ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers are trying to make more things happen at Rangers Ballpark for 2013 with less space.
For the third consecutive year, the Rangers are making offseason renovations to the ballpark, with this year's focusing on an area behind home plate as well as the dugouts.
The moves will cost the Rangers 80 seats as far as seating capacity — from 48,194 to 48,114 — and room on the field with the addition of 52 seats behind home plate. The dugouts are also getting expanded.
The impact of the biggest change won't be known until next season. The club is opening up the area behind home plate so fans can see an opening when they enter Rangers Ballpark at the home-plate entrance. That change should also better circulate air. That area used to be the entrance to the Cuervo Club and is thought to be one of the main reasons for the jetstream at Rangers Ballpark.
How the construction will impact the jetstream won't be known until games are played.
"We haven't gone back and done a wind study on this, but we do feel like this will help with air circulation," executive vice president for ballpark and event operations Rob Matwick said. "Whether or not that impacts play, I don't know. But then again I don't know if it's impacted play. We'll wait and see how it plays."
The Capital One Club, which used to be the Cuervo Club, is getting a major facelift. In addition to having its main entrance moved to the suite elevators behind home plate, the interior of the club is getting revamped. New cooking areas, bars and dining room space are being installed and the club will have a better view of the field as well as an additional 1,000 square feet. It will also have more permanent seating, going from 76 seats to 104. To make room for that expansion, seats in section 126 are being removed.
A new retail store as well as new concession stands is also being added to the area behind home plate, with the concession stands similar to the ones that were added in Vandergriff Plaza during the last remodel.
The field will also have a smaller look as 52 new seats are being added behind home plate, which will cut the distance from the plate to the foul screen from 52 feet, 8 inches to 50 feet, 1 inch.
The Rangers and visiting dugouts are also getting expanded by 3 feet as well as the camera bays. That's being done by rebuilding the dugout steps and railings and will decrease the foul territory from the inside camera bay to the foul lines to 42 feet, 6 inches.
