What’s it like playing in a dome?

[FP26]

Good way to get some ball in when it's too cold otherwise. Several good comments throughout the thread. The field plays fast. Tends to be dim. The dome we played at had two fields with space in between them. Anyone sitting there to watch a game has to keep their head on a swivel because balls from the other field can come from behind unexpectedly. We enjoyed our dome experiences but would prefer to play outside.

 

[Cannonball]

IMO, there are so many differences in "domes" that it is hard to give an accurate response. For example, my dd played in domes in Indy, and then Pekin, Peoria and Rosemont in Illinois. They were all different.

One thing I may have missed if it was mentioned is the time that your dd might play. I know that when she played in Indy, we played at 2 and 4 in the morning. As mentioned, have your head on a swivel. Balls will be flying everywhere. At the Rosemont Dome, the dd hit a bomb that went into the concession stand. People in line hit the ground when others started screaming. I remember the dd playing in one dome where I built up inside the dome itself. Also, if you are playing in a dome, be prepared for bad weather as you travel to and back from the games. We were caught two times in snow storms. The one in Indy was not bad. The one in Pekin, Illinois was horrible.

 

[Tatonka]

Have fun, we've never been inside that dome but it should be pretty nice given it's basically brand new! It claims to fit two "regulation" sized softball fields but I'm still curious about the ceiling height and high fly balls. My girls had never played in a dome until college and then there first experiences inside were semi-sketch at what seemed to be older, smaller and less than ideal facilities (yet it was still playing games so it was all good).

 

[GhostCatcher]

It's a way of life in the northern part of the country. I'll add this - the acoustics are strange. My daughter is a catcher, who's said she can barely hear the pitch call from the dugout depending on which side we're on, yet we can hear fans in the outfield talking during at bats. Every batted ball sounds crushed. Hard to describe.

Rosemont IL is nice. Dells Dome is better than it was. Hodag Dome in Rhinelander is newer and nice. Slugger Dome in Peoria is nice as well but as others have said, they can be dimly lit and they cram games in without a lot of regard for sleep schedules or travel.

 

[NJZoo]

Biggest thing in our area is that the tournaments start late afternoon/early evening (because they are booked during the day with soccer leagues), so the games can run until well past midnight - we won the championship at one tournament and didn't get out of there until about 2:30am! Other than that, it's like others have said - cold and dimly lit.

 

[Northball]

...without a lot of regard for sleep schedules or travel.

When they have to pay the electric bill for fans that run 24/7 to hold them up, they sure are going to create as many times slots to rent as they possibly can.

 

[GhostCatcher]

Of course?

When they have to pay the electric bill for fans that run 24/7 to hold them up, they sure are going to create as many times slots to rent as they possibly can.

 

[Lightning]

We’re playing at Future Legends Dome in Colorado.

DD did a camp in that dome last summer. She found it a little loud (she said it sounded like she was inside a bouncy castle), but she said it was a pretty good field.

Quite a few balls hit the ceiling that day, so make sure the players know the ground rules when they play.

And it definitely gets cold in there.

 

[Gambler Bob]

DD played in quite a few domes. Rosemont Dome and Peoria Sluggers Dome were probably the best for softball. Both those fields have full size softball fields. Rosemont Dome has slightly better lighting than Peoria. It is certainly more difficult on outfielders in terms of judging fly balls due to the lighting. Once the girls reach 14u there are a good amount of balls that go off the ceiling, it has always been a dead ball if the ball hits the ceiling. Very little foul ball territory, and if you pop up a foul ball it is very likely to hit the ceiling.

Games are generally pretty short. Not uncommon to only get 4 innings in during the time allotted. Rosemont and Peoria are pretty safe in terms of balls hitting spectators. Homeruns are the only balls that can hit a spectator at Rosemont, Peoria has a net that protects the spectators from foul balls.

 

[murphdog]

I am so glad DD is done playing in domes.
I swear I ended up with a sinus infection most of the times she played in the Adirondack Dome