What’s it like playing in a dome?

[4Martini]

Tell me about your experiences playing in indoor domes. I’ve never been inside one- but my daughter has a tournament coming up. Do they have full outfields? Or how does that work? Does the ball ever hit the dome? What does that count as?

I’m excited to watch some softball!

 

[gmorg]

A bit dimmer inside than outside, may or may not be heated that well. Don't bring a cart, just take a chair. Be on lookout for batted or thrown balls (probably no fence or mesh separating you from field)

Sent from my LE2115 using Tapatalk

 

[Vertigo]

My experience is it was on the cooler side, dim, stinky, and loud. Each place has different rules if the ball hits the top of the dome. It was ok - but glad we only did it twice.

 

[4Martini]

My experience is it was on the cooler side, dim, stinky, and loud. Each place has different rules if the ball hits the top of the dome. It was ok - but glad we only did it twice.

This one has been open less than a year - so maybe the new turf stink will still overpower the human generated stink.

 

[JayIndy]

Domes are just like fields. Some are amazing, some are awful. All depends which ones you are at

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

One example of a dome. Not a big fan of this place, but super local and hosts the high school winter league.

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

Another dome, I like this one better. But they are all different. For all their faults, it’s a way to see live action on the winter…

 

[LEsoftballdad]

We did a few camps in the Hudson Valley Sports Dome for Rise Ball. It was big enough for two full fields of action. What I didn't like was the place looked like a pack of Marlboro cigarettes.

 

[Cougars]

Domes are just like fields. Some are amazing, some are awful. All depends which ones you are at

100% true.

Not even considering maintenance/age of the facilities, they vary a lot in what they are trying to accomplish.

There are 2 within 15 minutes of my house. The one has 2 full size fields with 210' fences. Can play real games, when it's snowing outside. The other is a nice facility, but the 2 softball/baseball fields are basically full size infields with a sliver of outfield. If I remember correctly, about 110' down the lines, slightly deeper to center (square). Not horrible for younger teams, and at least gives older teams some live pitching/infield work/scrimmages during winter.

 

[benjey]

DD played in 4 different domes during her travel softball years and has been mentioned previously they vary just like outdoor facilities with each having different pros/cons. The domes I am quite familiar with are Adirondack Dome, Danbury Dome, Spooky Nook, and Hudson Valley Sports Dome. The first 3 host tournaments regularly the 4th only hosts camps as far as I know. If you are playing in any of these and have specific questions I would be happy to answer.

Generally speaking the ball is live off the dome if it hits in fair territory and yes it is fairly common.