A redevelopment of Globe Life Park if a new retractable-roof ballpark is built for the Texas Rangers could include an amphitheater, condos and retail — with as much of the facility retained as possible.
It was always assumed that the freestanding office complex in center field would remain, no matter what else happened to the ballpark. But now Arlington officials say they they are looking at alternatives to tearing down the entire ballpark; instead, the tentative game plan is repurposing as much of the facility as possible. That could mean the center-field office stay, with condos in the grandstand and some sort of link with Texas Live, the entertainment district in planning stages, as well. Given the high number of stakeholders in this process (the Rangers, Cordish Cos., Arlington), planning will take some time. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
One proponent of the new stadium who has firsthand knowledge of the discussions said potential uses for the current ballpark include condos, retail and offices built in the stadium’s wide concourse, which wraps almost entirely around the stadium.
On the field could be a park and/or a youth baseball field, he said.
“We understand the significance of The Ballpark in Arlington,” the source said, referring the stadium’s original name when it opened in 1994. “There are a lot of good ideas. It would be great to keep that history.”….
“It’s not going to be bulldozed, I’ll tell you that,” said the source who cited an amphitheater among the potential uses. The Rangers “are really just trying to finalize the plans of what they would like to do with it. I think it will be in conjunction with Texas Live!”
The Cordish Cos., which is developing Texas Live!, is also drafting the tentative plans and renderings for for repurposing Globe Life Park, several sources said. Cordish, which is based in Baltimore, has not returned phone calls.
Who wouldn’t want to live at the ballpark? There aren’t many examples of a successful conversion of a ballpark to another use, but the ones out there were smashing successes. Consider the case of Indianapolis’s Bush Stadium, converted in 2013 to lofts after several years of disuse. The 1931 ballpark, which opened as Perry Stadium, had sat empty for several years after the Indians moved to a new downtown Indianapolis ballpark. With plans floating around to tear down the historic structure, Core Redevelopment pitched a unique reuse for the facility: conversion of the grandstand to apartments, with a playing field now marked by concrete. The plan was a huge success: the apartments sold out and fueled demand for more. There’s no reason why something similar couldn’t happen at Globe Life Park.
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