Baseball Bubble: Inside MLB Hotel Plans In DFW, Per Sources
LAS COLINAS, Texas - The NBA "bubble'' concept is about to be recreated by Major League Baseball, with Globe Life Field in Arlington serving as the National League's postseason and World Series site - and with Las Colinas' Four Seasons Resort and Club serving as the headquarters for all four NL teams, sources tell us.
The 400-acre resort, maybe most famous for its long-time association with the PGA's Byron Nelson Golf Classic, is already familiar to many of the MLB teams that come to DFW for road trips to play the Texas Rangers. MLB's tournament after the first round will be located in four spots, with the four AL teams traveling to Southern California (San Diego’s Petco Park and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles) and the and the four NL teams to Texas (Minute Maid Park in Houston and Globe Life Field in Arlington.)
The teams will stay in their regions for the Championship Series (scheduled for Oct. 11 through 18) and then two winners come to DFW for a single-site World Series in Arlington. Sources tell us that many logistics are being worked out on the fly, in many ways mimicking what the NBA is successfully staging in its Orlando "bubble'' - designed to insulate sequestered players and staff to prevent contagion at Disney World.
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The NBA of course features constant COVID-19 testing, a sense of bonding between opposing teams as they share hotels and strict limitations on visiting families and guests. Baseball is presently going through similar protocols; some playoff-bound teams are already moving into their own bubble-like hotels, while sources tell us MLB and the Four Seasons facility are working together on issues covering everything from meals to security to workout facilities to entertainment opportunities - highlighted by amenities on the golf course.
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The Dallas Cowboys created a training camp bubble of sorts with players and staffers moving into the Omni Hotel adjacent to their team headquarters at The Star in Frisco. The NFL's testing methods have also resulted in positive results, as a total of 36,664 tests were administered to a group of 7,845 players and team personnel from Sept. 13 to Sept 19 with zero positives.
Sources tell us the Four Seasons has committed the entire month of October to this project, as the 16-team playoffs start with three-game wild-card series all taking place at the higher seed's ballpark before the moves to California and Texas ... and a bubble in Las Colinas.
