The Texas Rangers game day experience has changed significantly over the years as Arlington’s entertainment district has gone from fantasy to reality.
That area is now Texas Live, home of the Dallas Cowboys. There are multiple hotels in the area, a new Rangers baseball stadium is also being built, and city leaders told NBC 5 that growth hasn’t slowed.
Longtime Rangers fans remember when they walked out of the ballpark after a game and didn’t see the same view as they do outside of Globe Life Field these days.
“Obviously, this is a whole community and development that didn’t exist years ago,” Kimberly Branch said. “There’s a lot of entertainment here. People who don’t necessarily go to the games come here for the environment and the atmosphere.”
Watching a Rangers game today puts you right in the heart of Arlington’s entertainment district.
City leaders say the idea for the district dates back to at least the early 2000s, when there were plans to build a shopping center around Globe Life Park, then the Rangers’ baseball stadium (now Choctaw Stadium).
“Especially in mid-2008, with everything going on with the financial difficulties at the time, it just didn’t happen,” Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau President Brent Dellard said.
What the district gained was the Dallas Cowboys, who began playing across the street at AT&T Stadium in 2009.
Since then, the area has added two Loews hotels, Texas Live! bars and restaurants, the new Arlington Convention Center, and Major League Baseball’s newest ballpark at Globe Life Field.
City leaders said all of this is part of $3.9 billion in public and private investments made in the District in recent years.
“There’s a lot for Rangers fans to watch and do before the game,” Dellard said.
There’s more to come next year, with the One Ranger’s Way project adding the first luxury apartments to the area.
And the National Medal of Honor Museum is scheduled to open in the District in March 2025.
Arlington’s annual tourism revenue is up to $2.6 billion, double what it was a decade ago, according to the city.
“And we’re really excited about that. That number has increased significantly, and we really feel like we’re on the brink of that number exploding even further,” Dellard said. I did.
Baseball fans told NBC 5 they hope this growth will lead to even better game days for the Rangers.
“I think it’s going to be great,” Branch said. “It’s great for the community, it’s great for the region, it’s great for Arlington.”
