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The Shack Sports Complex opened two months ago at 250 S. Kinzie Ave. in Bradley, offering a place for local baseball and softball players to improve their skills in an indoor environment with year-round access.
The Shack is owned by Scott and Amanda Armer-Irps, of Bourbonnais, who are involved in other businesses around the region.
Scott is part of the ownership of Country Chevrolet in Herscher and several restaurant-bars. Amanda is a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Speckman Realty and is a Kankakee County Board member.
Both competed in sports at the college level with Scott playing football and Amanda basketball.
“We did this facility because there wasn’t anything around for our kids to go to,” Amanda said. “We knew that there was a need out there after House of Sportz [Elite Training in Bourbonnais] closed, to be able to go in there and bat and pitch and have that around here. There’s not that many people that are doing that in our area.”
She said the closest indoor facility which offers similar amenities is in Mokena.
The Shack, which is open to everybody, offers individual private lessons by local instructors for players as well as a variety monthly memberships and team rentals.
“We have multiple trainers for pitching and or batting for both baseball and softball,” Amanda said.
Monthly memberships begin at $45 which includes two, 30-minute batting cage sessions. A monthly family membership is $75 which includes 30-minute cage rental four times a week. An unlimited monthly membership is $99 which includes 30 minutes of cage rental seven times per week.
A team rental is $75 which is use of the full facility for 75 minutes. A one-time, non-membership session of $25 gets an individual a 30-minute batting cage rental.
Amanda said two local high school teams will be using the facility this winter. The Shack has three batting cages and an area dedicated to pitching.
The Shack is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Rental times can be scheduled on the website, theshackcomplex.com.
“It’s like a gym membership,” Amanda said. “You schedule your time online, and you get a code to get in, and then you go in during your time. It’s an honor system.”
https://daily-journal.com/news/shack-sports-complex-opens-in-bradley/article_418f6620-a5ee-11ef-b57d-dfbf9e1e7488.html