Globe Life Field '98 Percent' Complete, Playing Surface Now Installed
ARLINGTON, Tx. – The Texas Rangers new home is just about complete.
Globe Life Field, the new home of the Rangers, is now approximately 98% complete. The synthetic grass playing surface is now installed, along with 75% of the organic infill. The other 25% will be installed after a concert is held at the new stadium on March 14th.
The new playing surface is made by Shaw Sports Turf, called the B1K "Batting a Thousand" system, which is specifically designed for baseball. The infill for the synthetic grass, called Geofill, is made of coconut husks and fibers.
The Rangers wrestled with the idea of installing a natural grass surface, but were open to the idea of using a synthetic surface as long as it upheld to the standards of a natural surface is terms of safety, performance, and fan experience. Ultimately, the team decided to go with this new B1K system after two years of research and testing by Shaw Sports Turf.
"Our relationship goes back to late 2017," Shaw Turf's Vice President Chuck McClurg said. "We were challenged to come up with the best playing surface for baseball. We had a process in place where we would go out and benchmark fields and bring back the data. We told the Rangers at that point we didn't have the gold standard today, but we have the process that will deliver the gold standard. The result of that is the B1K system."
Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, installed the same playing surface last season. Globe Life Field and Marlins Park in Miami are the two stadiums installing it this season.
For the rest of the ballpark, the lower concourse is 100% complete. The main and upper concourses are being finished up over the weekend.
Rangers players will have a couple of chances to get acclimated to the new surface before the season starts. On March 14th, the players will take fly balls and grounders at Chase Field in Arizona. There will also be a workout held on March 22nd at Globe Life Field after the players return from spring training.
The Rangers first exhibition game at Globe Life Field is will be on March 23rd against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Rangers' home opener is on March 31st against the Los Angeles Angels.
Rangers Beat
- Chris Woodward has now announced that Danny Santana will start the bulk of games in center field for the Rangers. This doesn't come as a shock given the structure of the team and what they've said throughout the offseason. Nick Solak is continuing to work in center field at spring training, trying to earn at-bats from there as well.
- Chris Woodward also told 105.3 The Fan during a radio interview that Joey Gallo will bat third in the Texas lineup. Gallo has superstar potential and is coming off a breakout season that was shortened by injury. We wrote a story on Gallo's breakout season and new mentality earlier this week on Inside The Rangers.
- The Rangers front office staff is now moved in to the new offices at Globe Life Field. They finished the move last week.
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