Hobart new home base for Little League center
Kids, parents, coaches from across region get first look at facility
Holding a blue baseball mitt, 5-year-old Olivia Gillhouse of Chesterton, herky-jerked into a windup and hurled a baseball at the target.
With a determined look, her blue oversized baseball cap dipped a bit as she threw the ball inside a room that once was home to Hobart American Legion Post 54 members.
Like other American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, Hobart’s faced a declining membership making it hard to pay bills. It put its building, at 208 S. Linda St., up for sale in 2021.
Meanwhile, District One Little League director Rich Arndt imagined the benefits a training facility could do for young players like Olivia and her brother, Owen, 8, who play in Chesterton’s State Park league where their dad, Eric Gillhouse, is the president.
Arndt scoured real estate listings seeking a central location for the league’s 17 programs that include hundreds of girls and boys from ages 4 to 16 who play on diamonds from Wheatfield to Whiting.
“This popped up on the search and I saw its huge back end,” said Arndt, of Chesterton. “I realized we could hold umpire training, district meetings, and hitting and pitching training and parties.”
Previously, the Little League didn’t have its own office and meetings took place wherever they could find a spot. There was no place for training.
In late 2021, District One used the proceeds from the sales of the Portage and Merrillville Little League fields to purchase the 9,600-square-foot building for $225,000, Arndt said.
“The Legion was great to work with,” said Arndt as workers began the transformation last year, repurposing the bar, kitchen and social hall into a baseball training area, accented by District One’s orange colors.
Kids, parents and coaches from across the region got their first look at the facility during Saturday’s grand opening.
Michael Hill, of Portage, was president of the Portage Little League when it disbanded four
years ago due to a lack of volunteers. Kids in the Portage league moved to the nearby South Haven Little League, which is hosting the state tourney this year.
“Rich has had this dream for years,” Hill said of the training facility that’s offered free to Little League teams.
The nonprofit had to add fire extinguishers, accessible entrances, new heating and air conditioning and security cameras in addition to the training center equipment.
It no longer needed a full kitchen, so a snack area just has a popcorn machine, refrigerator and microwave.
In designing the facility, Arndt took input from league coaches and officers. “Everyone was on board. They realized the training and tryouts they could do. It’s a multi-use facility.”
They added an observation room for parents to watch their kids train with a coach. Parents aren’t allowed inside the training area during a session.
League officials offered tours for guests and a few kids hung out in the observation room, eating hot dogs and watching a movie. Others tried out the batting cage and pitching lanes.
“This gives them the opportunity to train yearround,” said Ron Oldham, of Hobart, whose two boys, C.J. Chapman, 12, and Joshua Oldham, 12, explored the building.
“I like everything about it,” said C.J.
Hobart Mayor Josh Huddleston, who said he’s a Little League alum, brought his own son, Colt, 5, to check out the training facility. Colt already plays on a Hobart team.
“This is awesome being in our home town,” Huddleston said of the facility. “Hobart was lacking in repurposing buildings. This is great.”
Jason Harrigan, of the Hobart Chamber of Commerce, offered praise to the District One’s vision.
“This is a fabulous facility. It’s just amazing what you guys have done here,” he said.
“I think we’re on the right path,” said Arndt who greeted a couple of downstate Little League officials who came to view the new facility. Arndt thinks it might be the only one in Indiana.
“If we don’t make it inviting and fun, the kids won’t come back,” Arndt said of the sport he loves.
“The mission of Little League is to create better citizens … and hopefully create better memories,” said Arndt.