The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks, @LosDbacks) announced that the netting at Chase Field will be extended to the far end of each dugout for the 2018 regular season. The team has worked diligently during the offseason to ensure that the extensions, which have become commonplace throughout Major League Baseball, will have limited effect on the fan experience while maximizing safety.
"We have long prided ourselves on providing the most fan-friendly environment in all of sports and at the top of those priorities is safety," said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. "Thousands of the best seats in the ballpark behind home plate have always been behind a protective net with no impact to the fan experience and we expect that those who will now have a similar view will find that the same holds true for them."
The D-backs were the first to extend their netting to the home plate end of each dugout and are working with several companies on the latest technologies that allow the new net to be knotless and therefore, more transparent. In addition, the club will seek to ensure that a similar amount of baseballs that would have previously been souvenirs for fans in the stands, either through foul balls or those tossed by the players, will be distributed during the game.