Globe Life Field

Globe Life Field is a baseball park in Arlington, Texas. It serves as the home of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball.[10] It was originally scheduled to open on March 23, 2020, but opened for high school graduation on May 29, 2020[4] due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the season.[11] Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company, a subsidiary of McKinney-based Globe Life,[12] owns the naming rights for the facility through 2048.[13] The new ballpark is located across the street just south of Globe Life Park.

Globe Life Field
Globe Life Field
Location in Texas
Globe Life Field
Location in the United States
LocationArlington, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates32°44′50.5″N 97°5′3″W
OwnerCity of Arlington
OperatorTexas Rangers
Executive suitesTBA
Capacity40,300[1]
Field sizeBaseball:[2]
Left field: 329 ft (100 m)
Left center: 372 ft (113 m)
Center field: 407 ft (124 m)
Right center: 374 ft (114 m)
Right field: 326 ft (99 m)
Backstop: 42 ft (13 m)
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 28, 2017 (2017-09-28)[3]
OpenedMay 29, 2020 (2020-05-29)[4]
Construction cost$1.1 billion[3]
ArchitectHKS, Inc.[5]
VLK Architects[6]
Structural engineerWalter P Moore[7]
Services engineerME Engineers[8]
General contractorManhattan Construction Company[9]
Tenants
Texas Rangers (MLB) (2020–present)

History
Construction site in 2017. AT&T Stadium is visible in the background.

On May 20, 2016, the Rangers announced that they would vacate Globe Life Park in Arlington. The new stadium will be constructed in a public/private partnership and have a retractable roof.[14] The ballpark was approved on the following Election Day.[15] HKS, Inc. was announced as the architect on January 5, 2017.[5]

On January 31, 2019, the Rangers announced that the playing surface of Globe Life Field will be carpeted with synthetic grass supplied by Shaw Sports Turf, making them one of only five major league teams to play its home games on artificial turf.[16][17]

The Rangers cited weather as the reason attendances at Globe Life Park were lower than in other baseball stadiums in major metropolitan areas, since it was prone to high temperatures and rain delays. Therefore, the Rangers proposed their new ballpark be constructed with a roof. Unlike its predecessors, the new stadium's center field will face northeast, instead of southeast.[18]

A new shopping mall, as well as a Loews Hotel, and a ballpark village are planned to go along with the new stadium. Globe Life Park in Arlington will be renovated for football and soccer use.

The plans to build the stadium have generated a mixed reaction. The new stadium will mean a more comfortable environment to watch baseball but will extend existing taxes used to pay for AT&T Stadium. According to The Dallas Morning News, "The deal calls for the city to issue $500 million in bonds to help pay for the stadium. A half-cent of sales tax, 2% hotel occupancy tax and 5% car rental tax would pay off those bonds over an estimated 30 years. Voters also approved a ticket tax of up to 10% and parking tax of up to $3 at the new stadium. That money would be used for some of the Rangers' portion of the debt, which was criticized by the opposition campaign."[19]

On December 14, 2019, a section of the under-construction roof caught on fire. [20]

Dimensions

The marked dimensions of Globe Life Field pay extensive homage to Rangers history, honoring all of the team's retired numbers plus key seasons in team history:[21]

Location Distance (in feet) Honoree Significance
Left field line 329 Adrián Beltré Retired #29
Left field just inside line 334 Nolan Ryan Retired #34
Left field power alley 372 1972 Rangers First season in Arlington
Deepest distance (to left and right of centerfield) 410 Michael Young Retired #10
Center field (straightaway) 407 Iván Rodríguez Retired #7
Right field power alley 374 1974 Rangers First winning season in Arlington
Right field line 326 Johnny Oates Retired #26
Home plate to backstop 42 Jackie Robinson Number 42 retired throughout MLB

Public reaction

After the Rangers unveiled Globe Life Field in June 2020, the look of its exterior was criticized and ridiculed online for its ugliness, especially compared to initial renderings of the ballpark.[22]

See also

References
  1. Texas Rangers [@Rangers] (November 19, 2019). "40,300..." (Tweet). Retrieved November 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. T.R. Sullivan (December 4, 2019). "Globe Life Field's dimensions honor key players". MLB.com. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  3. Brumfield, Loyd (September 21, 2017). "Rangers Unveil First Renderings of New Globe Life Field, Set to Break Ground Next Week". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  4. Anglin, Dionne (May 29, 2020). "First event at Globe Life Field is a high school graduation". KDFW. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  5. Sullivan, T. R. (January 5, 2017). "Rangers Tab HKS to Design New Ballpark". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  6. "Globe Life Field". VLK Architects. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  7. "Rangers Unveil More Globe Life Field Design Plans, With Emphasis On Natural Light". SportsBusiness Daily. September 22, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  8. "Sports Facilities". www.jmeg.us. JMEG, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  9. "Manhattan Construction Company to build new multi-purpose ballpark for Texas Rangers". www.manhattanconstructiongroup.com (Press release). Manhattan Construction Company. September 29, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  10. Mosier, Jeff (May 20, 2016). "Rangers New Stadium Plans Unveiled; Find Out What It Will Cost and Timeline for Its Construction". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  11. Reichard, Kevin (May 18, 2019). "Rangers Set Globe Life Field Opening for March 23". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  12. Allison Bell (July 26, 2019). "Torchmark to Change Its Name to Globe Life". ThinkAdvisor. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  13. Reichard, Kevin (August 24, 2017). "Globe Life Retains Rangers Ballpark Naming Rights". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  14. Sullivan, T. R. (May 20, 2016). "Rangers, Arlington Announce New Ballpark". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  15. Sullivan, T. R. (November 8, 2016). "Raise the Roof: Rangers' New Ballpark Approved". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  16. "Texas Rangers to utilize synthetic grass playing surface for the new Globe Life Field". Rangers.com. January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  17. Zwirko, Walt (January 31, 2019). "Rangers' new home to feature artificial turf". KTEN. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  18. "Globe Life Field". Ballparks of Baseball. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  19. "10 Things to Know About the New Rangers Ballpark, Including Where It Will Be and How Much It Will Cost". The Dallas Morning News. May 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  20. Jeff Wilson (December 14, 2019). "Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers' future $1.2 billion home, catches fire". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  21. "Texas Rangers Unveil Globe Life Field Dimensions". Ballpark Digest. December 4, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  22. Owens, Jason (June 24, 2020). "The new Texas Rangers stadium looks like a roasting pan, and Twitter is having a field day". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
Preceded by
Globe Life Park in Arlington		 Home of the
Texas Rangers
2020–		 Succeeded by
N/A
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