When it opens for the Texas Rangers next spring, Globe Life Field will feature a design that puts fans very close to the action.
Construction is well underway on the retractable-roof Globe Life Field, which will replace Globe Life Park as the home of the Rangers. As the planning process has unfolded, it has been expected that Globe Life Field will offer a more intimate perspective on the action than its predecessor, and now more details are emerging as to how that aspect of the facility’s design will take shape. For instance, seating in the lower bowl will begin at 43 feet from home plate, while the main and upper concourses will be significantly closer to the field than they are at Globe Life Park.
Between an intimate design and a retractable roof that will retain noise when closed, Globe Life Field could prove to foster an energetic gameday atmosphere. More from SportsDay:
Though the new stadium will be smaller than the Rangers current home, Globe Life Park, by about 8,500 seats, the seating bowl feels significant smaller, partially due to a more severe angle of incline from the field. And, of course, when the retractable roof is closed, it will hold in the noise, too.
The seating in the lower bowl will start at 43 feet from home plate, leaving it seven feet closer to home plate. On the main concourse, it will be 14 feet closer than at present. And in the upper concourse, seating begins at 184 feet from home plate, 23 feet closer than the current park.
The tradeoff is a more severe incline in the seating areas. It is most pronounced in the upper concourse. But Rangers officials said it is not the most pronounced incline in the majors. That is believed to be at Guaranteed Rate Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox.
“The first thing I noticed was how close everything was,” said outfielder Nomar Mazara, who last ventured into the stadium as part of a ceremony to drive in a steel beam. “It’s going to get loud. The outfielders are going to have to come up with something to make sure we can communicate, but it’s going to be an advantage for us. This place definitely feels different.”
Among some of the other notable features planned for Globe Life Field include nine LED video displays, a Shaw Sports Turf-manufactured B1K system synthetic turf playing surface, and more. Once it opens, Globe Life Field will be the first new ballpark in Major League Baseball since Atlanta’s SunTrust Park made its debut in 2017.
Renderings courtesy HKS.
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