Commission Recommends Approval for DBAT Indoor Baseball and Softball Training Center at Shoulders Hill

At its January meeting, the Suffolk City Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of conditional use permit CUP 2024-030 for DBAT (Developing Beliefs, Attitudes and Traditions), a national baseball and softball training academy that proposed a 12,000-square-foot indoor facility in Building 1 of Shoulders Hill Commerce Park.

Staff planner Shannon Wolf said the site is zoned M-1 (Light Industrial) and located in the city’s Northern Growth Area employment center. Wolf told commissioners the facility would include batting and pitching cages, storage, a flex/party room and a pro shop, and that the UDO’s minimum parking requirement for indoor recreation (1.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet) would be met by the proposed parking layout.

Applicant Matthew Finch told the commission DBAT operates more than 170 locations nationally and will offer monthly memberships, private lessons, camps, clinics, cage rentals and a pro shop. Finch said the Suffolk location would create five full-time jobs, five part-time jobs and an estimated 10 contracted instructor positions, and outlined proposed hours of operation: Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday noon–6 p.m.

Commissioners asked whether the recently adopted comprehensive plan language cited in staff’s report was current; staff confirmed the 2045 comprehensive plan had been approved by City Council on Dec. 18. A motion to recommend approval with staff conditions carried 7-0. The commission’s recommendation will go to City Council for final action on Feb. 19.