Another MiLB team will sport extended netting at their home in 2018, as the El Paso Chihuahuas (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) will offer additional protection at Southwest University Park.
“The safety and comfort of our guests at Southwest University Park has always been our primary objective,” said MountainStar Sports Group President Alan Ledford. “While we have always met and exceeded the recommended parameters provided by Major League Baseball, we constantly follow developments in our industry and determined the time is right to provide additional coverage from protective netting.”
The new protective netting will now extend to the end of both dugouts. With this additional coverage the netting will span between sections 106 and 119.
“One of the improvements we felt was important for 2018 was to extend the backstop netting for increased guest safety,” said Brad Taylor, vice president and Chihuahuas general manager.
The new netting, 12 knotted Dyneema netting, has a finer mesh, allowing for better views of the field than previous netting.
“Technology has also evolved and we believe the solution we’re implementing properly balances fan safety without negatively impacting the guest experience,” Ledford said.
Over the last several months–particularly in the period since a young girl was severely struck by a foul at Yankee Stadium in September–there has been a steady rise in the number of MLB and MiLB teams that are extending the netting at their ballparks.