GRAND SLAM SUCCESS

Franchise is big hit for 2 baseball
fans who run indoor training
centers for all ages.

MAKING MONEY WHILE HAVING FUN

Interested in opening your own Extra Innings franchise? Here is the company concept/history/training and contact information:

Concept: Established in 1996, Extra Innings is recognized as the nation’s premier indoor baseball and softball training center, providing state-of-the-art practice facilities, professional instruction and a nationally recognized Pro Shop to fulfill the needs of players of all ages and ability levels in a fun, family atmosphere. The Extra Innings Franchise Company was started in 2004 to franchise the unique and profitable business model throughout the United States.

History: The first Extra Innings was opened in 1996 as a small 8,000-square-foot facility in Danvers, Mass., outside Boston, by Joe Luis and Rob Nash, former minor-league players from the same Massachusetts town who had each been providing baseball instruction on their own after their playing careers ended.

Extra Innings was a success from the start. Recognizing the strong demand for a specialized baseball/softball training center that also sold equipment, Extra Innings moved into its flagship 17,000-square-foot facility in Middleton, Mass., in 1998.

The Extra Innings Franchise Company was formed in 2004 after six years of continual growth at the Middleton training center and increased customer demand in the region. The first franchise location opened in Watertown, Mass., in January 2005. That same year, the company expanded outside of New England, opening franchises in Springfield, Mo., Hillsborough, N.J. and Miamisburg, Ohio.

Franchise Facts: The estimated initial investment to open an Extra Innings franchise location ranges from $239,000 to $650,000, including an initial franchise fee of $25,000. Area developers pay a development fee of $15,000 for each additional training center, which is later applied to the initial franchise fee for each center.

Royalties start at $1,000 per month for the first 12,000 square feet of the facility. In facilities exceeding 12,000 square feet, owners are charged an additional 25 cents per square foot. Extra Innings does not take a percentage of gross sales; instead, the monthly royalties pay for the franchisees’ access to Extra Innings’ resources, infrastructure and support network developed to help franchisees operate a strong, profitable business. All franchisees receive a 50 percent discount on royalties for the first six months of operation.

Franchisees contribute $175 monthly to support technology and web services and $400 monthly to an advertising fund. Advertising fund contributions increase five cents for each additional square foot in facilities that exceed 12,000 square feet.

The minimum space required for an Extra Innings training center is 10,000 square feet. Facilities are as large as 20,000 square feet, but average 15,000 to 17,000 square feet. Locations include industrial spaces, warehouses, larger retail spaces and former theaters, typically with minimum ceiling heights of 20 feet. Staffing can range from as few as two employees to 10-plus, depending on time of year. Instructors are a combination of full/part-time employees plus independent contractors. If the franchisee does not have extensive baseball/softball experience, a general manager with such abilities must be hired to oversee day-to-day operations.

Training and Ongoing Support: Extra Innings offers a comprehensive four-day training program that includes both classroom and hands-on training at its flagship training center in Middleton, Mass., or other alternative location. Four days of onsite support is also provided during a franchisee’s grand opening.

New franchisees gain immediate access and training on “The Clubhouse,” Extra Innings’ intranet training and communications portal. Franchisees benefit from 24/7 access to the knowledge and experience of the entire Extra Innings team, including all franchisees and managers, in all areas of operations. Franchisees also receive routine, periodic visits from EIFC team members to train and observe employees and make suggestions to improve facility performance.

Growth Projections: Extra Innings has more than 35 locations in 17 states in all regions of the country. There are more than 15 locations in various stages of development, the majority of which are scheduled to open in 2008. Two locations are company-owned: Middleton and Wrentham, Mass.

Extra Innings strives to maintain a consistent growth pace, looking to establish a nucleus of training centers in markets in which it is already established. Projections call for close to 100 locations to be in operation by the end of 2010. Growth is expected to come from a combination of single-unit operators and multi-unit developers. A number of current franchisees have signed development agreements for the opening of one to three additional locations. Extra Innings, EI Franchise Company, LLC,

264 South Main St., Middleton, MA 01949,978/762-0448; www.extrainnings.net, www.eifranchise.com

Two guys with a love of the game and a willingness to work long and hard. It was the foundation of Extra Innings, which 12 years later is recognized as the country’s premier franchised indoor baseball and softball training centers. Founders Joe Luis and Rob Nash can sit back and smile, but they won’t. Well, they might smile, but they’re not sitting back.

“Joe and I put a lot of hours in, said Nash, president of Extra Innings. “We worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for a lot of years. We figured out how to turn our passion into a profitable business.”

It’s cliché to say that Luis and Nash – former minor-league ballplayers from outside Boston who launched Extra Innings in 1996 from an 8,000-square-foot empty warehouse – have hit a home run with their business. It’s too broad a statement. It doesn’t tell the story.

Simply put, and more importantly, the Extra Innings franchise business model has been developed to provide franchise owners a proven system for establishing a successful and highly profitable baseball/softball training center in a high-growth, yet highly fragmented industry.

“We take pride in the support level we offer our franchisees,” said the 40-year-old Nash. “We preach a team atmosphere. We’re in a team sport and we have our own team – our franchisees.”

Extra Innings is dedicated to fulfilling the training needs of baseball and softball players of all abilities and ages in a fun, family atmosphere. The Extra Innings Franchise Company was started in 2004 to franchise the unique and profitable business model throughout the United States.

Extra Innings has more than 35 locations in 17 states in all regions of the country. Fifteen more locations are in various stages of development, with the majority scheduled to open in 2008. Projections call for close to 100 locations by the end of 2010 from a combination of single and multi-unit owners.

Extra Innings’ “Triple Threat” is the backbone of its business model, making it the industry’s only full-service provider through three key areas that generate a balanced revenue stream regardless of season:

Year-Round Practice Facilities – Extra Innings training centers feature multi-purpose tunnels available for rental on a half-hour and hourly basis, baseball/softball-specific circuit training areas and party rooms. Select locations also offer coin-operated batting cages and workout areas.

Professional Instruction – Skilled instructors provide private and group lessons and comprehensive clinics for baseball and softball players using a uniform step-by-step teaching system to encourage positive progress.

Nationally Recognized Pro Shop – The latest and widest selection of the top names in baseball and softball equipment and apparel is offered at the best prices available with franchisees benefiting from bulk discounts and buying power necessary to compete with larger stores.

The “Triple Threat” approach along with Extra Innings’ industry knowledge, experience and support is what separates Extra Innings from its industry competitors, typically “mom and pop” operators and other franchise brands. “With the ‘Triple Threat’ especially, those three areas just feed off each other,” Nash said.

Nash and Luis both played college baseball in Massachusetts and signed free-agent contracts with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, respectively. When their playing careers ended in the early 1990s, each began offering baseball lessons on their own. They became business partners and opened the first Extra Innings in Danvers, Mass., with less than $50,000 in seed money from friends and family.

They opened their 17,000-square-foot flagship facility in Middleton, Mass., in 1998 and after six years of continual growth, the Extra Innings Franchise Company was formed in 2004 to expand the concept throughout the United States. Today, Extra Innings locations stretch from New England west to California and Washington and back across the country to Texas, Georgia and Florida.

“We are penetrating diverse parts of the country,” Nash said. “The idea is to establish further growth in areas where we expand. It’s such an advantage to our franchisees if there are a number of locations in a given market.”

Once open, Extra Innings training centers prosper, with the system’s locations averaging 22 percent growth year over year. Pro Shop sales generate 35 percent of revenue initially, a figure that can reach as high as 50 percent at a mature center.

“Extra Innings has a perfect mix of training, practice and retail,” said Brian Meehan of Wilson Sporting Goods. “A lot of other batting cages just seem to focus on how many tunnels they can rent and forget about catering to their customers.”

Extra Innings’ franchisees come from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, each with a compelling reason to join Extra Innings: a desire to own their own business, a love of the games of baseball and/or softball, a background as a player or coach, a dislike for typical 9-to-5 office work, a desire to make an impact in the community, a flair for business marketing and sales, the opportunity to invest in a profitable business opportunity and more.

Trey Moore, a member of the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame and former major-league pitcher with the Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves is an Extra Innings’ franchisee in College Station, Texas. Many other former college softball and baseball stars are also Extra Innings franchisees, but their brethren also include lawyers, a retired state police detective, softball moms, school teachers and entire families who work in the business.

Franchisees without baseball and/or softball experience hire a general manager with those skills to oversee day-to-day operations.

“We originally thought our franchisees would just be baseball coaches and ex-players, but it’s gone far beyond that,” Nash said. “People want to do something they can have fun with and it’s a lot more fun than sitting in a cubicle from 9-to-5. Our franchisees create great relationships with people in their communities and it’s quite gratifying.”

Unlike most franchise companies, Extra Innings does not take a percentage of franchisees’ gross sales as a royalty. Instead, franchise owners pay a flat monthly royalty based on the square footage of their facility to access the resources, infrastructure and support network that Extra Innings has developed to help them run a successful business.

“We provide outstanding support and guidance in all aspects of operations