Rangers New Ballpark

[LA_Angels]

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/texas-rangers-retractable-roof-stadium-051916

 

I've noticed a new trend in the MLB, and that is destroying perfectly fine stadiums and building new ones for the hell of it. Im all in for moving Rangers Ballpark to Oakland or Tampa Bay.

[rams80]

You know, Tiger Stadium was good enough for 87 years...

[mania]

Globe Life Park was built with one major, major flaw in it though. The infrastructure didn't even provide for a roof to be added on later. The team has talked about on multiple occasions that it would cost a new ballpark cost to retrofit one onto it. So if you're going to spend that money anyways, so it's not an unreasonably miserable sweatbox for half the season, you might as well build a new stadium.

[rsaline]

I would be disappointed to see the Rangers move. Globe Life is such a beautiful park built in a perfect era. 

[2001mark]

Well, their current one does have far too many upper deck outfield seats I guess.

 

News like this reminds me what might one day come of the SkyDome.  Surely they would want to build new on the same exact lot, maybe the Jays would have to play home games for a year & half mixed in Buffalo & Montreal?  I dunno.  I always thought they could find a way to simply gut its interior, while not compromising its large concrete shell- the roof isn't terrible, just needs some inner aesthetics- it's wasted eye space if you ask me.

[SFGiants58]

I'll only approve of this if the old stadium gets transported brick-by-brick to Oakland (with obvious seismic refitting) or Montreal (with some fleur-de-lis decorations added).

[pmoehrin]

I don't think there's any doubt that the Rangers would be much better served with a retractable roof than without. That being said, the franchise has survived for over 40 years without one, so its not like they NEED one either.

 

But yeah just handing over half a billion in taxpayer money to a team because they "aren't satisfied" with their 20 year old stadium is ridiculous. What were they going to do if Arlington just simply said no? Or did the city just go shut and take my money before even considering that question?

 

If the new park is so great and wonderful, than the Rangers can build it themselves. Corporate welfare at its worst and we now have the second perfectly fine ballpark going bye bye within a span of ten years.

[chrysleraspen08]

It looks like we might starting to enter another era of teams leaving their not so old stadiums and new stadiums being opened every year. Teams such as Atlanta, Arizona, and Texas don't really need new stadiums, but I can understand why Atlanta and Texas want new ones (I don't think anybody can understand that whole Arizona thing from a couple of months ago). I just hope a lot of the other teams don't start jumping on the bandwagon that they need to replace their stadium because it's 20 years old and only has 60 luxury suites or something like that.

[Gothamite]

On the other hand. I hate Miller Park.  So replacing that one early is okay by me. 

[OldRamsFan]

1 hour ago, pmoehrin said:

I don't think there's any doubt that the Rangers would be much better served with a retractable roof than without. That being said, the franchise has survived for over 40 years without one, so its not like they NEED one either.

 

But yeah just handing over half a billion in taxpayer money to a team because they "aren't satisfied" with their 20 years old is ridiculous. What were they going to do if Arlington just simply said no? Or did the city just go shut and take my money before even considering that question?

 

If the new park is so great and wonderful, than the Rangers can build it themselves. Corporate welfare at its worst and we now have the second perfectly fine ballpark going bye bye within a span of ten years.

I voted against he Cowboys' stadium, I'll vote against this. But I think it'll pass.

[Needschat]

The state of Texas has placed their children's education behind sports.  This comes on the heels of the multi-million dollar high school football stadium  

[Sykotyk]

32 minutes ago, Needschat said:

The state of Texas has placed their children's education behind sports.  This comes on the heels of the multi-million dollar high school football stadium  

A stadium complex is not cheap. Medina Highland in Ohio just built their new stadium for $8.9 million. Stadiums aren't cheap. Anything for $999,999 or less will basically be a flat patch of grass and some portable stands without any running water.

 

Secondly, Allen, Katy, and McKinney are wealthier areas that are building stadiums (at least the latter two) multiple high schools. Katy has 9 high schools already using the two stadiums they have. They needed a new one. McKinney is in a similar boat. Allen should have multiple high schools, but the town just keeps building a bigger and better Allen HS instead. So, the stadium is still what you would expect for a city that could have 4 or 5 high schools in a very affluent area.

[WSU151]

52 minutes ago, Needschat said:

The state of Texas has placed their children's education behind sports.  This comes on the heels of the multi-million dollar high school football stadium  

 

The stadium was less than a third of the bond package.  $150M will go to improving school facilities throughout the district.

 

I've always thought Globe Life to be a beautiful ballpark, but I'm sure I'd be annoyed by the heat.  I like the exterior (it is definitely big) and the office building in centerfield is pretty charming.    

[OnWis97]

45 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

I've always thought Globe Life to be a beautiful ballpark, but I'm sure I'd be annoyed by the heat.  I like the exterior (it is definitely big) and the office building in centerfield is pretty charming.    

Check and check.

 

(Also, I had NO idea it was called "Globe Life")

 

I will have to make sure to get to that park before it closes.  I love how enclosed it is; I understand the value of viewing a nice skyline or body of water, but I like having a few enclosed ballparks and the "freeway off-ramp" ones may as well fill that bill.

 

When I was a kid and the Rangers were always bad I recall my dad saying things like "The Rangers are the only team that ever plays Sunday night home games (Pre-ESPN Sunday game of the week) because of the heat" and "even when they are good, they tend to fade down the stretch because they get tired from the heat."  

 

I don't know whether those things were true (or was the latter his perception?).  But if so, then in theory they knew the issue.  So if you are going to bilk the public out of money, just go all the way and bilk them out of "retractable roof" money.  Though in fairness, retractable ballparks were not very nice back then.

 

Same thing in Minnesota.  I personally can live with the issues caused by outdoor baseball in the worst whether city in America, but I would guess calls for a new retractable ballpark are 10 to 15 years off.  We tried to do it on the cheap and it'll probably end up costing us in the long run. Hopefully the year the Twins broke the all-time losses record (2016) will be far enough behind that we don't just give 'em a collective "see ya."

[dfwabel]

With both The Ballpark and ATT Stadium, the city of Arlington has been able to retire their bonds off much quicker than the term sheet. Both bonds were to be paid over 20 and 30 years respectively. The Ballpark was paid off in ten and the bonds for ATT Stadium are on pace to be retired 14 years early. 

 

If the voters want to continue the half cent sales tax, 5% car rental tax and 2% hotel tax for another stadium, that is their choice as they have the sales tax revenues to afford it and stay under the state's maximum tax threshold. The city has given away hundreds of millions in tax rebates to keep the 12,000 employee GM truck plant which produces the Silverado and Suburban.

 

Honestly, since The Ballpark opened in 1994, the metroplex's population center has shifted both northeast and northwest of Arlington so it's going to be even greater a decade from now. It is a much worse location than it was 20 years ago, especially for 81 events a year.

 

And don't worry, Arlington did add public transit, albeit one bus route, in 2013. 

[TVIXX]

Let's Just Take The Ballpark And Move It Somewhere else [Oakland Is Preferred]

[chrysleraspen08]

 

Found this on Twitter.

[rainmaker17]

Arlington has got to tap into the DART lines.

[dfwabel]

6 hours ago, rainmaker17 said:

Arlington has got to tap into the DART lines.

They cannot.

 

As long as the city has a half cent sales tax for stadiums and the maximum is at 8.25%, they will remain unable to have a full 1-cent available to join DART.  And even when those taxes go away, they'll still be short a quarter-cent. 

[chrysleraspen08]

The new ballpark is set to open in 2021. The agreement with the city of Arlington ends on January 1st 2054 (the same day that you can cash one of Homer Simpson's cheques).

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/179136026/plans-unveiled-for-new-rangers-ballpark