DENVER —  A giant new scoreboard won’t be the only change coming to Coors Field for the 2018 season.

The Rockies announced Monday they will begin installing new protective netting behind home plate. The new netting will be made with an upgraded material, the team said.

The netting will be extended at the same height to the end of each dugout.

“Ensuring the safety of fans is always the highest priority of the organization and this extended netting is an important part of that effort,” the Rockies said in a statement.

The extended netting is scheduled to be completed by early March before Coors Field hosts high school games.

In September, the team said it was considering extending the netting after a young girl was hospitalized when she was struck by a 105 mph foul ball at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Major League Baseball sent a memo to all 30 teams in 2015 encouraging them to “shield the seats between the near ends of both dugouts and within 70 feet of home plate with protective netting or other safety materials of their choice.”

The Rockies issued a statement on the move.

“Today the Colorado Rockies announced that they will begin installation of protective netting behind home plate, replacing the current netting with an upgraded material and extending it at the same height to the end of each dugout, requiring no additional cabling. Ensuring the safety of fans is always the highest priority of the organization and this extended netting is an important part of that effort.

This installation is one of several construction projects that have been underway this offseason at Coors Field in preparation for the 2018 season, including a new scoreboard, speaker improvements, partial renovation of the Wells Fargo Club Level and home clubhouse, as well as infrastructure maintenance.

Installation of the extended netting is targeted for completion by early March, in time for Coors Field to begin hosting several High School Baseball Games. Until then, due to the amount of construction work happening in and around the ballpark, safety standards require that only construction personnel be permitted access to these areas.”