Globe Life Field

About Globe Life Field

In the Arlington Entertainment District, a 40,300-seat ballpark keeps the Texas Rangers cool under the world’s largest single-panel retractable roof, over a coconut-husk synthetic surface with a disappearing pitcher’s mound. Globe Life Field has already packed two World Series into its first four seasons.

The Rangers moved here in 2020 after 26 seasons at the old Globe Life Park (formerly Rangers Ballpark in Arlington), which had no climate control, a brutal reality in a city where summer temperatures regularly exceed 100°F. Built for roughly $1.1 billion and designed by HKS, Inc., Globe Life Field solved that problem with a 240,000-square-foot retractable roof that can open or close in 12 minutes. When closed, transparent ETFE panels flood the interior with natural light while keeping the Texas heat outside.

The ballpark’s most unusual feature is its playing surface: Shaw Sports B1K synthetic turf with Geofill infill made from coconut husks. The hydraulic pitcher’s mound can lower below the playing surface in about 10 minutes, transforming the field for concerts, football, and motocross, making this one of the most versatile venues in professional sports.

Globe Life Field opened during the COVID-19 pandemic and hosted all six games of the 2020 World Series, the only venue in history to host an entire World Series without the home team playing. Three years later it hosted the opening two games of the Rangers’ five-game win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series, the franchise’s first championship.

Getting to Globe Life Field

Public Transit

Arlington has no public bus or rail system that serves the stadium directly. The city offers shuttle and rideshare alternatives.

The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) runs between Dallas and Fort Worth but does not stop at the stadium. Rally Bus offers round-trip charter service from designated points across the DFW metro.

Driving + Parking

The ballpark address is 734 Stadium Drive, Arlington, TX 76011. I-30 is the primary approach.

All lots are cashless. General parking runs $15–$30; premium Lots A and B cost $30–$60. Tailgating is allowed in most lots except A, B, and T, from lot opening until the end of the 2nd inning. Passes available via the MLB Ballpark app or at lot entry.

Rideshare

Uber and Lyft pickup/dropoff is at Chatman Cutoff on the southbound lanes of Nolan Ryan Expressway. From downtown Dallas, expect $25–$40. From Fort Worth, $25–$40. Post-game pickups are not allowed on Randol Mill Road, walk a few blocks before requesting.

From the Airport

Construction & Design

The Dallas firm HKS designed Globe Life Field, with Walter P Moore as structural engineer of record and Manhattan Construction Company as general contractor under a fast-track delivery. Ground was broken on September 28, 2017, and the ballpark was built in roughly two and a half years on land immediately south of the Rangers’ former open-air home, now Choctaw Stadium. The roughly $1.1 billion project was financed through a public-private partnership, with the City of Arlington and the Rangers splitting the cost and the city’s share funded by sales, hotel, and car-rental taxes. The concrete-and-steel structure rises across seven levels behind an envelope of glass, precast concrete, brick, metal panel, and translucent ETFE.

The signature engineering feat is the roof: the world’s largest single-panel operable roof, a panel spanning roughly 420 by 680 feet, covering about 240,000 square feet and framed by some 19,000 tons of steel. Unlike multi-panel designs, the single panel travels along tracks to open or close in about 12 minutes. The purpose was climate control. Summer afternoons in Arlington routinely exceed 100°F, which made the old open-air park punishing for players and fans, so the enclosed, air-conditioned bowl stays comfortable while the translucent ETFE and glass admit natural light.

Keeping natural grass healthy under a frequently closed, air-conditioned roof is difficult, so the Rangers installed a Shaw Sports Turf B1K synthetic system, 122,692 square feet using an organic infill derived from coconut husks and engineered to mimic the roll of natural grass. The approach followed Arizona’s Chase Field, which adopted the same B1K surface in 2019, making Globe Life Field an early adopter rather than the first of its kind. The field is deliberately asymmetric in the tradition of older ballparks, 329 feet to the left-field line and 326 to right, with dimensions chosen to encode milestones from Rangers history. A hydraulically lowering pitcher’s mound lets the venue convert quickly for concerts and other events, and in its first seasons it has already hosted all six games of the 2020 World Series, the first two games of the Rangers’ 2023 World Series title run, and the 2024 All-Star Game.

History of Globe Life Field

Globe Life Field was built to replace the old Globe Life Park, a beloved but brutally hot open-air ballpark where summer temperatures made afternoon games unbearable. The roughly $1.1 billion project, designed by HKS, Inc., broke ground on September 28, 2017 and required the removal of 1.3 million cubic yards of earth, 97,000 truckloads. The city of Arlington and the Rangers split the cost evenly, with the city’s share funded by sales, hotel, and car rental taxes.

First Game (July 24, 2020): The Rangers defeated the Colorado Rockies 1-0 in the first regular-season game, played to an empty stadium due to COVID-19 protocols. The pandemic delayed the planned March opening and robbed the ballpark of a proper debut.

2020 World Series (October 2020): Globe Life Field hosted all six games of the World Series between the Dodgers and Rays, the only venue in history to host an entire World Series without the home team participating. Attendance was capped at 11,500 (25% capacity).

Aaron Judge’s 62nd Home Run (October 4, 2022): Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season at Globe Life Field, breaking Roger Maris’s 61-year-old American League single-season record.

2023 World Series (October 2023): Globe Life Field hosted Games 1 and 2 as the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games for their first championship in franchise history, 63 years in the making. The clincher came on the road at Chase Field.

2024 MLB All-Star Game (July 16, 2024): The first All-Star Game in Arlington since 1995, showcasing the ballpark and the entertainment district to a national audience.

From a pandemic opening with no fans to a World Series celebration three years later, Globe Life Field has packed more history into its first few seasons than most ballparks see in a generation, all under the largest retractable roof in the world.

Sources & Further Reading

• Wikipedia entry on Globe Life Field: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Life_Field. Cost, construction dates, the roof, the turf, capacity, and event history.
• Walter P Moore, Globe Life Field project: walterpmoore.com. The structural engineer on the single-panel roof and steel structure.
• Ballparks of Baseball, Globe Life Field: ballparksofbaseball.com. A ballpark reference for the construction timeline and dimensions.
• Texas Rangers official ballpark page: mlb.com/rangers/ballpark. Events, tickets, and visitor information.