The Texas Rangers gave a sneak preview of its 2020 season. Not the players, but the new Globe Life Field and its retractable roof.
As the Rangers unveiled its newly opened Globe Life Field Sales Center, they showed off a new model of the under-construction ballpark so fans can check out model suites, choose their seats and explore other stadium features at the
The Rangers unveiled the Globe Life Field Sales Center, which is in what was formerly the Hall of Fame space on Randol Mill Road, during a media event on Tuesday, Nov. 27. One of center’s attractions is a 3D model with a functioning retractable roof to help fans better visualize the seating bowl, field and open-air feeling of the new 40,000-seat ballpark. Globe Life Field is set to open in 2020.
“To this point we’ve released renderings and you can get a certain amount of feel for it when you look at in an image. But, when you can come, walk all the way around it, watch the roof move from east to west and open and close, I think it adds an element of excitement that is pretty cool for our customers,” said Rob Matwick, Rangers Executive Vice President of Business Operations.
In addition to showing off the new sales center, the Rangers announced key design features for the retractable roof. The roof, which measures 240,000 square feet, is designed to provide a climate-controlled atmosphere for fans and players 365 days a year while still letting in natural light.
HKS principal John Hutchings said Globe Life Field will feel like an outdoor ballpark when the roof is open. The challenge of making the ballpark feel more like an open environment than an enclosed space will be aided using translucent building material known as Ethylene Tetraflouroethylene (ETFE), a plastic polymer related to Teflon. The center portion of the roof, more than 120,900-square-feet, will be covered in the ETFE panels. The lightweight material will also be utilized along the concourses, helping to filter natural light throughout the levels of the ballpark.
The lightweight material will also be utilized along the concourses, helping to filter natural light throughout the levels of the ballpark.
“When you go into the upper concourse and suite levels of the building, there are actually openings cut into the concourses so that light will translate all the way down into the main concourse,” Matwick said. “We’re trying to make it as transparent as we possibly can.”
Roof construction is a major focus of current construction at the ballpark site. Work on the roof trusses, the support system for the roof track, continues to progress daily, said Rangers Sr. Vice President of Project Development.
In all, roof construction is expected to take about a year to complete, Hill said. Soon, a 3,000-ton, 400-foot-tall crane – one of the largest in the country – will be assembled on site to begin lifting the nearly 19,000 tons of steel needed for the roof structure.
“Typically, this operation will take somewhere between a year and 14 months, from beginning to end. There’s a lot of work that has to take place to get that done,” Hill said.
