1st Base Southampton is the UK’s first Baseball Entertainment centre and bar with a net 27% increase in player participation could the sport surpass Cricket as the UK most popular bat and ball sport
Founded in 2019 1st base is a taste of America right in the heart of Southampton with the sports bar featuring Baseball, Basketball, Table Tennis, Table Football and shuffleboard.
With the MLB being the oldest major professional sports league in the world, Baseball still remains niche in the UK but has seen a big increase in fans on British shores in recent years with the introduction of the MLB London series seeing regular season games being played at the London stadium since 2019.
How has the recent growth of Baseball affected the UK’s primary bat and ball sport Cricket.
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the country with it being played since the 16th century, whilst the sport boasted it’s highest viewing numbers in 2023 with 10.8 million thanks largely to the 2023 Ashes series between England and Australia.
With viewing numbers still remaining high, participation numbers on the other hand has seen better days with numbers declining from the previous decade with kid’s transitioning from primary school to secondary school being a big cause of player losses.
Sixes Cricket is a batting experience located in West Quay, Southampton which is an all batting experience where you face balls from famous bowlers such as Shane Warne, James Anderson and Freddie Flintoff. There are now 14 of these bars in the country and is providing a hit.
Our Correspondent Joey Rapley travelled down to check out both places and see what all the hype is about.
