Safety net for avid fans

Baseball is the all-American pastime, but it is not without its hazardous moments, for players and fans alike. Major League Baseball announced in 2015 its recommendation for extended screens to protect fans from batted or thrown balls and other hazards associated with flying debris. Fans gave the idea a raspberry, assuming screens would destroy the viewing experience.

Enter Promats Athletics, Salisbury, N.C., manufacturer of protective wall padding, windscreen, tension netting systems and athletic equipment. The company worked with NET Systems Inc., Bainbridge Island, Wash., and its Ultra Cross knotless braided net of Black Dyneema® fibers, which are made of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. Dyneema, positioned by maker DSM Dyneema as “the world’s strongest fiber™,” integrated black color into the fiber. The combination of Black Dyneema’s strength, light weight and durability, as well as the knotless construction of Ultra Cross, results in netting that stands up to wild pitches and foul balls. The black color and lack of knots allow fans to see through the netting and not miss the action on the ballfield.