John Blake no longer has to pinch himself. Reality has set in for the executive vice president of communications for the Texas Rangers baseball team.
And what a reality it is, one he’s waited on for a quarter century. Each day when he arrives at work, he gets an up-front view of the construction of Arlington’s newest entertainment phenomenon, Texas Live!
“When we built the Ballpark, development was going to be a part of it. We were going to have GloryPark,” Blake recalled. “And when they came to this, I said this is going to be a game changer.”
Area media representatives on May 8 got their first inside look at the project that has warmed Blake’s heart. Texas Live! is set to open sometime in August located between the current Globe Life Park and the Rangers’ new stadium, Globe Life Field, which is planned for a 2020 opening date. Fort Worth’s VLK is the project’s Associate Architect with Design Architect and Architect of Record, HKS Inc.
“It’s been a goal of three ownerships and now it’s a reality,” Blake said.
Texas Live! comes from a partnership between the Texas Rangers, The Cordish Companies and the City of Arlington.
The $250 million project will have 200,000 square feet of restaurants, retail and entertainment venues and an outdoor event pavilion. It will also have a 300-room hotel with 35,000 square feet of meeting space, as the first in a new brand called Live! by Loews.
Texas Live! is part of a greater $4 billion vision by the Texas Rangers Baseball Club for the Arlington Stadium District, which includes the new $1 billion ballpark. Texas Live! will be constructed by a joint venture of Manhattan Construction Co. and Arlington-based Con-Real. Manhattan also built the nearby AT&T Stadium. Texas Live! is projected to create 2,000 new construction jobs and 1,025 new permanent jobs.
Texas Live! is expected bring 3 million visitors to Arlington upon opening in 2018.
When the current ballpark opened in 1994, officials expected development to begin around the area, but much of the land remained vacant. When venture capital billionaire Tom Hicks owned the team (1998-2010), development in the area was on the cusp of a revival with a project called GloryPark. But just as shovels were preparing to turn dirt, the Great Recession hit and the project devolved into a flurry of lawsuits. Hicks sold the team to a group financed by Fort Worth’s Bob Simpson and Dallas businessman Ray Davis.
Since then, development around the ballpark has been steady, with the partnership with The Cordish Companies proving key for the city and the Rangers. Cordish has experience with several ballpark-oriented developments such as St. Louis Ballpark Village.
The goal is to attract and keep visitors in the city before, during and after games, as well as when the stadiums are dark. For instance, the outdoor event pavilion, named Arlington Backyard, will have capacity for 5,000 people.
This year’s opening of Texas Live! will be followed by the opening of the flagship Live! by Loews hotel in the summer of 2019.
The new Globe Life Field will make its debut in two years, completing the dream of Blake and many others for Arlington’s entertainment district.
“This type of world-class experience does not exist anywhere else in the country,” said Reed Cordish, principal at The Cordish Companies. “This is quite a statement Arlington is making.
“This is the first time a minority-based firm has taken a leadership role in Arlington on a project this size.”
Demetria Bivens’ construction consulting firm, dlb Consultants, is a woman/minority-owned business that was chosen as the coordinator of minority and women-owned subcontractors for Texas Live!
“We have three years ahead of us of incredible openings and world-class projects,” Cordish said.
Among those openings will be a new restaurant, Troy’s. Yep, that Troy, and Aikman was in attendance during the media tour.
“This was inspired by all the great Texas beer halls,” Dallas Cowboys’ Hall of Famer Aikman said. “I’ve been thinking a while about jumping in, opening a restaurant, something I can put my name on.”
The restaurant will offer gourmet burgers, Aikman’s touches on the menu (including healthy choices), and his wife’s artichoke dip.
“I’ve always liked Arlington and what they’ve been able to do,” Aikman said. “I am excited about this complex.”
Other highlights at Texas Live! will include Lockhart Smokehouse, Rangers Republic (the ultimate fan clubhouse), a cowboy-themed bar from Professional Bull Riders (yes, there will be two mechanical bulls), a Guy Fieri restaurant (host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives), and Revolver Brewing.
The entire complex, Texas Live!, hotel and stadium is $1.25 billion in development.
Cordish also said Texas Live! will open 100 percent leased and occupied.
“That really is a powerful statement about what’s happening in Arlington right now,” he said. “This place will truly have something for everybody and become a community gathering spot. And by community I mean Dallas, Fort Worth, all of North Texas.”
Live! by Loews
The $150 million flagship hotel called Live! by Loews-Arlington, TX, will be the first of its kind in the country, blending sports and entertainment with first-class hospitality and amenities.
Live! by Loews will anchor Texas Live! in the heart of the Arlington Entertainment District between the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park and the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. Designed by HKS Architects, the 14-story contemporary glass tower hotel will have 302 guest rooms, including 26 suites, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. – FWBP Staff
