USS Netting and Padding go the Distance at MLB’s Field of Dreams Ballpark

Unlimited Sports Solutions supplied the protective padding and a two-pole tie-back netting system for the new permanent ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa, where the Phillies beat the Twins 7-1 on Thursday night.

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — When 26 Baseball Hall of Famers walked out of the corn Thursday evening and Kyle Schwarber sent a home run back into it, roughly 8,000 fans were watching from a ballpark that did not exist four years ago.

USS, part of the Crown Companies family, supplied the protective padding and a two-pole tie-back netting system for the new permanent ballpark at the Field of Dreams movie site, which hosted its first Major League Baseball regular-season game on Aug. 13, 2026. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-1 in a game streamed nationally on Netflix.

It is the kind of project where the protective netting has to "disappear" in order for the fans to see the game and become fully immersed in the atmosphere.

Why a tie-back system fits a ballpark built on a view

At the Field of Dreams a backstop netting system was a safety requirement, but the wrong netting system could have easily distracted fans from seeing the corn, the farm house, and the sunset behind right field. With USS' tie-back netting system, fans were able to experience the game without the distraction of traditional netting systems.

How did USS do it? A tie-back system suspends the netting from cables anchored behind the seating area, instead of hanging it on a row of poles planted in front of the fans. At the Field of Dreams, the whole system is carried on just two poles — a fraction of the structure a conventional pole line would put between the seats and the field. Paired with protective padding on the surfaces players actually run into, the result is a facility that protects everyone in it without asking fans to watch a big-league game through a grid.

That balance is the whole discipline of athletic facility work, and it is what USS does across the country: custom-engineered netting systems in Dyneema, nylon, and heavy-gauge Tiger mesh, plus padding, batting cages, foul poles, windscreens, shade structures, and dugouts that are all designed and engineered by one team rather than stitched together from five different ones.

A permanent home in the corn

The ballpark USS worked on represents roughly $45 million in investment, including about $12 million in Iowa state funding, and is owned and operated by the non-profit Dyersville Events. Construction began about two years ago. Unlike the temporary structures that hosted MLB's 2021 and 2022 games at the site, this one stays due to permanent seating and utilities. There is even a youth baseball and softball complex still taking shape alongside it! These updates are making Dyersville a destination for tournament travel well beyond one night in August.

This means the padding and netting installed here are not one-game props. They are infrastructure for every high school team, travel club, and showcase event that comes through the corn from here forward.

Thursday night was simply the loudest possible debut. Schwarber homered on the third pitch of the game and again later into the cornfield. That's the first of his 376 career home runs to land in one!

Roger Clemens played catch with his son, Kody, recreating the film's closing scene. Bryce Harper showed up in corn-themed cleats, sleeves, and a bat painted to look like an ear of corn with butter on it.

Nobody in the stands was thinking about netting. That is the point. Safety constantly working behind the scenes without hindering the memories being created.

The Crown Companies ecosystem

USS was not the only Crown Companies name with a hand in the project. Sister companies Empire Netting and Fence and HotKote 751 also contributed to the build — one more example of what happens when design, fabrication, finishing, and installation all live under the same roof creating a turnkey system.

About Unlimited Sports Solutions

Unlimited Sports Solutions is a national athletic facility supplier specializing in custom-engineered sports netting and protective padding for schools, parks, municipalities, and professional venues. From backstops, netting systems, padding and full complex renovations, USS handles projects from design through installation with partners throughout the United States. USS is part of Crown Companies, a family of construction and fabrication businesses headquartered in Waverly, Nebraska.

Learn more at unlimitedsportssolutions.com or call (531) 207-9331.

fREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is a tie-back netting system?

  A tie-back netting system suspends protective netting from cables anchored behind the seating area, rather than supporting it on a line of poles standing in front of the fans. Because the structural load is carried back and away from the seating bowl, spectators get an unobstructed view of the field. Unlimited Sports Solutions installed a two-pole tie-back system at the Field of Dreams ballpark.

• What is the difference between a tie-back and an in-line netting system?

  An in-line netting system places its support poles directly along the backstop or barrier line, with spans of up to 50 feet between poles. A tie-back system instead suspends the netting from cables anchored behind the seating area, using far fewer poles. In-line systems are typically more economical, while tie-back systems deliver the cleanest sightlines for spectators.

• Who supplied the netting and padding for the MLB Field of Dreams ballpark?

  Unlimited Sports Solutions (USS), part of the Crown Companies family based in Waverly, Nebraska, supplied the protective padding and the two-pole tie-back netting system for the permanent ballpark at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa. Sister companies Empire Netting and Fence and HotKote 751 also contributed to the build.

• Does protective netting block the view at a baseball game?

  Properly engineered protective netting does not meaningfully block the view. High-strength fibers allow thinner twine with wider openings, and support systems such as tie-back designs move poles out of the spectator's line of sight entirely. At the 2026 MLB Field of Dreams Game, roughly 8,000 fans watched through netting most of them never noticed.

• What materials are used for baseball backstop netting?

  The three common options are nylon, Dyneema, and Tiger netting. UV-treated nylon is the industry-standard workhorse and the most cost-effective choice. Dyneema offers exceptional strength at a much smaller diameter, which minimizes visual obstruction. Tiger netting is a heavy-gauge stainless steel mesh used for high-impact training areas and vandal-resistant applications.

• Who owns the new Field of Dreams ballpark, and what did it cost?

  The permanent ballpark at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa is owned and operated by Dyersville Events, a non-profit organization. The project represents roughly $45 million in investment, including about $12 million in Iowa state funding. Construction began about two years before the ballpark's August 2026 Major League Baseball debut.

• Who won the 2026 MLB Field of Dreams Game?

  The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-1 on Thursday, August 13, 2026, in the first Major League Baseball regular-season game played at the new permanent Field of Dreams ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa. Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs, including one into the cornfield. The game streamed nationally on Netflix.

• Can a school or park get the same netting system used at the Field of Dreams?

  Yes. Unlimited Sports Solutions designs and installs netting and padding systems for schools, parks, municipalities, and professional venues nationwide, scaling the same engineering approach used at the Field of Dreams ballpark to local budgets. USS also supplies batting cages, foul poles, windscreens, shade structures, and dugouts. Call (531) 207-9331 to discuss a project.