The Texas Rangers will get a new stadium as part of a deal announced Friday that will keep the club in Arlington through 2054.
“The Texas Rangers have chosen to stay in Arlington, Texas," Arlington mayor Jeff Williams announced in a news conference.
 
Rangers announce plans for new retractable roof ballpark by 2021
 
The new stadium will cost an estimated $1 billion and will include a retractable dome. The Rangers and Arlington would split the cost of construction of the new ballpark, which is expected to be completed by April 2021.
 
 Rangers announce plans for new retractable roof ballpark by 2021
 
The new stadium is part of new mixed-use development, Texas Live!, that will begin construction this year.
The proposal will be presented to Arlington's city council next week. Voters would need to approve an extension of an existing half-cent tax on November ballot, Williams said.
Rangers owner Ray Davis said that a retractable roof is a major impetus for needing a new ballpark, something that would be difficult to add a roof to Globe Life Park in Arlington.
 
Rangers announce plans for new retractable roof ballpark by 2021
 
The Texas Rangers’ 30-year lease at their current digs --- which opened as the Ballpark in Arlington in 1994 --- expires after the 2023 season. City officials apparently had concerns the Rangers might be lured to a new home elsewhere if a new stadium wasn’t built.
"They were very proactive," Davis said. "That started the conversation (about a new ballpark)."
The agreement comes after the Atlanta Braves signed a deal for a new ballpark to replace their 1990s-era stadium. The Braves, whose Turner Filed opened in 1997, will begin play in nearby Cobb County at SunTrust Stadium next season.
Jim Cowsert, USA TODAY Sports
 

Comments are closed.