Fort Mill’s championship baseball program will redevelop Rock Hill property
A baseball program built on a historic run of success in Fort Mill plans to open a new facility in Rock Hill.
Mill Town Industrial Properties submitted plans April 7 to rezone property near District 3 Stadium in Rock Hill for a new baseball training facility. The company is connected to Mill Town Baseball Academy, which formed from the same coaches and many of the same players who won a state championship and then the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series last summer representing Fort Mill.
The Rock Hill plan would transform a former lumberyard just south of the high school football stadium, between Chester Street and Lancaster Avenue.
There are five buildings on the property, which is more than 3 acres. Three buildings would be removed. One would be used for indoor baseball training. The other is shown on a submitted sketch plan as a possible restaurant.
The removed buildings would make way for parking to serve the project. A later phase would be an outdoor baseball field for training.
Chris Mattox is listed as the applicant. Ryan Smith addressed the Rock Hill city planning commission to outline plans. Both were coaches with the Fort Mill squad last summer that since has grown to include travel teams as Mill Town Baseball.
“Chris and I grew up playing baseball around the Fort Mill, Charlotte area,” Smith told the commission earlier this week. “Went on to play college ball, each of us. Both of us have been fairly successful in our careers and our lives, and we attribute a lot of that to being raised on the ballfields. Being taught life skills through baseball.”
The success of last summer’s team, formed of all stars from the town parks and recreation program, continued even beyond the World Series run.
“From there we said, ‘We can’t stop here,’” Smith said.
The main building that will be used for training is 11,000 square feet and has 20-plus-foot ceilings. It would be perfect for baseball training, Smith said, and softball at some point, too. Smith said he’d like Fort Mill, Rock Hill and surrounding areas to become known as a baseball hotbed.
“It just makes perfect sense for us to further that mission,” he said.
The planning commission recommended the rezoning, but the final decision comes from Rock Hill City Council. Rock Hill is a city known for youth sports, from its investment in sites like Cherry Park and Manchester Meadows to its “Football City USA” moniker and familiar “Competition Lives Here” motto.
The training site also would be an infill project to grow downtown development, other common city goals.
“What you guys are doing, working with youth, that’s right up our alley here,” said planning commission chair Randy Graham.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 11:37 AM.
