A unique quirk of the 2021 A’s schedule is that they have no games against the Texas Rangers until June. Of those contests, trips to Arlington are scheduled for late June (this coming week), early July (before the All Star Break), and early August. The choice of consecutive months dovetailing with wider availability due to the easing pandemic allowed for greater planning flexibility for me, a fan with a natural desire to visit new ballparks.

As I have other travel planned this summer, I decided to get the Globe Life Field trip out of the way first. I mentioned in the Travel Grid post that I’ll head to Arlington this week, catching the final two games of the A’s-Rangers series. My itinerary has me arriving at Love Field on Wednesday morning, going straight to GLF for a tour, followed by a game that night, and a day game the following day. Then I’ll fly back to Phoenix Thursday night, a tidy and efficient junket, all boxes checked.

A’s ownership is also heading out to Arlington to research the retractable roof ballpark, in an effort to understand how something similar could work in the Vegas desert. It matters little that retractable roof ballparks already exist in the Sun Belt (Chase Field, Minute Maid Park, LoanDepot Park in Miami). What matters is that GLF provides an example of a mixed-use development going up around a new ballpark, which the A’s are planning regardless of location. And if the Vegas dry heat is more akin to Phoenix, Arlington’s more humid, sweltering summers provide a reasonably good comparison from a practicality standpoint. 

Before I visit GLF, the biggest “improvement” I can see is a logistical one. The getaway game on Thursday is scheduled for 1:30 PM local (Central) time, an impossible option in previous summers at outdoor Globe Life Park. The Rangers actually lead the American League in attendance this year, due as much to a less restrictive capacity limit and the novelty of the park (remember it technically opened in 2020) as anything else. The fact that the Rangers are mired in the AL West cellar doesn’t matter at all, people want to get out to see Khris Davis Joey Gallo. Or they just want to get out of the house.

I likely won’t cross paths with anyone in the A’s delegation as I’m a mere pleb. Before they do their research on GLF they’ll head to Southern Nevada to get updates on the stadium site search there. Then they’ll raise the hackles of folks in the Bay Area. Naturally.

I’ll have plenty more observations when I arrive in the Metroplex.