Whatever its other merits, the new home for the Texas Rangers will come with a retractable roof, meaning that future generations will have only to wonder what it was like for Rangers fans — not to mention actual Rangers — to spend an August afternoon in the wicked heat of Arlington, desperately trying to enjoy a game of baseball despite elements better suited to the smelting of iron ore.
The first ideas of what this stadium might look like were revealed Thursday, along with the choice of architect, Dallas-based HKS, the firm responsible for the Rangers' present facility as well as its domed neighbor, the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium.
The defining feature of the firm's woozy initial renderings is a monumental arcade — imagine a misplaced and overgrown Roman aqueduct — enclosing the ballpark beyond its outfield walls. Hopefully this feature will disappear in future iterations, though a "retro" design seems inevitable.
A model of the new Texas Rangers ballpark to be built by HKS.
HKS's models of what the new Texas Rangers ballpark seating will look like when designed. The difference between the new (left) and existing (right) seating structure is that the seating configuration gives the fan a more intimate feel to the game by putting them closer to the field.
HKS Executive Vice President Bryan Trubey shows the differences between the current Texas Rangers ballpark, left, and what the new stadium will look like during a press conference at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
A HKS artist rendering of what the new Texas Rangers ballpark may look like when designed.
Blame aesthetically conservative ownership for this decision; The principal architect on the project, Bryan Trubey, has a record of building works that celebrate their technical sophistication in crisp modern geometries. He was the lead designer on AT&T Stadium, and also the new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, a prismatic structure with an asymmetric glass roof.
While Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, ancient battle-axes with few amenities, are favorites with fans, owners have preferred, since the 1990s, more luxurious quarters, albeit in historicist clothing, with expanded luxury seating and plenty of space for merchandising. The new Rangers ballpark will be designed to liberate every last penny from the paying clientele, nevermind that Arlington taxpayers have agreed to pony up $500 million in bond funding for the project.
It will sit adjacent to Texas Live, an entertainment and retail development modeled on L.A. Live, a similar complex next to the Staples Center, in Los Angeles. The bet, and it is a very big and very risky bet, is that the new ballpark can help drive and sustain a year-round entertainment district in suburban Arlington, which is quite a different animal from Los Angeles. Call it faith-based planning.
Dallasites who had hoped the team might relocate to (and help revitalize) downtown are out of luck, still forced to drive to a ballpark with no significant public transit for a team that plays (at least) 81 home games a year.
For Arlington, it's a lot to pay for civic pride. But at least those who come to regret the cost will be able to do so in comfort.