The Texas Rangers explored multiple options to fight the hot Texas heat.
Max B. Baker of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the Rangers were considering adding a massive shade structure to Globe Life Park to combat the high heat. Globe Life Park doesn’t have a retractable roof, so the heat can get as hot as 110 degrees. The proposed $80 million metal canopy would extend 100 feet surrounding seating areas while covering 75 percent of the stadium’s seats.
The Rangers ultimately passed on the canopy, as Baker reports the massive structure only would have dropped the temperature a few degrees and would have taken “at least three baseball seasons” to build. It might have provided temporary relief, but it wouldn’t have been a long term solution.
The Rangers are instead opting to have a new park with a retractable roof built. If you thought the $80 million price tag for the canopy was a bit high, the new stadium will cost $1 billion. Keep in mind that Target Field, which was built in 2010, cost a reported $545 million. The ridiculous Marlins Park cost a reported $643 million in 2012.
Simply putting a roof on Globe Life Park was also explored in 2007, but the cost made the project a non-starter – the roof would have cost roughly $325 million, more than the $191 million that Globe Life Park originally cost to built.
The Rangers organization is asking the city to finance half of the proposed $1 billion cost. Arlington City Council voted last week to put the new retractable roof upgrade on the Nov. 8 ballot.
