Ballpark getting an extreme makeover

ADSENSE Link Ads 200 x 90

ADSENSE 336 x 280

Take me out

Got to give The Dallas Observer a little credit: They know how to deliver the run-of-the-mill news story as well as anyone. And they let Richie Whitt go. Someone there knows what they're doing.

Of all the stories about the Texas Rangers putting $11.5 million into the Ballpark, the Observer's is by far the most readable. Which in theory isn't hard to do. Yet they do it better.

ANYWAY, the changes are surprising in one aspect: None of them deal with ADDING seating at the Ballpark. In fact, as it seems, it's taking seating away. For example, the bleachers in left-center are going the way of the buffalo in lieu of the regular seating, cutting about 600 or so seats.

A drop in the bucket, I know, but by all accounts the Rangers are seeking to boost attendance by jamming more people in, per se, but they trying to improve the overall aesthetics and fan experience by adding a bar and restaurant, a kid's zone and re-working the batter's eye area with indoor seating and eating and allowing people to watch the game from straight away centerfield.

Bottomline, you don't have to be in your seat to watch the game.

I think these are the three most significant changes:

Visitor's Bullpen
Two weeks after Tony LaRussa's bullpen fiasco that's been swept under the rug after the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, the bullpen's being reconfigured. It will now run parallel to the playing field so basically the entire Ballpark can see inside. And can distinguish Jason Motte from Lance Lynn.

Wide Concourses
It's like the original planners never thought the Rangers would average 34K in attendance per game. Pre-game, walking to and fro is a pain the ass. You pretty much stick close to your seats if you have any intentions of watching the game. Going to get garlic fries on the first level if you're on the Lexus level is basically not possible. Maybe easier traffic flow will help.

Vandergriff Plaza
As currently set up, there's not a bigger clusterfuck in the Ballpark, generally a good place to attend a game, than centerfield. You've got the Foundation people trying to sign you up for bullshit. There's the kid games, statues, people trying to get into the shops ... it's a mess. As far as spatial aesthetics, it's ugly and no telling how many kids have gotten lost or misplaced. With the advent of the kid's zone, that'll pull the kiddos out of the equation. Setting up the indoor seating and eating from the batter's eye area will open up what amounts to 12,000 square feet of space that's eaten up with whiffleball cages and shit. Instead of good-looking chicks trying to get you to guess how many baseballs are in this glass case, there will be concessions ... and space.

Needless to say, I'm very excited.

ADSENSE 336 x 280 dan ADSENSE Link Ads 200 x 90

Tweet