The Texas Rangers released a new Globe Life Field model and updated renderings at a press conference yesterday, as the team preps for the 2020 opening with a new sales office at Globe Life Park.
Texas Rangers Executive VP Business Operations Rob Matwick introduced a new model of the ballpark, complete with a neighboring Loew’s hotel and the Texas Live! entertainment district. The model will be part of the team’s sales efforts, located in the old Hall of Fame space in Globe Life Park.
The Rangers are stressing fan comfort in Globe Life Field: the retractable roof should keep fans cool on even the hottest of Texas days, and the use of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) on the exterior should allow in plenty of light. In planning Globe Life Field, the Rangers and ballpark designer HKS are working to ensure an 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.
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Still, there are still some design issues to consider. The biggest one, one that impacts everything from player signings to event scheduling to fan satisfaction, is whether to use natural turf or synthetic turf. (For the record, the current ballpark design supports grass, but team officials say no final decision has been made.) It’s not as simple a decision as you’d think: though players and fan would undoubtedly prefer grass, there are plenty of advantages to synthetic turf. The maintenance costs are lower, obviously, and it allows for more events, such as concerts, football games and monster truck rallies, to be held on the field. Financially, a synthetic field is a no-brainer, but emotionally, natural grass may be the way to go.
When Globe Life Field opens, it will be the first new ballpark in Major League Baseball since Atlanta’s SunTrust Park debuted in 2017.
Renderings and photo courtesy Texas Rangers.
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