The latest insight into British baseball facilities and the way forward

A survey and follow up report by the British Baseball Federation has given the community the first insight into the existing landscape of baseball facilities and infrastructure throughout Great Britain.

Based on the “Our Future” vision of the Federation, the following recommendations for action are made (see the report for more details):

• Work with suppliers to provide better options for clubs

• Allocate funding specifically for Youth Facilities

• Support clubs to secure Land Access Agreements

• Establish Facility Standards for all clubs

• Encourage clubs to host Saturday Game Hosting

A survey was sent to all British baseball clubs irrespective of affiliation. 42 clubs responded covering 59 diamonds and 42 baseball facilities.

The Facilities Survey 2023 report presents a variety of insights on the state of both Facilities and Diamonds across the British baseball landscape in line with the BBF vision outlined in “Our Future”

BSUK has also launched its 2024 Facilities Fund and details can be found here and we would encourage to submit bids particularly for developing your baseball facilities.

Key Points

• A majority of facilities possess toilets close to their respective diamonds. 37% of facilities still do not possess any changing room facilities.

• A majority of facilities are maintained by none club volunteers (56%).

• A majority of facilities possess some form of permanent onsite storage (67%).

• There is an even spread across the various options for field hire/use agreements however only a minor number of the agreements are in place longer than 12 months (23%)

• A 100% of facilities possess first aid capabilities however further healthcare is limited with only seven facilities across the UK that possess access to defibrillators.

• Car parking is available close to diamonds (96%) however less spaces than 50 are available (45%).

• The availability of Refreshments and Water is only available in 20% of facilities.

• Only nine out of 59 diamonds (15%) possess the capabilities to host youth baseball

• A majority of diamonds possess Backstops (64%) and Dirt Pitching Mounds (81%). In contrast, a minority of diamonds possess any dug-out facilities (14%) or bullpen (10%).

• A majority of diamonds utilise a non-permeant mesh fencing solution (58%).

• The majority of diamonds, (80%,) feature sunken bases. However, additional facilities essential for developing hitters, such as Batting Cages, are absent in the majority of diamonds, accounting for 68%.

• Seating and scoreboards for spectators are also lacking in 80% and 64% of cases, respectively.

• Equipment for maintaining diamonds, including rakes, tamps, and line painting tools, is present in just over 50% of instances.

• In a wet climate, over 57% of clubs lack the means to protect diamonds from excess rain.