The Ballpark at Arlington is one component of a nearly 300-acre development that is home to the Texas Rangers, and is the center of the Arlington, Texas community. The Ranger’s owners clearly stated their desire for a ballpark which would evoke a sense of the history and tradition associated with baseball and its great old time parks, while also addressing modern fan comfort and today’s economic requirements. Additionally, they wanted a park, which had unique features, which would be representative of the State of Texas. The owners directed, “When the opening shot comes on the television, we want everyone across the country to recognize this as Texas.” The architects visited the remaining traditional ballparks and carefully researched baseball imagery and Texas iconography.
The park is asymmetrical in the inside with many idiosyncrasies that are reminiscent, yet not imitative, of older parks. On the exterior, the Texas pink granite and red brick facades form a rectangular mass placed orthogonally to the main road intersection. This creates an appropriate urban context as a framework for future development. The facades are further articulated with an assortment of detail employing both Texan and baseball imagery, including longhorn steer heads, lone stars, baseball light fixtures, and sculptural relief panels depicting the history of Texas.
