Although a tarp won’t protect a building from major hurricane damage, a tarp can protect a sports field from water damage resulting from heavy rains. In fact, specifically for baseball fields tarps have been used by little league, school, and major league teams to protect the baseball field in case of rain. Without proper protection, a baseball field, or any other grass sports field, can become muddy and unplayable for several days until the ground hardens again. To protect any more games from getting canceled due to rain, a tarp can be used to cover the sports field and protect it from damage.

As this is a common problem for baseball fields, special baseball tarps have been developed to be put quickly over a baseball field in case of rain. A baseball tarp is shaped specifically like a baseball diamond and can be rolled out quickly at the first sign of rain. While baseball tarps have been used for several years, only recently have baseball field tarps been equipped with chains or other weights around the edges to keep the tarp down without sandbags. These newer baseball field tarps can be rolled onto the field and will stay in place because of the weights or chains along the edges. In terms of timing, older baseball field tarps needing sandbags to keep them in place could be set in fifteen to twenty minutes, while newer baseball field tarps can be set and start protecting the field in less than five minutes.

Other sports fields, including football and soccer fields, can be protected with tarps, as well. Although tarps aren’t specifically designed to fit football or soccer fields, larger tarps can be used to cover parts of a large sports field and can be held in place by sandbags.