What “Height” Batting Cage Nets Should You Order?

Published October 6, 2023

Measuring the length and width for a batting cage net is easy.  Measuring the correct height can be trickier.

To measure the length and width, you simply take a measuring tape and measure, in feet, the length of the space, and width of the space, keeping in mind nets need to come off any walls at least 2 feet. (Otherwise the balls can still bounce off the walls.)

For the height, however, there are more variables to consider.  For one, it can be trickier to stick a measuring tape 15’ up to the ceiling or steel beam for example, without a ladder.

But more importantly, the net itself may need to measure MORE or LESS, than the actual distance between the ceiling and the floor.  Or you may end up with a net too short, to contain the balls within the cage, or too much, which is a nuisance.(and more expensive)

Batting Cage Ceiling Considerations

As a general rule, you want the ceilings net to be as high as possible.  Most folks want to make the most out of their vertical space.  You can see where the ball is hit better, or you have more clearance for long toss.   But many buildings and structures have some obstacles that prevent the ceiling net from being as high as the ceiling itself. 

Cables Hung Just Below Beams & Lights

Keep in mind that the net will hang from a cable which is anchored to the walls or beams.  Sometimes, your anchor points are limited, and may be lower than the ceiling. In any case, the cable needs to be anchored low enough to allow for the net to be about 2 feet from the ceiling or lights, or else balls may continue and bust the lights or hit the ceiling.  If you are able to get the cable and nets REALLY tight, you might get away with one foot of clearance, otherwise you need about 2 feet.  So if your lights are 15’ from the floor, you’ve really got 13’ from floor to light.  Remember to also account for the fact, that nets tend to sag over time.  Read our article here on “How to Prevent Sagging Sports Netting.”

Batting Cage Net Floor Considerations

On the bottom, you need some excess net on the floor.  You do NOT want the net to hang and barely touch the floor as seen here.   Otherwise the balls will simply fly out from under the net.  See below of what not to do:

On the other hand, too much excess net on the floor also becomes a problem.  It’s harder to retract divider nets and kids keep tripping over the excess net laying all over the floor.  It’s also harder to lift the net and walk under if, in the event you don’t have built in doors.  See image below.

So you need about 2 feet of excess net on the floor, in order to roll it up, zip tie it, to create a nice bottom border.  While the net itself has a rope border, there’s not enough weight in it, to keep the balls contained.  It’s common to lay a weighted rope or sand bags at the bottom of the net to keep from flying up.

While the net contains the ball that was just hit, a bigger annoyance is that the previous balls collect on the ground in the net(as seen above), and when the next ball is hit into that net panel, the net flies up and the previous balls roll out from under it and outside of the cage, or into the next cage.  Then someone has to go over to the next cage and bring all the balls back into the cage.  Nobody’s got time for that in an hour long lesson.

So in our example of 15’ from floor to light, you would, in fact, order a 15’ high net, but not for the reason you think.  You are ordering 15’ to be 2 feet below the light, and have 2 feet of excess on the ground.  In other cases, you may need the net to be 3 feet below the ceiling to accommodate AC units, air ducts, pipes or garage doors etc.  In which case you may only need a 12′, 13’ or 14’ net, while still having 2 feet of excess on the ground.

If you have further questions, feel free to call 866-428-2809 or use the chat support feature on the website.   Also visit our Batting Cage Net Calculator, to calculate sq ft of net you need and hardware counts.