I recant what I said about sucking it up, too. I talked to my good friend who is a diehard Rangers fan and he set me straight. I guess there is a 'too hot' even when you're drunk (which is really worse).
They went with artificial turf... a non-paneled/sectional roof that doesn’t tuck away... dark interiors with their natural light windows obscured by seats... a restaurant as their home plate backdrop... a parking lot as their “surrounding neighborhood”... and all the while they’re getting the city of Arlington to fit the bill. I thought the Miami park and situation was worse, but I was wrong.
Maybe it was the camera angle, but some of seats on the third base line/mezzanine look like they don't angle into home plate. Did anyone else see that?
Imaged spoiler'd for size... and content. Spoiler You're right... they seem to be looking at RF. Also, what's up with the empty space in between area where the stands jut out along the 3B foul line and the seats? Between that, and the restaurant behind home plate, and the "increased" foul area, seems like they made a conscious effort to keep fans further away from the actual field (not closer). Works out well during a pandemic when there are no fans anyways... but if they're ever in a big playoff game again, seems like it would diminish the effect of a sold out crowd. Additionally, field-level suites don't ever seem to work out in terms of creating a HFA or raucous atmosphere... in any arena or stadium.
No, bullpens in the OF. I guess they do need a camera well, and maybe since the area behind home plate was replaced with a restaurant, this is to make up for that...
I know I am in the extreme majority here, but I don't think it's that bad. It's definitely much better for the fans than their old park. The outside is disgusting, but I think the inside of the stadium is pretty cool (aside from the ridiculous restaurant behind home plate). The interior kind of reminds me of the diamondbacks stadium.
I can't wait to check it out when the Astros come to town (post-pandemic of course) The courtyard in front is shared with a pretty cool entertainment complex called Texas Live
Pretty sure the Rangers own that complex... its basically just an extension of the stadium. Its the new model in sports stadiums. Atlanta did something similar. St. Louis has one as well. No longer relying on building in a city center and spurring independent development by private businesses... and the team garners more profits. The downside is the type of vendors that will actually occupy these spaces, likely to be a revolving door of sorts.
They built that Texas Live entertainment area because of the debacle of hosting the Super Bowl. There wasnt anything to do for the fans after they traveled from dallas to arlington. All in all, it was smart to build it, to further their chances at big events, and arlington as a city to entertain, aint it.
I believe Crane owns some land by Minute Maid that he's trying to add some entertainment (bars and food). I live in Austin and the experience at Minute Maid and going out afterwards is pretty good, especially since pre Covid downtown Houston was getting lively.
Yeah, I believe Jerry Jones had a big hand in Texas Live. Arlingtion as a whole actually has some cool spots closer to Downtown Arlington (about 2 miles away), but nothing right by the stadiums. They have a decent brewery, a really cool Tiki bar, a great Arcade called Free Play that has an excellent craft beer selection, a few really great bars like Caves Lounge, and some cool restaurants like Babes and the Flying Fish.
DFW people: What's the local nickname for this place? -The Grill -The Casserole Dish -The Barn -Bubba's Feed Lot -It ???
