Protective netting could be extended at Cooley Law School Stadium, as discussions are taking place about running the netting to the end of the foul lines at the Lansing Lugnuts (Low A; Midwest League) home.
Protective netting has been extended at Cooley Law School Stadium in the fairly recent past, as the Lugnuts announced an extension to the ends of both dugouts during the 2018 season. A proposal in the works would take that a step further, with the possibility of extending netting to the end of both foul lines being explored.
An official from the Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority says that the agency is currently getting estimates on the project. Should the plans move forward, installation could be completed during the 2020 season. More from WILX.com:
Scott Keith the president and C-E-O, of Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority — the organization that runs the stadium — says they are getting quotes to see how much expanding the netting will cost….
Keith says the new netting is expected to be installed sometime during the upcoming season.
Discussions about extended netting at Cooley Law School Stadium come amidst a wave of extended netting projects that have taken place across baseball since the 2019 season, coming on the heels of a May incident in which a young girl was injured by a foul ball at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. This has included changes around affiliated Minor League Baseball, with one of the most recent examples being the Reno Aces’ (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) decision to extend netting at Greater Nevada Field to the foul poles before the 2020 season.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said last month that all 30 teams will have extended netting of some sort at their home facilities by the 2020 season, and several teams around MLB either made changes to netting at their ballparks during the 2019 season or have announced plans to do so for 2020.
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