The Ballpark in Arlington is the home of the Texas Rangers of the American League.
For over twenty years, the Texas Rangers played in Arlington Stadium, a glorified minor league ballpark. Finally, in 1994, they got a new stadium. The Ballpark in Arlington, despite having one of the worst names in baseball, is a fine facility which helped to build upon the new tradition of baseball-only, old-style ballparks.
There was a question for some time whether it would be built at all. Neither Dallas nor Fort Worth were willing to come up with the goods, so it was left again to the little city of Arlington to keep the Rangers in the D/FW area. The Ballpark is in the no-man's land between the two metropolis', right next to Six Flags Over Texas. This is either a convenience or a problem, depending on how you look at it. If it had been built in either city, the residents of the other would have quite a haul when they wanted to see a game. As it is, though, everyone now has to drive because the stadium isn't "round the corner" from either city.
The park itself is very attractive, with a lot of nice touches. The hand operated out-of-town scoreboard in left field and the Tiger-Stadium-styled home run porch in right are very nice. The concourses are wide and the food is good. There is not a bad seat in the place, except for the ones in left that catch the setting sun. Believe me, you do not want to sit in the sun in Texas in summer.
The main faux-pas of the builders is in centerfield. Instead of leaving the stadium open and allowing the breeze to blow through, they built an office building, presumably to generate additional revenue. The result is that the ballpark is closed and heats like an oven with nary a breath of refreshing wind.
The Ballpark is an excellent place to see a game, but the heat can be a bit overwhelming. If they could just knock down that office building... and maybe change the name...
