Globe Life Park
Arlington, TX
After attending many games at the antiquated Arlington Stadium before it closed in 1993, I was very excited for the opening of the Texas Rangers’ brand new stadium, built right next to their old home. After much discussion about what the new ballpark should be called, the owners finally settled upon the dull and obvious “The Ballpark in Arlington”. Many locals wanted the place to be called “Nolan Ryan Field” as the Texas native ended his career with the Rangers after many years with the Houston Astros, but my favorite fan suggestion was “No Flags Over Texas”, a reference to the neighboring amusement park and the Rangers having never won a single American League pennant. While I thought this name was hilariously fitting, I have come to call this place “The Temple”.
Review by Gary
The Ballpark in Arlington (TBIA, for short) is a beautiful baseball stadium. The designers took notable features of many classic stadiums and incorporated them into TBIA. A roofed home run porch in right field is reminiscent of Tiger Stadium, right down to the thick girders that produce obstructed view seating. Encircling the grandstands at the top of the stadium is a white steel frieze that was copied from the Yankee Stadium. The manually operated out-of-town scoreboard built into the left-field wall is a nod to Fenway Park, while the numerous nooks and crannies in the outfield fence are a reminder of Ebbets Field.
The stadium is not without its imperfections. While you may enjoy sitting under the shade of the right field roof, there are those obstructed-view support posts to contend with. This is my least-favorite section to sit. There is no view of the video board, plus the many girders are a prime roosting place for pigeons. Fake owls were added throughout the stadium’s eaves to curb the flying rats from defecating on the fans and seats below. Sitting in any upper deck seat will have you thinking that you are Icarus flying too close to the sun and many fans migrate around the section to shady spots while the sun sets.
On a good note, fans can walk completely around the stadium on all levels, sampling the plethora of foods and beverages while getting out of the oppressive heat. They can duck into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame under the right field stands, the many gifts shops, kids’ activities or the cool TGIFridays Sports Grill behind the right field porch, which are all air conditioned. The first game I attended at this wonderful new stadium was the last game of spring training in 1994. It was the second of two exhibition games between the Rangers and my beloved Mets. The Amazins won, 5-2, as I was pulling for the visitors just this once at my adopted team’s awesome new temple. The Rangers played only 26 seasons here before leaving for the retractable-roofed Globe Life Field, leaving Globe Life Park to be converted for football and soccer.
1994
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1994
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Gary's TBIA Scrapbook
After the 2019 season, the Rangers moved next door to Globe Life Field and this stadium was converted into a football stadium and renamed Choctaw Stadium.