Camden Yards Adding Protective Netting

BALTIMORE, MD — Oriole Park at Camden Yards will extend protective netting at the stadium to increase the safety of fans. The Orioles announced more netting will also be installed at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, where the team holds spring training.

"While we are still working with our design and engineering team on the specific dimensions of the new system, the additional netting coverage is expected to extend from Section 16 through Section 58 at Oriole Park," the Orioles said in a statement.

"The existing netting at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, FL, will also be extended beyond the dugouts prior to the 2018 Spring Training season, with more specific details to be announced soon," the statement said.

Professional sports leagues have grappled with looking for ways to keep fans safe while putting seats closer to the action.

Major League Baseball recommended in 2015 that teams add protective netting within 70 feet of home plate and near both dugouts around field-level seats after conducting a study.

After a toddler was hit by a foul ball at a Yankees game in September 2017, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred pledged to make stadiums safer.

"Over the past few seasons MLB has worked with our clubs to expand the amount of netting in our ballparks," Manfred said after the girl was hospitalized in 2017. "In light of [this] event, we will redouble our efforts on this important issue."

An Ellicott City woman suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was hit by a bat at Camden Yards in 2016.

A 10-year-old girl from Bel Air was treated for a fractured skull after a ball hit her in the face during batting practice before an Orioles game in Baltimore in 2013.

The announcement that the Orioles would add protective netting came before single-game ticket sales begin at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25; a month before spring training games start in Florida; and two months before the official 2018 season in Baltimore. Opening Day is March 29 and will pit the Orioles against the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards.

Here is the statement from the Orioles about the protective netting:

"The Orioles informed Major League Baseball in the fall of last year that consistent with the club's emphasis on the safety and security of fans, the existing netting at Oriole Park at Camden Yards would be extended to cover an increased area prior to the 2018 season. While we are still working with our design and engineering team on the specific dimensions of the new system, the additional netting coverage is expected to extend from Section 16 through Section 58 at Oriole Park. The existing netting at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, FL will also be extended beyond the dugouts prior to the 2018 Spring Training season, with more specific details to be announced soon.

"Fans in these sections are still exposed to objects leaving the field of play, including bats and bat fragments, and thrown or batted balls; ticket holder assumes all risk of injury. For more information on netting or screening coverage and seating options, please contact the Baltimore Orioles ticket office at 888-848-BIRD (2473)."

The Associated Press and Capital News Service contributed to this report.

Pictured, Orioles mascot on the field before a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 23, 2017 in Baltimore. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)