QCBJ Newsmakers: MLB tabs TBK Complex as training partner 

This story is part of the QCBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal includes some of the biggest stories we brought you in 2023. It's also a tradition by our parent company, Corridor Media Group, based in North Liberty, Iowa. This story was originally published in April 2023.

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A chance meeting on the set of a hit Adam Sandler movie has the Quad Cities prepared for a home run of its own beginning next month. While the grand opening date awaits completion of renovation work now underway, Major League Baseball’s youth baseball and softball training partner EL1 Sports is poised to open its 15th facility nationally at the TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf.

Called EL1 Quad Cities, the project will expand and enhance the baseball and softball training opportunities available since the local complex opened in 2018. Davenport Assumption High School grad and former minor league baseball player Cory Harris, of the Quad Cities-based Legends Baseball Academy, remains the lead instructor. However, now Mr. Harris will have more amenities to meet a growing community demand for professional sports instruction and workout space — especially indoors during the winter and wet weather.

TBK Bank Sports Complex opened up ample space for the EL1 addition by moving youth gymnastics to the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley in Bettendorf. The Y acquired additional space by purchasing the Life Fitness Center from the City of Bettendorf in advance of the city’s construction of a new community center this year. Among the coming attractions at EL1 Quad Cities are:

• Eleven dedicated batting tunnels/cages, outfitted with the latest high-tech equipment — such as HitTrax, Rapsodo and Diamond Kinetics — to enhance learning as well as add next-generation connection by “gamifying” the experience.
• Teams looking to scrimmage or work inside also will enjoy the addition of a 90 foot-by-60-foot indoor turf diamond. 
• Four additional retractable batting tunnels can be used in that space, too.
• Plans also are to have up to seven portable pitching mounds for use as needed.

EL1 Sports CEO Griff Long declined to discuss financial specifics, but TBK Bank Sports Complex founder and owner Doug Kratz said the investment is a “real game-changer for our area.” “We want to be a regional complex for young people to go and chase their dreams,” Mr. Kratz told the QCBJ. “And this is another positive step in that direction.”

How did it happen?

Before becoming an outside consultant for the Quad Cities sports complex a little over a year ago, former pro and college basketball coach Bobby Verdun served as a consultant on his famous friend Mr. Sandler’s 2022 Netflix-released basketball dramedy “Hustle.” The movie began production in Philadelphia in October 2020 after Mr. Verdun found a basketball gym to rehearse and shoot some scenes. That’s how he met and became friends with Frank Decembrino, the owner of a Philadelphia-based multi-sport facility used by the film.

Fast forward to 2022: Soon after Mr. Verdun joined TBK Sports Complex, Mr. Kratz expressed a desire to grow the baseball/softball training space. So, Mr. Verdun thought of his friend Mr. Decembrino’s new role with EL1 Sports as the growing company’s senior director of business development. The training and development firm of EL1 earned the stamp last March 31 as the youth baseball and softball training partner of Major League Baseball after more than a decade in the training game. After the two friends discussed the possibility, Mr. Decembrino soon spent a weekend in the Quad Cities and later discovered EL1 co-founder Aaron Trolia was a minor league teammate of Mr. Harris. “It just seemed meant to be,” Mr. Decembrino recalled. “I was just floored seeing TBK for the first time. I’ve been there five times now (including in February), and I’m still blown away. It’s one of the best facilities in the nation. “Cory’s program also is great. We also met some folks from the Barnstormers youth program, and the people there are so passionate about baseball and softball. The first time I called back to my team at EL1, I remember saying, ‘This is baseball heaven.’ “So I went to MLB and said we have an opportunity to grow in the Quad Cities and State of Iowa and they checked all the boxes for us. So, we invested in Cory and decided to set up camp at TBK.” Finally, during last July’s MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Mr. Kratz met with company officials and toured an EL1 facility — one of two Dodgers Training Academies in Southern California — before finalizing plans. “When I was brought aboard here, I knew right away we needed to make TBK a regional and national presence — not just a local presence,” said Mr. Verdun, the founder and president of a Massachusetts-based fitness industry advising firm, Active Entities Consulting. “And relationships like we have with EL1 are going to help us do that. What's really unique is EL1 being the grassroots programming for Major League Baseball, with the ultimate goal to put these developmental programs in every Major League city. “TBK is really a different model because it serves several teams – and having regional training centers like this could be a real boon for them as well as us.”

Who is EL1 Sports?

Founded in 2010, the company began in the Pacific Northwest with five owned and operated facilities in the Seattle area, which through a newly launched partnership with the Seattle Mariners, are now Mariners Training Centers. By 2018, Elysian Park Ventures — the private investment firm created by the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers — purchased and rebranded the company to EL1 Sports, and expanded to Southern California with two Dodgers Training Academies. The official youth sports and training operations programs of the LA Dodgers also operate a facility in Hawaii that was rebranded and reopened last April. Since the MLB announcement last March, EL1 has grown to include five facilities in the Philadelphia/Mid-Atlantic area — four in Pennsylvania, one in Southern New Jersey — as well as another in the Detroit area (Clinton Township, Michigan). “We’re thrilled to be adding the Quad Cities, and we’re hoping we can get to other parts of the state (of Iowa),” Mr. Decembrino said. The likeliest additions immediately after the QC, though, include two more possibilities each in Philadelphia and Detroit, as well as another California site, he added. Expansion potential to Idaho, Oregon and other parts of Washington state also have grown, Mr. Decembrino said, with the Mariners partnership finalized last month for sites in the Pacific Northwest. Through the MLB partnership, EL1’s current mission nationally includes “expanding access to high-quality instruction for players of all skill levels and socioeconomic backgrounds,” last year’s announcement noted, via private lessons, camps, clinics and other programs. Besides rentable workout space to organizations, EL1 also offers “a full suite of administrative solutions,” Mr. Decembrino said, with the tasks ranging from roster management to accounting and marketing. The company also supports former athletes with post-playing careers in instruction, facility management and business development by helping alleviate “some of the administrative and financial challenges by providing access to state-of-the-art technology and business management assistance,” Mr. Decembrino said.

TBK ‘industry leader right now’

Why the Quad Cities? Mr. Verdun flips the script and instead asks, “Why not?” “The misnomer is people who think, ‘Quad Cities? What could be going on out there?’” Mr. Verdun said. “I actually think TBK is an industry leader right now. They've really positioned themselves with the model that they've created. It’s only a matter of time before it’s duplicated and replicated across the country.”

Mr. Decembrino said he felt a certain energy upon visiting for the first time last year. “There seems to be a lot of momentum – and a lot of shared, common vision and philosophy,” Mr. Decembrino said. “It truly feels all about families and kids, and they work really hard to get the best opportunities for them -- so it matches quality, economically and opportunity-wise. “Personally, it just felt like the right place for us to stick a flag and grow and try to help that community grow even more. I've also never met anybody like Doug (Kratz). He's so committed to that community. He’s great. He was really motivated to get this done.”  Now, Mr. Decembrino said, when construction is completed, the mission is to “empower Cory (Harris) to continue to build his brand.” “As we grow, we hope to have events outside on the fields and pretty much just bring everything we can to the area to help activate as many baseball/softball players as possible and give them access,” he added. Before opening, Mr. Decembrino said EL1 Quad Cities must first meet MLB approval. “So we have high standards – and so does Doug,” he said, noting manufacturing and installing indoor turf is the biggest challenge right now.  “You see how beautiful TBK Bank Sports Complex is — they're probably in the 1% of facilities I have ever seen in my life, and I've been in this business for 20 years. So, we need to make sure everything is done right.”

NEWSMAKERS UPDATE

EL1 Quad Cities ‘ready to blow up’

An expected mid-March launch for EL1 Quad Cities was delayed until later in the spring for a variety of reasons, according to Bobby Verdun, the special consultant for Bettendorf’s TBK Bank Sports & Entertainment Complex.  “But now they’re ready to blow up,” Mr. Verdun said in early November with the busy winter indoor training season beginning for local baseball and softball teams and players. “They just signed a huge high school group that's going to be coming in here. They are packed. They're already talking about needing to expand.” Officials for the Major League Baseball training partner describe the local reception as “electric” — whether from holdover athletes and instructors from the previous lessons offered at TBK, or the newcomers flooding the larger facility space renovated when youth gymnastics moved to the YMCA Sports Center in Bettendorf. “Winter is traditionally our busiest time, and having a larger space to conduct programs has generated a lot of excitement,” said Frank Decembrino, EL1's senior director of business development. “We’re excited to be able to provide all the new programs and services we now offer.” Already, the local lineup has grown to include Quickball, a program designed to teach the fundamentals of baseball and softball to beginners in a fun, fast-paced format. Camps, clinics and special events also are on the 2024 horizon locally. And as part of EL1’s continued expansion across the country, one of the highest priorities is to grow the game of softball by offering more opportunities to train, compete and develop skills. “We're also rolling out HitTrax and PoweredBy Team training, providing a more comprehensive experience for athletes of all ages,” reported Mr. Decembrino. “In 2024, we'll introduce new equipment, different user-friendly platforms and software, and skill-specific technology. Our focus remains on expanding access to high-quality sports instruction and creating opportunities for athletes of all skill levels and backgrounds.” — Steve Tappa