LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Extended netting will be in place at Dodger Stadium today when the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a six-game homestand.
The team previously replaced the netting behind home plate and above both dugouts with a 33-foot net, an increase of 8 feet. The 33-foot netting was extended last week an additional 124 feet down the baselines, from both dugouts to the elbow bend in front of the baseline seats.
“The decisions to both raise and extend the nets at Dodger Stadium were made after extensive data analysis and consultation with both players and fans,” Dodger President-CEO Stan Kasten said. “We think these extensions to the netting greatly enhance fan safety while also keeping Dodger Stadium the welcoming and comfortable place it has always been.”
The Dodgers announced on June 24 they would extend the netting at Dodger Stadium after a study was completed about how it could be configured to provide better protection for fans. That announcement came one day after a 13- year-old fan was struck in the head by a foul ball at Dodger Stadium and suffered a concussion.
Two fans at Dodger Stadium had been killed by foul balls, 79-year-old Linda Goldbloom last season and 14-year-old Alan Fish in 1970.
The old netting has been donated to the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and will be used to help refurbish Jackie Robinson Stadium in Compton.
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