The Huntley Red Raiders Fastpitch travel softball program has opened up a new indoor facility in time for the winter.

The organization previously had been renting out indoor space wherever available, but that’s nearly impossible to do in the winter, organization board President Joe Saftig said.

Red Raiders Fastpitch signed the lease in August, Saftig said, but had been looking for a new space in town for a couple years. In the months since signing the space, Saftig has been among the people who gutted and renovated it.

“We wanted it to be nice,” Saftig said.

The facility opened in November at 10735 Wolf Drive. The athletes were eager to see the new space, and Saftig said you would have thought they’d received a puppy for Christmas.

Amenities at the new facility include a classroom, and program leaders wanted brand new turf and as wide of batting cages as possible to simulate the outdoors, Todd Garifo, the vice president of the organization, said. Garifo, who also helped to build out the facility, said the space is not a dome, but probably the “next best thing.”

Everything but the four outer walls is retractable, Garifo said.

“It gives you a lot of options,” Saftig said.

The facility also allows for teams to have a space to practice, and each team gets the space a couple of times a week.

Players can also come and work on individual skills. Red Raiders Fastpitch brought in a throwing instructor on a recent weekend, Saftig said. Players have access to private hitting, pitching and catching coaches.

Stephanie Housh, who coaches in the program, said the new facility is much bigger than other practice spaces the organization has used. Her team can do full field work, and players can throw from catcher to second base, something they couldn’t do in the old facility.

Housh said there are also four tunnels in the new facility. It depends on what her team is working on that day, but they can do hitting or fielding drills. Housh also mentioned the classroom in the back, and noted there is an area in the hallway for the players to put their equipment and keep it out of the way.

“It’s been great,” Housh said of the new space.

Said Saftig: “Everyone is so excited and so impressed.”

The new space has amenities that adults in the organization wish they had as kids, Saftig said, adding the organization “can’t be more excited” to give players the opportunities to grow as kids, people and softball players right in Huntley.

In addition to softball, Saftig said the facility is also meant to be a place where players can hang out, watch things like the College World Series or come support other Red Raider Fastpitch teams.

Garifo said he could envision the facility as a place kids could “gravitate” to and a get-together place.

The organization began in 2010 under the Huntley Park District, Saftig said, adding Red Raiders Fastpitch branched off in 2019. It has grown from two teams to 12, and about 148 girls participate in the full-time travel softball program. The organization has built a “very good reputation” in the softball world in Illinois and other states, including Wisconsin and Indiana, Saftig said.

Garifo said the program had a facility elsewhere in Huntley, but “we really kind of outgrew that space.” The Wolf Drive space is close to cheer and gymnastics facilities. Garifo said some Red Raiders Fastpitch players also do cheer, so they can walk between the two facilities.

It’s a “good fit” for the community, Garifo said.