Suburban Parents Out Thousands After Baseball, Softball Academy Closes

GURNEE, IL - BatSpeed Academy in Gurnee closed abruptly over the weekend and several suburban parents are wondering if they will reimbursed for money they put down for their sons to play on competitive baseball teams this summer. BatSpeed ran a 25,000-square-foot year-round indoor facility and charges nearly $3,000 for each player on its travel teams, according to the Daily Herald. It's not completely clear as to what forced BatSpeed owner Scott Czerniejewski to suddenly shut the business's doors.

An e-mail sent to parents indicated Czerniejewski was forced to close because of a serious illness "that has made it impossible for me to continue to operate BatSpeed," WGN News reports. Jason Acevedo, who was director of tournament teams at BatSpeed, told WGN News Czerniejewski informed employees on Saturday morning the business would close but there was no mention of his health being the reason behind the closure.

“We had a face to face meeting with the owner who said they were going out of business. They are out of money,” Acevedo told WGN News.

Angry parents have taken to the BatSpeed Facebook page to air their grievances.

BatSpeed opened about nine years ago and moved to its current location at 880 Lakeside Drive four years ago, according to the Daily Herald. At one point, the training facility employed 20 instructors.

More via the Daily Herald and WGN News

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