Rangers To Open New Ballpark

[ZBTMP]

Replacing the 22-year old Globe Life Ballpark with a retractable roof stadium.

[reillymcshane]

I went to a few games at the Rangers park back in the early 2000s. I thought it was really nice. Seems crazy it needs to be replaced already. I did go during April and May, so we didn't have to deal with the heat.

[DuWayne Steurer]

This is ridiculous.

[MrTPlush]

Doesn't really need to be replaced. Arlington just wants them to stay and there were multiple cities, mostly Dallas, that wanted to try and entice them away. Easiest way to do that is with a new stadium and Arlington could do that now so the Rangers have no reason to leave.

 

New stadiums are mainly just big bargaining chips at this point...not a need.

[pogokat]

I mean, after cobb county bought the Braves because the city of Atlanta wouldn't just give them 250 million, i can understand why municipalities would worry that the team might move to a different part of town..

[JohnBriggs12]

Crazy waste of resources. So another beautiful modern park will be demolished? Can't be too surprised though. NBA and NFL venues have become obsolete virtually overnight. Who would have thought 20 years ago, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis wouldn't be adequate and result in the team moving?

[DuWayne Steurer]

I mean, after cobb county bought the Braves because the city of Atlanta wouldn't just give them 250 million, i can understand why municipalities would worry that the team might move to a different part of town..

 

 

Wasn't Turner Field built on the cheap to be replaceable in a short time frame though? I thought I remember reading that somewhere.

[pacopete4]

Silliness. Absolute silliness.

[pogokat]

I mean, after cobb county bought the Braves because the city of Atlanta wouldn't just give them 250 million, i can understand why municipalities would worry that the team might move to a different part of town..

 

 

Wasn't Turner Field built on the cheap to be replaceable in a short time frame though? I thought I remember reading that somewhere.

 

From what I've read in the newspaper down here, Turner was intended to be updated between 20-25 years, however when the braves asked the city to pay for 100 percent of the cost, Atlanta said no. Cobb county then offered the braves something like half a billion dollars to relocate, so now we will have the Atlanta Braves of Marietta Georgia

[bill hAll Star]

While I'm more on the side of a bit less of the publicly funded stadiums, let's take the "but it's a beautiful stadium...we didn't do this in my day" context and recency-bias out:

 

The article states that they have a lease at GlobeLife through 2023 (7 years from now). Let's assume they announce this today, it takes 2-3 years to argue over/design/plan and then 3 years from groundbreaking. So let's assume that they basically play it out until 2022 or so and buy out the final year of GlobeLife.

 

That means GlobeLife would have been used for about 28-29 years by the Rangers.

 

Other "flawed" stadiums that were replaced by the new wave of parks since the mid-90s:

 

Riverfront/Cinergy (cookie-cutter): 32 years

Three Rivers (cookie-cutter): 30 years

Metrodome (old-school dome): 27 years

Fulton-County Stadium (cookie-cutter): 32 years

Astrodome (old-school dome): 34 years

Kingdome (old-school dome): 24 years

Veterans Stadium (cookie-cutter): 32 years

 

I'd say GlobeLife is a bit poorly designed by being a fully outdoor stadium for a team that plays in a summer sauna. They probably could give it 5 more years if they want to...but we're in a new era where things will move a little bit faster.

[jerichoholicninja]

Something needs to be done about this craziness. Do the taxpayers get any vote in how much of their hard earned money is going to be spent on this?

[1992casey]

I think that this proposal is likely to be put up to a vote.

 

Sources: Rangers, City of Arlington will announce plans for new retractable-roof stadium; more info to come Friday afternoon

 

The Star-Telegram reported that a new $900 million ballpark be split equally between the city and the Rangers. WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported that an election would be held in November to dedicate Arlington's half-cent sales tax currently paying off the Cowboys AT&T Stadium to the new Rangers ballpark.

[pogokat]

Something needs to be done about this craziness. Do the taxpayers get any vote in how much of their hard earned money is going to be spent on this?

 

In Atlanta, no. And they had to fire about 10% of the public school teachers to fund it...

[DuWayne Steurer]

It seems like just "yesterday" that Miller Park was shiny and new. I know the lease for MIller Park runs through 2030. (ish?) I mean, is the lifespan of our park 30 years? Or does this thing only have about 15 years left on it already?

[bill hAll Star]

It seems like just "yesterday" that Miller Park was shiny and new. I know the lease for MIller Park runs through 2030. (ish?) I mean, is the lifespan of our park 30 years? Or does this thing only have about 15 years left on it already?

 

This seems to be the case. At the very least, they get a new renovation every ~30 years. Seems weird because Globe Life and Miller both feel pretty "modern," but I'd say the realistic modern feel would go away in 35-40 years...but of course everything moves faster so they'll try to make it a 30 year lifespan.

 

Realistically, these things should be fine for 60-70 years but we all know how well that argument would go over with the teams.

 

Sidenote: I've been to most of these mid-90s stadiums...Progressive/Jacobs feels so old. I felt like Camden and GlobeLife hold up a little bit better.

[DuWayne Steurer]

It seems like just "yesterday" that Miller Park was shiny and new. I know the lease for MIller Park runs through 2030. (ish?) I mean, is the lifespan of our park 30 years? Or does this thing only have about 15 years left on it already?

 

This seems to be the case. At the very least, they get a new renovation every ~30 years. Seems weird because Globe Life and Miller both feel pretty "modern," but I'd say the realistic modern feel would go away in 35-40 years...but of course everything moves faster so they'll try to make it a 30 year lifespan.

 

Realistically, these things should be fine for 60-70 years but we all know how well that argument would go over with the teams.

 

Sidenote: I've been to most of these mid-90s stadiums...Progressive/Jacobs feels so old. I felt like Camden and GlobeLife hold up a little bit better.

 

 

Put it in the parking lot where County Stadium used to be. And then in 2070 or thereabouts, put the next stadium where Miller Park is now.

[1992casey]

Rangers could play in new, air-conditioned ballpark in 2021 season

 

It appears that the roof is the critical feature that the current ballpark lacks. Rangers’ owner Ray Davis says that putting a roof on the current stadium would be too expensive and would leave the team without a place to play during construction.

 

The lease agreement would be extended until 2054, and Globe Life will be given the option to retain naming rights.

[MrTPlush]

It seems like just "yesterday" that Miller Park was shiny and new. I know the lease for MIller Park runs through 2030. (ish?) I mean, is the lifespan of our park 30 years? Or does this thing only have about 15 years left on it already?

 

Well it is hard to really predict the life of a stadium because we don't know how things will look towards the end of the lease. Is Attanasio tired of the Brewers and looking to send them off to a larger market just to cash in big when he sells them? I doubt the Brewers would have much bargaining power for tax dollars after how the Miller Park tax turned out.

 

I think Miller Park will last a long time though if you ask me. It was built with a long life in mind. I think it will continue to have improvements and still be a solid stadium till 2050 at the least. When you think about it even these new ballparks aren't anything special compared to Miller Park.

[1992casey]

I don't think Miller Park lacks anything that couldn't be easily accommodated. The big thing is that the roof was included.

 

Also, it appears that repairs aren't being allowed to slide. I stumbled on a 2014 article recently that said that the building was likely the best maintained structure in the Milwaukee area. It also stated that the Brewers have paid more than their share for maintenance and renovations and that they now have a greater ownership stake because of it. Another interesting thing that the article explained was that the percentage of the ballpark owned by the team and the stadium district is constantly being recomputed. This is important because there'll be funds that need to be divided up accordingly once Miller Park's life finally ends.

[1992casey]

Just to be clear, the city of Arlington made the proposal to the Rangers, not vice versa.

 

Ray Davis, the Rangers' co-owner, said there wasn't an urgency to build a new stadium since the team was committed to Arlington to 2024. The team even spent about $50 million over five years to upgrade Globe Life Park.

 

But Davis said the city came to him and asked: "What would it take to get you to stay here?"

 

He said the possibility to moving into a new retractable-roof stadium a few years early was "very compelling." No other city could provide the Rangers with that opportunity.

 

Rangers new stadium plans unveiled; find out what it will cost and timeline for its construction

[jerichoholicninja]

The more I learn about it, the less up in arms in makes me. However, the fact that the taxpayers are possibly being forced to pay for half of a new stadium to replace a 30ish year old stadium (that I'm sure they also paid a good chunk of) irks me. There's no reason that MLB isn't kicking in a bunch of money for these new stadiums instead of the taxpayers.

[homer]

The more I learn about it, the less up in arms in makes me. However, the fact that the taxpayers are possibly being forced to pay for half of a new stadium to replace a 30ish year old stadium (that I'm sure they also paid a good chunk of) irks me. There's no reason that MLB isn't kicking in a bunch of money for these new stadiums instead of the taxpayers.

 

 

There's no reason the teams can't pay for them. But they know the cities will always kick in money so they don't need to pay for them.

[owbc]

This one is less disturbing than the Braves' situation but still irritating. Arlington's fear is based on taxpayers from other communities also ponying up hundreds of millions to steal the team away. Of course the taxpayers would never actually approve such a thing, but it gets done anyway. Having the tax already in place helps as well. Too bad they can't just put a roof on the existing stadium.

 

Miller Park is nicer now than it was in 2001 and will be around indefinitely. Location is one issue that could potentially pop up 20-30 years in the future, but as of now that seems unlikely. Downtown Milwaukee has seen some revitalization but the majority of Brewers fans are still coming to games from the hinterlands via car. The population in the Milwaukee area isn't reorganizing itself and Miller Park is well positioned for people to reach the stadium via expressway from all directions.

 

Deferred maintenance is a big issue and we are fortunate that the sales tax is partially funding maintenance at Miller Park. The situation in Arizona might get ugly because of that same issue...it's hard to imagine the Diamondbacks leaving Chase Field but again, when so many communities are willing to pony up $250 million, why not?

[Austin Tatious]

I like Miller Park. It still seems fresh. When I'm in there, it still has a new feel. It has everything you need, club seats, retractable roof etc. It's easy to get in and out of, relatively speaking. There's no need to even consider anything new for a long while.

 

I hate waste. I don't even like any food to be left on a plate during dinner. Destroying a perfectly fine stadium really irks me.

[Invader3K]

It probably isn't a big deal in a state with many multi-million dollar high school football stadiums.