Visiting Globe Life Field

9,009 Views | 65 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Kellso
wbt5845
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Guess it's a good thing I care more about baseball than architecture.

I love the new stadium - have had season tickets for quite some time - don't miss that old nasty sweat box at all. I am an Arlington taxpayer and think we got more than our money's worth with the new stadium. The place is beautiful.
Grapesoda2525
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wbt5845 said:

Guess it's a good thing I care more about baseball than architecture.

I love the new stadium - have had season tickets for quite some time - don't miss that old nasty sweat box at all. I am an Arlington taxpayer and think we got more than our money's worth with the new stadium. The place is beautiful.
Agree with this take.

It's so nice to be able to watch a game and not worry about the weather at all. No rain delays, no heat waves to death, no issues.
Chipotlemonger
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Quote:

It's so nice to be able to watch a game and not worry about the weather at all. No rain delays, no heat waves to death, no issues.
This all could have been had in a much nicer way than the airport hangar that sits out there right now.
WestTexasAg
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You hate to start talking about a remodel in year two of the stadium, but it sounds like it is the exterior that needs work. Is there anything long term that could be done to improve the look?
wbt5845
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WestTexasAg said:

You hate to start talking about a remodel in year two of the stadium, but it sounds like it is the exterior that needs work. Is there anything long term that could be done to improve the look.
So one of the features most people complain about are the ETFE panels that are used in the roof. The original sketches showed glass.





ETFE is used in order to let light in like glass, but is a much better thermal insulator. It also is much lighter, much more durable and has better acoustic properties. To replace it would require a lot more structure to support whatever was replacing it, thus reducing the natural light.

I'm sure that, even if the ETFE panels were replaced, the people who complain about aesthetics would continue to complain since the park still would not look "pretty" compared to the old sweatbox. Of course, I rarely if ever saw all these architectural critics out there for a 2 PM first pitch in August, so screw 'em.
Grapesoda2525
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wbt5845 said:

WestTexasAg said:

You hate to start talking about a remodel in year two of the stadium, but it sounds like it is the exterior that needs work. Is there anything long term that could be done to improve the look.
So one of the features most people complain about are the ETFE panels that are used in the roof. The original sketches showed glass.

Here



ETFE is used in order to let light in like glass, but is a much better thermal insulator. It also is much lighter, much more durable and has better acoustic properties. To replace it would require a lot more structure to support whatever was replacing it, thus reducing the natural light.

I'm sure that, even if the ETFE panels were replaced, the people who complain about aesthetics would continue to complain since the park still would not look "pretty" compared to the old sweatbox. Of course, I rarely if ever saw all these architectural critics out there for a 2 PM first pitch in August, so screw 'em.
Some of the fans are biased in favor of the "old sweat box" because they have fond memories 10 or 11 years ago of playoff baseball there. Playoff baseball where the weather was nice, the park was beautiful, and the team for the most part was winning.

These people often overlook how truly terrible the old ballpark was for rangers season ticket holders, employees, staff, and the players who had to frequent that place on a daily basis. Sometimes it seemed like the team would be gassed by the time September rolled around. The heat undoubtedly made lots of players leave and made lots of other players not interested in joining the rangers at all.

I have been in the sweat box for a 100 degree afternoon game. I remember buying an ice cream and the whole ice cream pretty much melted about 30 seconds after I sat down. Most people sitting in my section decided that the sun was too hot so they stood in the shade the whole game.

Im grateful that the weather is NEVER going to be a factor again when going to a ranger game. I have way too many memories of sweaty ass games.
The Lost
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It's nice it has a roof, but other wise is an event center, not a baseball stadium. The left field seats we sat in fir the ws you couldn't even see the whole field.

It's pretty meh and sad it's best feature is a roof that Houston figured out in the 60's
Grapesoda2525
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The Lost said:

It's nice it has a roof, but other wise is an event center, not a baseball stadium. The left field seats we sat in fir the ws you couldn't even see the whole field.

It's pretty meh and sad it's best feature is a roof that Houston figured out in the 60's
The ballpark built in the 90's really need a retractable roof.
rgt99
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You are right. My son kept asking if the old ballpark was the new one. I had to tell him, no it's actually the other way around. He is five and even understood that the old ballpark is nicer to look at.

Again, not trying to downplay the new park. I understand why they had to build it, it's was just too damn hot in the summer months in the old park.
Chipotlemonger
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How about the hot months they play in the new park, not so hot months they play in the old ball park.
wbt5845
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To those who rag on GLF - what enclosed stadiums DO you find attractive? None look like classic ballparks to me.

American Family Field



Enron Field



Rogers Center

wbt5845
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Chase Field - all look like airplane hangers by y'all's standards.

BCSWguru
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Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Matsui
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I need some help. I bought tickets from someone and they transferred them to my Texas rangers account. Can someone help to see if they are verified? Isn't someone on here work for the rangers?
wbt5845
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LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.
Matsui
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I emailed you. Can you reply back?
BCSWguru
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wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.


It could look like the taj mahal but it's still baseball indoors. That part will always be awful, no matter the stadium.
Matsui
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Went to back to to back games vs giants. Sat down in lower level 9. Excellent sights and angles. Problem is the food selection is terrible down there. I assume i have to go back up thru the stairs etc to get the golden chick or pizza or pluckers or other items. It's basically just traditional ballpark fare down there. Which was odd to me. Prefer the 100 level options by far.
Corporal Punishment
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Rainouts > Indoor baseball
Kellso
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Grapesoda2525 said:

wbt5845 said:

Guess it's a good thing I care more about baseball than architecture.

I love the new stadium - have had season tickets for quite some time - don't miss that old nasty sweat box at all. I am an Arlington taxpayer and think we got more than our money's worth with the new stadium. The place is beautiful.
Agree with this take.

It's so nice to be able to watch a game and not worry about the weather at all. No rain delays, no heat waves to death, no issues.
Have not yet attended the new stadium.

I'm waiting about a month to go on a day when its sweltering hot and humid to contrast the new experience to the previous Rangers experience of frying your ass off in the summer heat.

I'm positive the decision to move indoors was done after I went to Game 4 of the 2015 playoff series against Toronto.
It was 97 in October, and most of the fans were miserable. The playoff game started at 2PM, and by the end of the game a large number of people were inside the bars, or concourse because it was too hot to be outside.
Kellso
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wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.
Personally....I've always thought Minute Maid Park looked great.
The only thing I don't like about the Astros park is their very small right field grandstands.
tjack16
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I'll be there for the Astros series in august. Section 129 row 1 in right field
Kellso
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LSCSN said:

wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.


It could look like the taj mahal but it's still baseball indoors. That part will always be awful, no matter the stadium.
I've never understood this idea.

I've been to Astros games on a Friday night in the middle of August.....and there is nothing like that AC hitting your ass after a long, hot, humid day.

Much more enjoyable experience than sitting outdoors at Globe Life Field sweating your ass off, or hanging out on the concourse because its too hot to sit in your seats.
CowtownAg06
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Kellso said:

LSCSN said:

wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.


It could look like the taj mahal but it's still baseball indoors. That part will always be awful, no matter the stadium.
I've never understood this idea.

I've been to Astros games on a Friday night in the middle of August.....and there is nothing like that AC hitting your ass after a long, hot, humid day.

Much more enjoyable experience than sitting outdoors at Globe Life Field sweating your ass off, or hanging out on the concourse because its too hot to sit in your seats.
I'm a convert on this. I moved to Houston in 2006 after growing up in FW. Hated indoor baseball, felt like playing in a barn. However, the A/C is must better for Texas.
wbt5845
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Kellso said:

wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.
Personally....I've always thought Minute Maid Park looked great.
The only thing I don't like about the Astros park is their very small right field grandstands.
I disagree. Enron Field looks like an airplane hanger from the outside, just like all enclosed stadiums do.



I continue to hold those who bag on GLF are bagging on it simply because it's enclosed - and I further hold I never saw those people out there with me on Sunday afternoons when it was 102 F at first pitch.

Kellso
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wbt5845 said:

Kellso said:

wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.
Personally....I've always thought Minute Maid Park looked great.
The only thing I don't like about the Astros park is their very small right field grandstands.
I disagree. Enron Field looks like an airplane hanger from the outside, just like all enclosed stadiums do.



I continue to hold those who bag on GLF are bagging on it simply because it's enclosed - and I further hold I never saw those people out there with me on Sunday afternoons when it was 102 F at first pitch.


When Minute Maid park is open, and the Houston skyline becomes a part of the stadium experience.....I think the facility looks fantastic.
I notice you keep using average pictures of Minute Maid, and not some of the better views.
Safeco field has a retractable roof, but its not enclosed. It is a beautiful facility.

I haven't been to the new Rangers stadium, but it is quite average looking from the outside. I'm still waiting to see what the stadium interior looks like, and what the atmosphere is like during a very hot or humid day.

I think what contributes to people's negativity of the place is a lack of a natural backdrop, and that is located next to two stadiums that are significantly more impressive looking.





Chipotlemonger
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I'll reiterate this again.

Having an ugly stadium and an enclosed field are mutually exclusive of one another. For it to be enclosed does not mean it has to be an eyesore. We have both with the Rangers.
Jarrin' Jay
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Overall Globe Life Field is nice and a bonus to be able to go to a game in mid June - Sept. and not have your face melt off in an oven. The only redeeming factors of the new stadium is roof and A/C so that there is never a delay and you can go in the middle of the summer and it be comfortable. I don't mind sitting in 92 degree sun, but going to a 7:00 game where at 9:00 at night you are still sitting in 95 degree heat is just awful.

The amount of natural light coming in and the visibility to outside the stadium is good. I also didn't hate the turf a much as I thought I would, it actually looks good. I don't really have a problem with good artificial turf for baseball so long as the basepaths, mound ,and track are all clay/dirt. The college turf fields look awful with no actual dirt, cow having the worst one of all with 70s style base cut-outs.

Pretty good sightlines, have been to two games and sat in the 100 level on 3rd base line and they were good seats and a good value for the ticket price. Going later this month and taking the entire family, sitting in the 200 section and those seats were good value for the $$.

So, that is all the positives, there are way more negatives. Mind you the roof and A/C override the negatives overall, but......

  • How can you spend $1.2 Billion on a stadium and not have TVs at the concession stands showing the game. One game I went to was 2-0 and I didn't see any of the scoring waiting in line for concessions. That is stupid to not have TV monitors at the concessions. Just because you can hear the crowd/game and the concessions are open toward the field does not mean you can actually see the field and the game action.
  • It is just very generic and sterile inside.
  • Outside, the nickname "The Shed" is well earned, but I don't know that you can make an indoor/retractable roof stadium look great. Houston stadium is decent, but there are no indoor / retractable roof baseball stadiums that look like the old ballpark, Camden Yards, Citi Field, Great American, PNC, etc. BTW PNC Park is the best stadium in MLB.
  • The old facility was a true ballpark, classic. The new one is just a building where they play baseball. HUGE difference.
  • They absolutely need to tear down the old stadium. It is just dead space on prime R/E. It was never going to serve as a football stadium for whatever spare league pops up then folds, it can't really be repurposed into retail or residential, and it's a constant reminder of the beauty and architecture of a true ballpark right outside the new shed. They didn't leave Shea next to Citi field, they didn't leave old Yankee Stadium next to the new. Old Texas Stadium isn't still standing. The ballpark needs to be torn down.
  • Lastly, I know in sports that ticket prices are about an entertainment value, but at some point it should reflect the product on the field. The lowest level sections 1-25 the tickets prices are absolutely ridiculous, has to be some of the highest in MLB, I know it is way higher than the Mets (see many games there when traveling for business). The average ticket price I think is OK, but the lowest level ticket prices are insane for a glorified AAA team, IMHO. Mathematically I'm sure the average ticket price is in the middle for MLB, but that is misleading as the lowest level only has like 16 rows, then suites, then the 100 level which are still good seats are $75 and they are further away from the field than other ballparks $75 seats. The 200 level seats are $27-$40 and are a good value, but further from the field than the old stadium second level.

double aught
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Kellso said:

wbt5845 said:

Kellso said:

wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.
Personally....I've always thought Minute Maid Park looked great.
The only thing I don't like about the Astros park is their very small right field grandstands.
I disagree. Enron Field looks like an airplane hanger from the outside, just like all enclosed stadiums do.



I continue to hold those who bag on GLF are bagging on it simply because it's enclosed - and I further hold I never saw those people out there with me on Sunday afternoons when it was 102 F at first pitch.


When Minute Maid park is open, and the Houston skyline becomes a part of the stadium experience.....I think the facility looks fantastic.
I notice you keep using average pictures of Minute Maid, and not some of the better views.
Safeco field has a retractable roof, but its not enclosed. It is a beautiful facility.

I haven't been to the new Rangers stadium, but it is quite average looking from the outside. I'm still waiting to see what the stadium interior looks like, and what the atmosphere is like during a very hot or humid day.

I think what contributes to people's negativity of the place is a lack of a natural backdrop, and that is located next to two stadiums that are significantly more impressive looking.






Yeah, Globe Life Field is kind of a joke. Minute Maid was done better twenty years earlier! I love how the whole left field wall opens with the roof. Makes a big difference.
agsalaska
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CowtownAg06 said:

Kellso said:

LSCSN said:

wbt5845 said:

LSCSN said:

Yes, indoor baseball is terrible. I think that's the idea.
Well, not for most here. They keep saying "yeah it's indoors but didn't have to look like an airplane hanger" and my point is ALL indoor stadiums look like airplane hangers from the outside.


It could look like the taj mahal but it's still baseball indoors. That part will always be awful, no matter the stadium.
I've never understood this idea.

I've been to Astros games on a Friday night in the middle of August.....and there is nothing like that AC hitting your ass after a long, hot, humid day.

Much more enjoyable experience than sitting outdoors at Globe Life Field sweating your ass off, or hanging out on the concourse because its too hot to sit in your seats.
I'm a convert on this. I moved to Houston in 2006 after growing up in FW. Hated indoor baseball, felt like playing in a barn. However, the A/C is must better for Texas.
I am a convert as well for the same reasons. Grew up in FW and went to dozens of games at both Arlington Stadium and The Ballpark. Moved to Houston in 2000 after graduating. I was there from 2000-2006 and probably went to 50 games at Minute Made. Minute Made was better than the Ballpark the day it opened.

I loved The Ballpark, but when I moved back from 2012-2014 I only went to maybe three games total. Part of that was because of the weather. I went to twice as many games when I lived in Vegas for the same amount of time because at least out there it cools off quickly when the sun sets.


As for the new stadium, I have been to one game, a Friday loss to Baltimore. I really enjoyed it. I thought the stadium was really cool and will enjoy going more even if I live two hours away now.
The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they are genuine. -- Abraham Lincoln.



Joe Schillaci 48
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Enron Field



I see what you did there. Can't we all just get along? Don't make me bring up stories of Bob Short and ruining David Clyde's pitching arm to sell tickets and save the franchise.

PS Enron was not the Astros fault.
Kellso
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wbt5845 said:

Guess it's a good thing I care more about baseball than architecture.

I love the new stadium - have had season tickets for quite some time - don't miss that old nasty sweat box at all. I am an Arlington taxpayer and think we got more than our money's worth with the new stadium. The place is beautiful.
I went back and read this thread, and for the most part I agree and disagree with WBT.

I went to Globe Life for the first time earlier this week and I thought the new stadium was great. I think the haters should STFU.
From reading all the negative reviews I kept expecting a horrible stadium experience, but I was pleasantly surprised at what a nice facility it is.

Like others have mentioned I remember the first time I went to the BPIA in 1994 and was blown away at what a great facility it was. A lot of that was because Arlington Stadium was a dump. It was nothing more than a large minor league stadium.

In 2021 we are all used to nice club areas, luxury suites, and the bells and whistles that comes with modern stadiums.

Pros/Cons:

Pros-
A. It rained Tuesday night and was super humid. Did not matter because the game was played indoors. 10 years from now we are going to tell kids that the Texas Rangers subjected to their fans to playing in the Texas heat for nearly 50 years.....and they will not believe us.

Any other city with summers comparable to DFW plays indoors. The Texas Rangers had to move indoors. There was no way they could continue to subject their fans to sitting outdoors in 90-100 degree weather.

B. The seats in the upper deck are at a steep angle which gives you this feeling of almost being on top of the field. Most of the seats seem to have really good sightlines.

C. Wide Concourses with plenty of space

D. I had seats in the Stubhub Club. I think the entire lower deck club area is great. I like how they have various club area's with different food and drink options. This way each club area is not to overwhelmed with fans.

E. I could care less that there is not natural grass.

F. Did I mention its indoors.

G. The Karbach beer area in the right field upper deck is a very cool area, and huge upgrade over that same part of the stadium in the BPIA. Great place for kids to play, or to just drink and socialize.

Cons:
A. Its still in Arlington

B. If they had built the stadium in downtown FT Worth I could ride the TRE to the game instead of being stuck in rush hour traffic for an hour from North Dallas. Arlington is the largest city in the United States without public transportation.

C. It is not the prettiest stadium from the outside....even though the inside is fantastic.

D. Its not really a traditional ballpark. Its more of an arena or convention center with a baseball field in the middle of it, that has a roof that partially opens. Purist seem to want to hate on GLF because of this..... I honestly don't care.

E. Its a better facility than Minute Maid Park only because its 20 years newer. Minute Maid park is a superior baseball stadium. I wish GLF retractable roof opened up more.

OTOH there might not be a reason for the roof to open all the way because there is no Houston skyline as a backdrop.....just the parking lots for Jerry World, and BPIA.
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