Photo credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oriole fans weren’t able to see their team play in Baltimore or anywhere else in 2020. That should change in 2021, and fans hope to see the Orioles play at home, and perhaps on the road.
Over the offseason, I’ll offer tips on how to see the Orioles at visitors’ parks in which they’re scheduled to play during the 2021 season.
Last week, we looked at Yankee Stadium. This week, we take a look at the new home of the Texas Rangers, Globe Life Park.
Globe Life Field, which replaces Globe Life Park, opened in July 2020. Because the pandemic changed the schedule, the Orioles didn’t get to play there in 2020 (they were scheduled to play there in late August). It’s the only park in the big leagues I haven’t seen.
As viewers of the National League Championship Series and World Series saw, it’s just across the street from Globe Life Park, which more than adequately served as home of the Texas Rangers for a quarter-century.
Globe Life Park is now used for football and soccer, and next year for rugby.
Arlington, Texas is located between Dallas and Fort Worth, and daily non-stop flights to either Dallas Fort-Worth International or Love Field, home to Southwest Airlines, are available.
The Dallas Cowboys’ home, AT&T Stadium, is just a short walk away from the Rangers’ home, and the new Texas Live! Entertainment complex is also there. It was still being built when the Orioles last played in Arlington in 2019.
Ticket situation: The Rangers haven’t announced single-game ticket prices, but they should be plentiful.
Orioles next visit: April 16-18. Hopefully, the 2021 season starts on time, but if it doesn’t, it would be strange for the Orioles not to play in an American League opponent’s new park for its first two years.
How do you get there? You’ll need a car in the Metroplex, which is what the locals call the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Globe Life Field is about a 25-minute drive from Love Field.
There’s plenty of parking for the ballpark.
Most memorable Orioles moment: Since the Orioles haven’t played there, none in Globe Life Field, but across the street, the Orioles won the first American League wild-card game on October 5, 2012, beating the Rangers, 5-1. Joe Saunders pitched 5 2/3 innings for the win.
What else is there to see: A trip to see the Orioles and Rangers isn’t at the top of many lists, but it should be. The Dallas/Fort Worth area has many great attractions.
Six Flags over Texas is just a few moments away from the ballpark, and it’s a popular amusement park.
For history buffs, there are two can’t-miss museums. The Sixth Floor Museum re-creates the presidency and assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It’s just above the site where President Kennedy was shot.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the newest of the 13 presidential libraries. Currently closed because of Covid-19, it features fascinating exhibits on 9/11 and the rest of the Bush presidency.
Both the Sixth Floor Museum and Bush Library are in Dallas. Advance tickets to the Sixth Floor Museum are recommended.
Where to stay: Another reason this is an underrated trip is the number of moderately priced hotels just a short drive from the ballpark. Marriott has a number of hotels in the area for under $200 a night. Some offer transportation to the ballpark.
Where to eat: Texas Live! has a number of eating and drinking establishments, including one by Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox broadcaster Troy Aikman.
There are a number of moderately priced restaurants not far from the ballpark, including Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, which has excellent seafood, cajun and creole food.
It’s Texas, so barbecue is big. The best known stop is Hurtado Barbecue. Mexican food is a big favorite, too, and Taqueria Maria Bonita.
A relative living in the area introduced me to Asian Fusion at the nearby Take a Bao, and if you’re in the mood for catfish, there’s a branch of Flying Fish. Their baskets of catfish and hush puppies are outstanding.
If you’ve wanted to try In-N-Out Burger and haven’t been to Southern California, there are a number of outlets in the area. Locals will debate the merits of In-N-Out versus longtime Texas staple, Whataburger. There are Whataburgers everywhere.
My ballpark rating: Incomplete. Since I haven’t seen it, I won’t rate it. You can’t judge a ballpark by watching on TV, but I really liked Globe Life Park. The only problem with it was that afternoon games were poorly attended because of the stifling heat. Globe Life Field has a retractable roof.
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Good morning Rich! I’m a Rangers season ticket holder as you know and had a couple of stadium tours while I t was being built. I wasn’t impressed initially but they did a good job with the finishes. I give it a B grade. While I love the old park I won’t miss having a sweat soaked shirt during every game. If you come for a game you should definitely make time for a tour of AT&T stadium next door where the Cowboys play. That’s a real palace and the tour is well worth it. I agree with Rich’s recommendations to dine/drink/stay at Texas Live which abuts the new stadium, and also includes a new Omni hotel which just opened. The Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas is another must see, as is the George Bush Presidential Museum on the campus of nearby SMU. Thanks Rich!
Now that I'm back to being a resident in the motherland full time, I'm looking forward to making the 1½ hour drive from Paris to see the O's this year Rich. I made a handful of games at the old Globelife park in the past while visiting, and have to admit it was an impressive park. If nothing else, it was a monument to tall stacked red brick! And while I'll miss the open night skies, considering the total lack of air flow in the old park's design, I have to agree with TxBird that the controlled climate will be a welcomed change in the new place.
But I'll never forget that there's no place like home. God Bless OPACY ... the original. And god bless our Orioles as well.
The plan last summer was for my son and I to start knocking ballparks off our list, starting with the closer ones. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the two New York parks were our first targets, since we've been to Nats Park and obviously Camden Yards. We'll try it again this summer, especially since he's 14 and right at the cusp of the "hanging out with Dad is lame" period. Texas is clearly going to be further down the list due to logistics, but thanks for the info Rich
Rich, I'm hoping as you, that the season is on schedule in 2021. This is a definite on my list. Was able to do Globe Life Park a couple years ago, knowing it was coming to an end for Major League baseball. I stayed at the Sheraton right next to the convention center and Six Flags, it was a short walk to the ballpark. I did go to the Sixth Floor museum, and yes, anyone planning on going should purchase tickets in advance, and plan on some lines regardless. Not sure what further restrictions will be in place, but certainly worth the time for such a historic moment in our history. This was one of those trips a rental car is highly recommended as there really isn't much within walking distance from the Sheraton, except all the satellite parking lots of ATT Stadium lol. Thanks again for the write-ups, looking forward to Miami next, as that will probably be the trip, Arlington then follow the team to Miami.
Took in a game here two years ago. I stayed in Waxahachie Tx and the hotels are very reasonably priced. If you don’t mind a 26 minute drive to the park, you can save about half on the hotel pricing.
For the past ten years my son and I have done an annual ballparks and National Parks tour. We would fly in, rent a car and do a 2-3 week road trip. We have visited the majority of these two types of parks on our trips. This year we were supposed to do a Texas road trip visiting The two ballparks And the two National Parks in the state. Alas Covid put an end to that. The first time since 2009 that we haven’t done our trip. Hopefully we can go this year but I’m betting it will be 2022 before we can hit the road again.