Project of the Month: The Baysox Padded Every Surface in the Stadium

When the Chesapeake Baysox set out to upgrade Prince George's Stadium in Bowie, Maryland, they didn't stop at one area. Every surface a player could collide with got padded: outfield walls, foul lines, backstops, dugout rails, stairwell rails, and even the walls and columns inside their adjacent indoor practice facility.

This project demonstrates how a facility-wide approach to padding can deliver both a cohesive ballpark appearance and an entirely safe playing environment at the same time.

Outfield Wall Padding: Custom-Fit to Every Surface

Outfield wall padding was the centerpiece of this project. Outfielders track fly balls at full sprint and often reach the warning track with little time to slow down before the wall, making this the highest-impact zone on any baseball field.

Every panel was custom-fit to the stadium's dimensions, with precision cutouts around electrical outlets and access points so nothing was left exposed. Distance markers and yellow home run lines were printed directly onto the padding using TuffPrint technology rather than mounted as separate signage. The result is clean, continuous coverage with no gaps and no seams breaking the sightline from foul pole to foul pole.

Foul Line Wall Padding: End-to-End Coverage Along Both Lines

Players tracking fly balls along the foul line have almost no time to decelerate before reaching the wall. At Prince George's Stadium, every section along both foul lines was padded end to end with no gaps in coverage. The panels match the color and finish of the outfield wall padding, giving the entire field a uniform look from the stands and from the playing surface.

Backstop Padding: Protecting the Zone Behind Home Plate

The backstop takes more contact than any other structure on the field. Foul tips and wild pitches ricochet off it at high speeds, and catchers regularly collide with it chasing pop flies toward the stands. The Baysox padded the entire backstop area, matching the look and color of the padding throughout the rest of the stadium so the view from behind home plate is just as clean as the view from the outfield.

Dugout Rail Padding: Both Sides, Every Rail

Players lean over the dugout rails, chasing foul balls. Coaches rest against them between innings. Every rail in both dugouts at Prince George's Stadium was padded, protecting players from the hardware and giving the dugout a finished, professional look from every angle

Stairwell Rail Padding: Covering the Hazards Between the Dugout & the Foul Line

At Prince George's Stadium, the stairwell between the foul line and the dugout sits right on the playing surface. Players move past it constantly during live play, and the protrusion can catch them off guard at full speed. Padding these rails is the kind of detail that separates a complete project from a partial one.

Indoor Practice Facility: Every Column, Cable, and Wall

The Baysox didn't stop at the stadium. Their adjacent indoor practice facility got the same treatment. Indoor training spaces are tighter than anything out on the field, with columns, cables, and structural supports surrounding players during full-speed drills. Every hard surface in the facility was covered, including custom wraps on the cable hardware. The same safety standard that applies on the field now carries over into the training environment.

What a Complete Stadium Padding Project Looks Like

Six distinct areas, one cohesive look. Every panel in this project was manufactured by CoverSports and custom-fit to Prince George's Stadium's specifications. This is what happens when a facility commits to padding every surface, not just the ones the rulebook requires.

For a deeper look at padding types, materials, and placement decisions, see our Stadium and Field Padding Guide. NCAA programs evaluating compliance deadlines can review our NCAA Padding Requirements breakdown.

Planning a facility-wide padding project? Contact our team to map out every surface that needs coverage.