Introducing The 108: London’s New Home For Baseball in Brent Cross Town

Baseball, one of America’s favourite sports, is becoming ever more popular in the UK. So we’re thrilled to announce that a new, state-of-the-art, indoor baseball and softball facility, the first of its kind in Europe, is coming to Brent Cross Town this autumn.

Named The 108 after the number of stitches on a baseball, the facility encompasses 4 dual-sport batting cages equipped with HitTrax, providing hi tech hitting simulation that can test and measure your launch angle, exit velocity and distance, and full size adult infield (the area of a baseball field enclosed by the three bases and home plate).

The 40,000 sq. ft training facility will be for everyone and anyone interested in baseball, from professional teams and elite athletes to young people and adults playing for fun, casual hitters, softball players, and people wanting to have a go at baseball for the first time.

Alongside sports equipment, The 108 will have a restaurant and bar, big screens to watch games on and a space for parties and events, making it as much a facility for sports fans as for players.

Twenty thousand people currently play baseball or softball in the UK, but the sport has been held back by a lack of all-weather facilities. By allowing players to train throughout the winter, The 108 is set to give the sport a massive boost.

Baseball is already relatively established in The London Borough of Barnet: Herts Baseball Club established their London team in Basing Hill Park, a stones throw from Brent Cross Town, in 2019, and in 2022, The Brent Cross Town Community Fund provided funding for them to buy a baseball pitching machine.

The creation of baseball enthusiasts and long time Herts Baseball Club members Maxwell Trautman and Michael Wakelam, The 108 aims to be an exciting and inclusive facility for the local community and for baseball fans throughout the UK. It is supported by the UK’s governing bodies for baseball and softball and by Major League Baseball, whose London series will be held at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 24th and 25th of June, and plans to support BaseballSoftballUK, the national development agency for baseball and softball, by hosting its annual winter academies for both baseball and softball, as well as winter indoor softball leagues.

The 108 will be offering free taster sessions for local schools making sure more children and young people are introduced to baseball, and encouraging the wider community to come and make use of this fantastic new facility, whether as elite players training for the major league, friends playing together on the weekends or first time players just wanting to try a fun new activity.