HKS to lead design of new Texas Rangers ballpark

View article from Dallas Business Journal

ARLINGTON, TX - The new Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington set to open in 2020 will be designed by Dallas-based HKS, the same company that designed AT&T Stadium next door and the American Airlines Center, Rangers executives announced today.

Like AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, the baseball park approved by voters in November will have a retractable roof. In addition to AT&T Stadium, HKS projects in Arlington include Globe Life Park, which is the Rangers’ current home, and the College Park Center at UT Arlington.

The ballpark will sit next to a $250 million entertainment district called Texas Live!, which is expected to draw 4 million additional visitors to Arlington per year during baseball season and year-round, Mayor Jeff Williams said.

An upscale hotel will be part of the Texas Live! project, and the hotel’s brand will be announced in the next couple of months, said Rob Matwick, executive vice president of business operations for the Rangers, who is working with lead developer The Cordish Cos. on Texas Live!

“We will provide a (hotel) product that really doesn’t exist in Arlington today,” Matwick said. “We are excited about that.”

Matwick provided an update on Texas Live! and a timetable for the stadium and entertainment district’s development during a meeting with city leaders Thursday at Globe Life Park.

A video screen in a plaza outside the ballpark will be a whopping 100-feet across when measured diagonally, making it the biggest screen in any of the several similar sports-anchored entertainment venues already developed by The Cordish Cos. nationwide, in cities including Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Louisville.

The new ballpark, which will keep the Rangers in Arlington through 2054, is scheduled to open in April 2020, Matwick said.

“April 2020 is our target,” he said. “It’s achievable. It’s aggressive. We’re going to hit that deadline.”