We recently connected with Jack Sanders and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I studied Architecture at the Auburn University Rural Studio. I was mentored by a McArthur genius, AIA Gold Medal winning, artist, professor named Samuel Mockbee. He took his students into the poorest parts of the country , Hale County Alabama , what he called the “classroom of the community”. In 1998, while I was a sophomore I stumbled across a place called the Newbern Baseball Club, in a town of 200 people, with 500 people at the game, vendors selling catfish and tilapia sandwiches, ice cold beer, even shots of whiskey if you needed it. This place was everything to me. My thesis project was to build a sculptural backstop for the Newbern Tigers Baseball Club.
(OK i am going to skip some significant details here and get to the point)
Many years later, I did start to wonder why there are not places that offer baseball , and cold beer and hot dogs at this scale.
I also thought a lot about that saying “America’s Pastime”, This phrase was coined in 1856, and the game that was being observed a that time was hardly recognizable to what we are mostly consuming today.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

First off I am a designer and an artist, and operate a small boutique design practice called Design Build Adventure. Over 15 years, I ran a practice that operated at times like a small architectural design firm, and at other times it veered towards custom metal fabrication , and at worst , a general contractor. Through these years, I started to think of myself less as an “architect” or “builder”, and more interested in “placemaking”.
I was also still thinking about the idea of building and operating a sandlot baseball facility.

In 2017, I hosted my first baseball games at the “Long Time Texas” in Austin, Texas.
We present a full season of games and are lucky to host teams from all over the United Stated to enjoy our unique brand of baseball . We have subscribers (or “season ticket holder”), a full bar, a gourmet hot dog vendor, and a small retail shop on the porch called the “Short Porch Superette”. We also host weddings, corporate events, and as a location for commercials and movies.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Even after I had built and began to operate my baseball themed event space / sandlot facility, The Long Time, it still seemed like a side gig or even a hobby adjacent to my “real job” in design services (for others). In 2022,2023 I started to recognize the potential in the Long Time business model and even more importantly , I recognized that it was my most true expression . The offering was authentic , and real.

This was a pivot .

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

In 2023, I partnered with the owners of a local ranch on 25 acres to build the second Long Time Texas facility in nearby Lockhart, Texas. The sandlot baseball scene in the Central Texas area is growing quickly, and the culture and community around the Long Time is certainly a big part of that. As two teams started to develop in the Lockhart area, they dreamed of having a place “like the Long Time”.
The ranch owners reached out to me , initially to ask some basic questions about building a community baseball field. But after just a couple conversations, it was clear that a partnership could benefit both parties.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.thelongtime.com
• Instagram: @thelongtimetexas
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-long-time-austin?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits

All Photos by Shannon Southerland.