As they work with project officials, the Texas Rangers are planning for Globe Life Field to feature a more intimate design than its predecessor.
Currently under construction, the retractable-roof Globe Life Field is slated to open for the Rangers in 2020. When it opens, the ballpark should offer a much different gameday experience than its predecessor, the adjacent Globe Life Park in Arlington. The most obvious difference will be the retractable-roof–keeping fans and players protected from the Texas heat in a way that the open-air Globe Life Park cannot–but there will also be contrasts in the sightlines and proximity to the field.
In planning Globe Life Field, the Rangers and ballpark designer HKS are working to ensure a more intimate experience. A more vertical design in comparison to Globe Life Park should result in better sightlines, while some key parts of the future ballpark–including the main concourse–will be closer to the field than they are at the Rangers’ current home. More from the Dallas Morning News:
And high above the field, the main concourse will be 160 feet away from the field, compared to the 174-foot difference separating the field at Globe Life Park from the main concourse.
The seating capacity for Globe Life Field is expected to be about 40,000.
“We really wanted this to be an intimate experience,” said John Hutchings of HKS, the architectural firm that designed Globe Life Field….
Globe Life Field will be a “much more vertical” park than Globe Life Park, [Rangers’ executive vice president of communications John] Blake said, adding that construction technology has improved so much in the 24 years since the Rangers’ current stadium opened that there will be far fewer obstructed-view seats at the new field.
Some major tasks remain in the construction process, but the Rangers are planning for the ballpark to open in 2020. When Globe Life Field opens, it will be the first new ballpark in Major League Baseball since Atlanta’s SunTrust Park debuted in 2017.
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