Berkeley Super: Batting Cages Will Generate Revenue, Benefit Students

Berkeley Township school district superintendent James D. Roselli touted the installation of batting cages at Berkeley Township Elementary School during a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, saying they will enhance students' interest in sports and generate revenue for the district.

The district recently purchased two batting cages for $10,000 and installed about $6,000 worth of turf to go with them, Roselli said.

The batting cages, billed as an "indoor pitching/hitting facility," will be leased hourly to individuals or local baseball teams from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, Roselli said. Teams based in Berkeley – or individual Berkeley residents – can lease the facility for $20 per hour for one cage or $40 for both. Out-of-town residents will pay $40 per hour for one cage or $80 for both.

Roselli said outside facilities charge as much as $200 per hour for batting cages, so the district's cages should generate a good deal of interest. The money generated from the leasing fees will go toward "non curricular budget items" such as police officers to patrol the schools, he said.

No one spoke about the batting cages in a public comment period during the meeting, though Roselli was criticized online for appropriating money for batting cages when the district does not have a baseball team.

"I do have two sons who play baseball, and if their teams choose to rent the cages, I will be paying the nonresident rate," said Roselli, a Lacey resident who faced additional criticism by some who said a traveling baseball team he is involved with in another town could benefit from the Berkeley facility.

But, Roselli said, Berkeley students will be able to make good use of the batting cages, which will be used as the district begins to offer a baseball program to all fifth and sixth grade students during their physical education classes this spring.

"This is about the critical time where kids pack it in with sports, just as they’re leaving here and going to middle school," said Roselli, adding that sports are "a gateway to academic achievement."

"The children of these schools will utilize [the facility] for years to come," he said.

The district is hosting an open house to showcase the facility on Thursday at 7 p.m., district officials said.