Globe Life Park in Arlington
Team: Texas Rangers
Address: 1000 Ballpark Way
Location: Arlington, Texas
Opened: April 1, 1994
Capacity: 48,114
Rating: 8/10
Around 20 miles outside of Dallas sits the retro-style ballpark, Globe Life Park in Arlington. It opened in 1994 and was designed by David M. Schwarz Architectural Services. The ballpark was created with features inspired by other parks such as Tiger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Ebbets Field and Comiskey Park; in addition to a bit of its own Texas-style. The Rangers played their last game at Globe Life Park on September 29, 2019 after 26 seasons and will play at Globe Life Field starting in 2020. Yes, this means I will have to visit 31 ballparks to reach my goal and no, I’m not upset about it.
I was disappointed to find out that there’s no transportation between Dallas and Arlington. I tried to figure out a route by taking TRE (Trinity Railway Express) partially there and then taking Uber/Lyft the rest of the way, but TRE is closed on Sunday — which was the day I went to the game. I even tried offering up my parking pass in exchange for a ride in the Dallas subreddit, but not many people saw it and I didn’t find anyone interested. Much to my chagrin, I ended up spending around $50 on ride-share. Oh well.
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t buy anything at the ballpark. I was sitting right behind the home plate seats and they were mostly vacant, so the ushers gave me free snacks and water. However, I did a little research and it looks like there was some variety outside of the classic baseball eats. Some options I saw included Breakfast on a Stick (interesting idea), vegan street tacos (yes!), and The RWB Dog (a red, white and blue hot dog because in Texas we’re America AF).
The largest Rangers crowd at Globe Life Park was on October 30, 2010 when they played the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the 2010 World Series. I can only imagine how lively the place was that day and would have loved to see the ballpark at its full capacity in person. Like most teams do eventually, the Rangers are currently going through a rebuild which means fans aren’t as keen on showing up to cheer for them. I went to a game where the crowd-size was probably less than a quarter of that 2010 game. On a positive note, my ticket was $70, including a parking pass. I flipped the pass on StubHub for $20 and ended up paying $50 for an incredible seat.
Dear Texas, it is 100+ degrees outside. Why is there not a retractable roof? My seat was right behind home plate and I was not afforded any shade, aside from the occasional cloud that would cover the sun for a minute or two. While I sat there sweating, I couldn’t help but wonder if the intense heat and lack of shade affected free agents' decisions when it came to the Rangers and whether they wanted to join the team. Luckily, the new ballpark will have a retractable roof and provide a more pleasurable baseball experience.
Overall, I enjoyed visiting Globe Life Park. The heat was insane and I should have gone to a night game, but I had a great time regardless; even with Hunter Pence on the IL. The ballpark has a very classic feel and the greenery outside was gorgeous — there’s even a lake right outside called “Mark Holtz Lake.” The Rangers have made some incredible memories in that ballpark and I’m glad that I was able to visit at least once before they left.