Development Committee, said: "I welcome the continuing development of baseball and softball within Lisburn & Castlereagh with the opening of the first baseball batting cage in Northern Ireland. Supported through the council's Local Development Plan 21/22 it will provide a high-quality space where teams can practice and compete whilst offering an opportunity for the public to take up a new sport, to enhance and improved on their personal health and wellbeing. I am delighted that the establishment of Hydebank Playing Fields as the premier venue for baseball and softball in Northern Ireland has enabled it to host international tournaments and bring increased tourism to the area."
Consul General Dr Stange added: "I would like to applaud the long-standing relationship developed with Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council and all partners in further developing the sports of baseball and softball regionally. This facility brings together both local and newer communities, many hailing from North America, Caribbean, South America, Asia and the Pacific, where baseball and softball are either national or main sports."
