Graduations at Globe Life Field Could Provide Blueprint for MLB

High school seniors will get the chance of a lifetime to graduate on Globe Life Field's playing surface. The events could also provide a pathway toward fans attending baseball games once again.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Beginning on May 29, a large number of high school students will get the experience of a lifetime. 

Thanks to a partnership between the Texas Rangers and numerous school districts throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Globe Life Field—the new home of the Rangers—will host a number of high school graduation ceremonies, giving seniors a wonderful memory to cherish amid the pandemic.

At this point on the calendar, the baseball season is usually in full swing. Instead, Major League Baseball is working with the Players Association on a plan in an attempt to salvage a season that has yet to begin. Ten weeks to the day since the team last hosted media at the ballpark, Rangers Executive Vice President of Sports & Entertainment Sean Decker told reporters on Wednesday how surreal this whole situation has been.

"You've got the anticipation of 30 months of construction, design planning, and all the time spent excited to open it, and then it doesn't happen," Decker said. "We certainly didn't expect the first public event in the building to be a graduation. We expected players sliding into home plate, not graduates crossing it."

The Texas Rangers are offering school districts an opportunity that would not be possible during a normal year, giving students a pleasant memory during a trying time. Another possible benefit of this arrangement is what it could mean for baseball moving forward for when it returns.

The Texas Education Agency is providing school districts with certain social distancing protocols to help ensure safety for those attending the graduation ceremonies at Globe Life Field. If all goes well, it could potentially help pave the way for fans attending ballgames once again.

"We're certainly looking at it that way," said Rangers' Executive Vice President of Ballpark Operations Rob Matwick. "We've been having a lot of discussions internally about what return-to-play will look like. With distancing, with the way we'll have fans access the building, cleaning protocols — it's a pretty good precursor to what a game with fans could look like."

From the outset, the MLB season will have games without spectators in attendance. Health and safety protocols are currently being hashed out between the league and the players and are the top priority of any plan that could kickstart the season. The guidelines for players, coaches and non-playing personnel are expected to be pretty restrictive, so fans attending games is likely near the bottom of MLB's "to-do" list. You've got to walk before you can run. 

However, it's never too early to gauge what the future could look like. The Rangers could potentially provide MLB a pathway to fans attending games when the time is right.

"We're trying to treat it that way," Matwick said. "That's certainly the question on everybody's mind — can we have games and can we have games with fans?"

There are obviously a number of hurdles to maneuver even with these high school graduation ceremonies. Three seats will separate guests, with the exception being that single-home families of up to five members can sit together. Restrooms are partitioned, but they will be monitored by attendants. Proper distance protocols at sinks will be put in place, and there will be consistent cleanings throughout the event. No concessions provided for guests will be among the other safety requirements.

A baseball game offers even more hurdles. Concessions alone will provide a number of protocols. Then consider what may happen when a foul ball or home run is hit in the stands. How will each individual team handle orders from the state on capacity restrictions? How will clubs properly spread out paying customers who purchased season tickets for specific seats?

These questions surely won't be answered in the coming weeks because of a few high school graduations, but the ceremonies at Globe Life Field could be one of the earliest steps in figuring out a safe and practical way to bring fans back to baseball games following the pandemic.

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