The $1.2B Globe Life Field is still on track to open ahead of the '20 MLB seasonRANGERS
MLB Rangers officials, construction project leaders and architects yesterday got together to "congratulate construction workers on reaching 1 million work hours and to provide an update" on Globe Life Field's progress, according to Loyd Brumfield of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Fans will be "much closer to the base paths when the Rangers take the field" for the '20 season. The main concourse "will be 160 feet away from the field, compared to the 174-foot difference separating the field at Globe Life Park from the main concourse." Architectural firm HKS Principal John Hutchings said, "We really wanted this to be an intimate experience." Brumfield notes Globe Life Field planners "took a long look" at the Braves' SunTrust Park in planning. Rangers Exec VP/Communications John Blake said, "You are really close in Atlanta." He added that Globe Life Field "will be a 'much more vertical' park than Globe Life Park." Though it will have a retractable roof, it "won't be dark like other parks with that feature." Hutchings: "One thing we are really going to emphasize is transparency." He added, "This place is going to be light; it's going to be airy." Brumfield notes Globe Life Field will remedy the darkness with "glass facades around much of the park." Rangers Exec VP/Business Operations Rob Matwick said, "We're going to try our best to make it look like you're experiencing a game in the outdoors" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/19).
ALL ABOUT TIMING: In Ft. Worth, Jeff Wilson notes the construction of the retractable roof is the "part of the project that will be most difficult and where the most risk to the timeline can be found." The Rangers "expect that they should know whether there will be any potential delays" to the '20 opening by November '19. One of the world’s largest cranes will be "put in place next month to begin the heavier lifting on the retractable roof." There are "significant monitory penalties in place for each day that the Rangers are not allowed to take occupancy of the new ballpark." That is motivation enough, but Manhattan Construction VP/Operations Jim Cuddihee has "another goal in mind." He wants an "event at Globe Life Field shortly after the construction’s planned end date of March 1, 2020." Rangers officials have "met with entertainers not only to serve as the opening act for Globe Life Field, as George Strait was at AT&T Stadium, but to serve as a swan song for Globe Life Park." The Rangers might also "schedule exhibition games for the new ballpark" just prior to Opening Day '20 as a "soft open and ask MLB to let them open the season on the road to give them a week to fix any kinks" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/19).
