Texas Rangers to Raise Ballpark Railings After Fan Death

Texas Rangers to Raise Ballpark Railings After Fan Death

The Texas Rangers plan to make all the protective railings at their stadium the same height, raising some as much as a foot to make their stadium safer following the death of a fan during a recent game.

Rangers executive vice president Rob Matwick said Tuesday that the team's intention is for all rails in the front of seating sections to be 42 inches throughout Rangers Ballpark.

Architectural and engineering studies are already under way at 17-year-old Rangers Ballpark to determine how to do the work.

Railings around the ballpark now are 30 or 34 inches in most areas, with 42-inch rails already at the base of aisles that lead to the front row. City building requirements are that guardrails must be at least 26-inches high.

"Part of the goal is to not only raise it, but to raise it to the highest standard that exists in the United States at this time, and to do that uniformly on all the front rows around the ballpark," Matwick said.

Shannon Stone, a Brownwood firefighter, died less than an hour after he tumbled headfirst over a rail out of the seats in left field during a game July 7. Stone fell about 20 feet to concrete behind the outfield wall after reaching out to catch a ball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton.