The Chicago Cubs today announced that they will be joining teams around baseball that are expanding protective netting at their home stadiums in response to fan safety concerns.
Team Business President Crane Kenney said that the netting at Wrigley Field will be expanded from its current spot at the end of the dugouts to reach the “elbows” of the outfield wall. The total length of netting will increase from about 340 feet to about 560 feet, so it’s a fairly substantial increase, and it will be ready for Opening Day.
For a visual, see this overhead shot from Wrigley Aerials – the elbows are where the wall changes as it heads into the outfield:
An off-season with no renovations? pic.twitter.com/x2iSY5AokF
— Wrigley Aerials (@WrigleyAerials) October 13, 2019
Good job, Cubs, and other teams making this kind of change. Some fans will be impacted by the presence of netting where there wasn’t some before, but on the balance, it’s worth it for safety in a game where the exit velocities keep increasing along with the ubiquity of cell phones in the crowd.