Baseball season is officially underway! April marks the beginning of Major League Baseball’s season. While ballparks and stadiums across the country may look a little different with new social distancing and COVID-19 safety protocols in place for the start of the season, foul ball and backstop netting remains vital in keeping spectators, players and coaches safe from fast moving balls.
Baseball netting is so important that in recent years the MLB issued new recommendations for every professional team to extend their safety netting to protect fans from foul balls. The most dangerous foul balls tend to land past the end of the dugout thus the new guidance from MLB is meant to prevent harmful injuries. Ballparks have been sued in the past for negligence and premises liability for foul balls that have struck spectators in grandstands or “spectator bleachers” without any netting. Facility managers are now looking out not only for the safety of fans, staff and players but also for legal liability from accidents.
There is more to baseball netting than foul ball safety nets; facility managers should also think about evaluating their backstop and batting cage netting for their ballparks. Both forms of netting are essential to holding efficient practices and safe, fun games.
Our team of netting experts brings more than 25 years of experience to all of our projects. From installing barrier netting and field lighting in baseball fields at the University of Tampa to outfitting the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Illinois with baseball netting and backstops for nearly a dozen indoor and outdoor fields, we can handle all your baseball netting needs. Call us today at (866) 938-4448 to get started!