The Texas Rangers and the city of Arlington have unveiled plans for a new stadium that will be ready to host Major League Baseball games no later than 2021.
Per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the agreement between the Rangers and the city for a $1 billion stadium with a retractable roof will be sent to the Arlington City Council for approval Tuesday.
Sullivan reported that the cost of the ballpark will be evenly split between Rangers ownership and the city of Arlington. He noted that if the city council approves the stadium, citizens would vote November 8 for public funding of the project.
Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram provided artist renderings of the proposed new stadium for the Rangers:
City of Arlington marketing communications manager Jay Warren issued a statement Thursday about the marriage between the Rangers and the city moving forward, via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News:
For more than four decades, Arlington and the Texas Rangers have had a strong relationship. That relationship was further strengthened last year with the announcement of the public-private partnership between the City and the Rangers for the proposed Texas Live! development in our Entertainment District. We look forward to continuing that relationship for many years to come. The City has no other comment at this time.
As part of the public-private partnership between the Rangers and Arlington, Sullivan noted the city would own the new park, while the Rangers would be responsible for its design and construction.
Globe Life Park in Arlington, the Rangers’ current stadium, originally opened in 1994. The team is often scheduled to play games in the evening during the summer months because of the sweltering heat in Texas.
If the new stadium gets approved and built, the retractable roof would allow the Rangers to combat the temperatures and protect players from injuries and fatigue over the course of a 162-game season.
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