Pending approval from their neighbours, Lacombe will soon be home to a new indoor batting cage and training facility out on Wolf Creek Drive.

First they asked for approval from the municipal planning commission last night, in order to take their facility public, as it is currently being used by private citizens on an invite only basis.

President of Blackfalds Minor Baseball and Co-owner of the batting cages Chris Overacker says an indoor practice space is important in a place with constantly changing weather patterns such as here in Central Alberta.

"It'll add that ability for kids to train year round for baseball or for any sport for that matter. With our weather being so unpredictable, it's just a lot easier to plan practices earlier, so you get that jump on teams that don't have these kinds of facilities."

Teams from Lacombe, Blackfalds, and Red Deer have utilized the facility, and Overacker would love to see the general public benefit from the batting cages and other amenities they will offer.

Right now, there are no machines; people will have to pitch to get a friend to pitch for them for the time being. He's hoping to have pitching machines installed, as well as a small retail storefront installed, and have the facility in full swing by the end of September.