Powered by Skedda: Introducing AllBooked, Skedda’s booking system designed specifically for.....
SportsHQ is a 24/7 indoor sports training facility offering athletes and teams a flexible space to practice and improve their performance. The facility features seven retractable batting cages equipped for baseball and softball training, allowing individuals and teams to book dedicated practice time in a clean, well-equipped environment.
Lockport, Illinois
Athletic Facility
SportsHQ is a brand-new indoor multi-sport facility based in Lockport, Illinois. With seven retractable batting cages, state-of-the-art equipment, and true 24/7 access, the team has quickly established itself as the area’s modern, athlete-first training facility.
Behind the venue’s launch was a clear and recurring challenge. Local coaches kept raising the same issue: there simply was not enough practice space. Securing time at existing facilities meant endless back-and-forth. Bookings lived in spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls—if you wanted a slot, you had to chase it.
For Anthony Airola, Owner of SportsHQ, that friction wasn’t just a frustration, it was the opportunity: “We’re just going to make it easy from the get-go.”
Demand for practice was there. Space was not. And the market did not need another version of the same system. It needed more practice space, and a better way to access it. That insight became the foundation of SportsHQ.
The venue operates with one core mission: to support consistent athlete development by giving players 24/7, 365 access to train—without being restricted by facility hours.
The next question was how to make that model work. The team partnered with AllBooked to power 24/7 operations, manage memberships end-to-end, and streamline bookings.
A true 24/7 model requires more than extended hours. It requires connected infrastructure.
To remove reliance on staff-controlled entry or physical keys, Airola built the facility around AllBooked’s Integrations feature, connecting bookings directly to smart locks and automating access through a single workflow.
For Airola, that alignment was essential. “We put our players first,” he explains. “If kids want to get better and come in to train, we don’t want scheduling to hold them back.” In the past, access depended on staff being on-call and coordinating bookings manually. “We didn’t want to be the constraint.”
With the system handling access automatically, they’re fully hands-off.
When a reservation is made in AllBooked, a secure access link is automatically created through Kisi and sent to the customer in a confirmation email. When they arrive, they simply click the link to unlock the door and start training. No staff needed.
“Everyone says the whole flow is super simple,” he says. “Honestly, the reaction is usually disbelief. It’s one of those, ‘Wait… that’s it?’ kind of deals.”
But impact extends beyond convenience. It drives scale.
Their 24/7 model:
Airola notes, “I don’t have time to sit on it 24/7.” With AllBooked as the venue’s booking engine, he doesn’t have to. “That’s really what I love about it.”
When a player arrives at SportsHQ—online or onsite—it’s a straight path to pay and play.
“During sign-up, we tell them it’s just 3 clicks,” Airola explains.
That simplicity begins on their website, which serves as the central hub for memberships and bookings. Each of the four membership packages features a clear, “Join Now” button, allowing visitors to secure a membership directly from the site on their own, with no admin work required to set up or approve the new member.
Players click the button, create an account, complete payment, and immediately book through an interactive map of the facility—access, rates, and perks already applied. Onsite, they scan a QR code and they’re good to go.
From that point forward, nothing needs to be reentered.
“It's so simple because everything is automatically saved, and you see the layout of the facility right there. There’s no guesswork.” Booking just becomes a matter of selecting a time on the facility’s map—all user-specific pricing automatically applied.
“Once members sign up, we know they’re going to pay each month,” Airola notes. That type of recurring commitment gives SportsHQ predictable revenue and long-term financial stability.
SportsHQ serves a mix of individual members, drop-ins, teams, and private trainers, and each segment drives a different pricing structure.
Teams anchor the calendar. “Teams have a set booking rate,” Airola explains. “From November to April, they come in about 3 times a week. That’s our biggest customer base.”
But that demand is seasonal—it gives them a strong foundation, but doesn’t carry the entire year.
“We use memberships to fill in revenue between.”
Trainers add the final layer. “They’re a hybrid between team and membership,” Airola explains. “They get a discounted rate and can book recurring sessions.”
In a seasonal business, stability depends on that mix: peak-season team commitments, year-round memberships, and discounted trainer bookings that keep the calendar full—and AllBooked is the backbone of the entire model.
On the backend, pricing is defined down to the hour and cage, with rates linked to membership tier and user status. AllBooked enforces pricing rules automatically, keeping team bookings, recurring memberships, and trainer discounts aligned within one system—delivering control without constant oversight.
When asked about his favorite feature, Airola didn’t name a feature at all.
Instead, he pointed to an outcome: “The simplicity of it. You don’t have to think about it.”
Behind that simplicity is a system purpose-built to deliver exactly what SportsHQ set out to create: a true 24/7, 365 revenue-generating model for modern sports facilities.
