The Big 12 Conference will stage its 2021 Baseball Championship at Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, before shifting to the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field for three years beginning in 2022. The 2022 event will mark the first time in 18 years that the championship is played in Texas.
“Oklahoma City and Arlington have a successful history of hosting Big 12 championships,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “We are pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with Oklahoma City in hosting our baseball championship at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and also look forward to playing in the new home of the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field.”
“Oklahoma City is proud to host the Big 12 Baseball Championship again in 2021,” said Sue Hollenbeck, Director of Sport Business at Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We are very honored to have a long history and a great partnership with the Big 12 and look forward to another exciting and successful event this year and next. OKC looks forward to the championship returning to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in the future.”
“We are excited to welcome the Big 12 Baseball Championship back to Arlington and to Globe Life Field for the first time,” said Sean Decker, Texas Rangers Executive Vice President of Sports & Entertainment. “We were honored to be considered along with many great cities around the country and are ecstatic to be selected for this three-year run beginning in 2022. We would like to thank Commissioner Bowlsby and the Big 12 Conference for their support and trust in us and look forward to our continued partnership.”
The Big 12 has played 20 of its 23 baseball championships in Oklahoma City, including the last four seasons. Arlington hosted the event in 2002 and most recently in 2004, while Tulsa was the home site in 2015. Additionally, the Championship will be held in Oklahoma City in 2020.
Originally opening in 1998, Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is home to the Oklahoma City Dodgers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League). The retractable-roof Globe Life Field is currently nearing the end of construction, and will open for the Rangers in March.
Rendering of Globe Life Field courtesy Texas Rangers and HKS.