ARLINGTON, TX – Globe Life Field
May 10, 2022 ~ Park #31
Globe Life Field is the first newly construction park I’ve seen since completing my original 30 park journey in 2019. The old park (Globe Life Park) is still standing, though it has been renamed. I was told it hosts football, concerts, XFL games, and more. Right across the street from it is a construction site where a hotel is being built. As I walk down the road between these two massive buildings, I can see Globe Life Field rising up before me. The road eventually dead-ends at a massive plaza. Baseball directly ahead, premiere parking to the left, and Texas Live! and the assorted shops to the right. This is the hot new thing in ballpark construction: outlot buildings. St. Louis has built up a development outside their park, as has Wrigley, and Atlanta, with more teams planning to do so in the coming years. Here in Arlington, The Texas Live! is a multi story structure consisting of a giant central area of tables and big screen monitors blasting sports programming at patrons and ancillary balconies and spaces with random bars and eateries scattered throughout. There is a spot with arcade games and Rangers memorabilia can be found throughout. There are a few shops stuck on to the outside as well. It all makes for a complex that can survive on its own, even if there isn’t a game going on. It should be noted the larger development Texas Live!, Globe Life Field, and the former Globe Life Park are a part of also includes AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys) and Six Flags over Texas, so there are a lot of other opportunities to draw people in besides the Rangers.
When you are ready for some baseball, a statue of Nolan Ryan (formerly located in center field at the old park) will greet you. You’ll cross a pavilion of brick with an inlaid Rangers logo and come up to the giant glass and brick building. The bricks come in three colors: black, tan, and red. It makes for an appealing outer shell to the park. If you are a normal person, you’ll walk in the entrance, but I’m here to see the whole park, so it’s time to take a lap around the stadium. Moving down the path, I can see AT&T Stadium in the distance. Taking a turn, I’m crossing the VIP parking lot. This is clearly the back of the building, as the façade is no longer brick, but a stylized concrete. This lot will be covered when the roof is open. That giant movable ceiling has to go somewhere after all! Coming out of the VIP lot, we are back to the multi-brick shell and an entrance guarded by a statue of Pudge Rodriguez. Continuing around are more entrances and a sculpture garden. There is a giant glove, a statue celebrating the Rangers heading to the World Series, and a statue of Tom Vandergriff, the Mayor of Arlington, who was instrumental in bringing the Ranger to Texas in 1972. Vandergriff is celebrated in a variety of places in the park. There are three bronze plaques to government officials who played a role in the Rangers or their ballparks and another set of plaques that commemorate Rangers players, managers, and broadcasters who have been inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame.
Now inside the park, the floor is epoxied and the air is cool. The benefits of a domed stadium. Much like the last stadium, the Rangers have opted for concourses that are three stories high, making the place feel cavernous. There is a smattering of art and sculpture throughout the park, including a piece made of shattered bats and painted baseballs and one that incorporates all the Rangers uniforms to spell out TEXAS RANGERS. But there are also corners where there is absolutely nothing. I suppose when you have a dome, places like this will happen, but it doesn’t make them any less settling. Empty spaces in a park make it feel like a restricted area. “Am I supposed to be here?” The arrangement of the decks left something to be desired. They are scattered about with what felt like little rhyme or reason. Reflecting back on it, I think I may have missed some just because the flow from one to another was not good. Sometimes it was hard to figure out how to get to a deck or how to get back to the concourse from it. It wasn’t the easiest place to navigate. If you can figure things out though, some of the spaces were pretty cool. The one in particular that stood out to me was on the left field side of the park. The area has a lounge and a row of numbered and ticketed seats that are wooden rocking chairs. There is a staircase that goes to an upper level of this area, which puts you at one of the highest points in the park. Other areas of interest include a small kids area on a center field deck, which also affords you the rare in-line with home plate view. Many parks don’t have seating that spans the center field batters eye, but the Rangers have a couple levels with that option, joining the Twins and Athletics.
I was able to explore the lower level suite areas, though I’m not sure if I was supposed to be allowed down there. One of the perks for getting to the park real early I guess. This concourse is totally enclosed and has a string of concession stands and historical photos on the wall. Suite doors line the hall. There is also a gated club down there that I was NOT able to wander into. When I tried I got caught.
One thing the park is not lacking in is food options. Concession stands are plentiful and fairly unrepetitive. I always try for something unique when I go to a new park and went with the alligator corndog (it just tasted like sausage, so that was disappointing) and an order of brisket eggrolls (brisket in an eggroll shell. Pretty good!). Championships are posted on a steel crossbeam down the left field line and retired numbers hang on brick archways just below that. The vertical lineup board/out of town board in center field sports a blue shape of Texas with a clock in the middle. This is a reference to the scoreboard at Arlington Stadium (the team’s first home), which had the game’s relevant information inside the same blue shape. I have to say, I have never seen a stadium that has as much iconography of the local municipality than Globe Life Field. The Arlington logo is everywhere, and, wherever the American and Texas flags are flying, the Arlington flag is there too. This is as it should be.
Overall, the stadium feels very neutral to me. Climate controlled baseball, a wide range of food options, and an impressive entertainment area in Texas Live! are surely strengths, but the park itself just seemed to lack something. For starters, there is no iconic element. The brick archways on the upper level of the outfield were immortalized by minimalist artist S. Preston, so I did take special note of them, but I’m not sure if I would have paid that much attention if I didn’t see his work prior to attending. Not to mention you won’t really get the full effect of the arches unless you walk that very specific upper concourse. On paper, this park has the makings of a good place to see games again and again, but my gut feeling is not matching up with that. My gut says it’s kinda blah. I guess you’ll just have to decide for yourself (and then help me decide!).
More pictures of Globe Life Field
Gnome's Ballpark Tour 