For several years, GTDC board members talked about securing our own practice facility for the players.  The primary driving force for this is the fact that it is difficult to do any off-season training without having access to a building that accommodates these activities.  Basketball and football players can practice outside during the off-season.  For baseball...not so much.

In January 2009, these discussions turned a little more serious when we were told of a vacant warehouse suite on the northwest side of Milwaukee.  After the 2009 season, the board met, toured the building and voted to move forward with negotiations to lease the space.

Humble beginnings...

During the fall and winter of 2009, club members volunteered their time to rehabilitate the 7,000 square foot space.  This included emptying the items that had accumulated - office furniture, painting equipment, file cabinets and a moving van.  Countless dumpster-loads of trash were removed.

...with much work to do.

Cables were hung to accommodate the batting cages and carpeting was installed.

Then the baseball equipment started arriving.  Matts for the catching area and batters' boxes were put down.  L-Screens, portable pitching mounds, batting tees and pitching machines were added.

By the end of January, Germantown Diamond Club had their own indoor practice facility - available for Diamond Club use 24/7, every day of the year.  There aren't many baseball organizations of any size that offer a facility as nice as this one.  It holds five batting cages and two 60' lanes for pitching, the nets are retractable, which allows for the creation of a large open area.

Things begin to take shape.