Batbox, a company with three baseball simulator venues in Mexico, is expanding into the United States. Batbox in Addison is expected to open in 2025, CEO Jose Vargas said.
While Dallas-Fort Worth has plenty of “eatertainment” sports venues offering pickleball, golf, bowling, ax-throwing, surfing and more, Batbox appears to be the first large-scale baseball simulator in the area. Forget about hitting balls in a batting cage in the heat; Batbox is an indoor venue with cocktails, cheeseburger birria tacos and cornbread mac and cheese.
It also has traditional baseball food, gussied up, like Wagyu hot dogs with bourbon pickles.
Batbox could be a competitor for Texas-based TopGolf or Missouri-based Chicken N Pickle, two fast-growing bars with sports at the center.
Vargas said D-FW is Batbox’s first U.S. location because of its “deep-rooted baseball culture and extensive market potential.” Addison is in the middle of our two baseball draws, 25 miles from the Texas Rangers’ turf in Arlington and 10 miles from the RoughRiders’ minor league stadium in Frisco.
He calls Addison a “perfect testing ground” to see if Batbox can hit a home run in the United States.
The company just secured $7.3 million in funding to grow Batbox to 25 locations by 2030. (Wow.) Other cities on their map include Houston and Boston. Batbox will target markets with MLB teams, a press release stated.
Up to 18 people can play in each of 10 batting bays with simulators powered by Strikezon technology. Games can be 3, 6 or 9 innings long. Or, the format can change into pitching contests, batting challenges or a home run derby. Players will swing at a flying baseball, aiming to hit it toward a fictional field on the simulator screen.
But unlike a traditional baseball game, the athletes’ cold beer can be just a few steps away.