Arlington (WBAP/KLIF News) – The Texas Rangers begin their defense of last year’s division title Monday at Globe Life Park in Arlington. During the offseason, the Rangers made more changes to the ballpark, but this year’s renovations are on a smaller scale.
“I think we’ve got the park to a good place,” says Rob Matwick. the Rangers executive vice president of business operations. “Once we start letting people in on Opening Day, we get immediate feedback. That’s how we figure out where the next round of improvements might come is based on what our customers tell us they’d like to have.”
This year, the Rangers have added a larger video board in left-center field. The video board measures 34 tall and 100 feet wide.
“For many years, our fans in the Home Run Porch and some areas in right field and mezzanine level couldn’t see the scoreboard on top of the roof,” Matwick says.
The Rangers have also switched their lighting system to LED lights. Half the number of lights now surround Globe Life Park.
“We now exceed Major League standards in the infield and outfield,” Matwick says. “We’re really excited about that, to get the players out there to see if they’re seeing the ball better.”
Seattle was the first club to add LED lights last year, followed by the Yankees and Padres.
The Rangers’ concessions company, Delaware North, has also added several new items. Delaware North tried some of the items, such as a cotton candy-topped hot dog during the team’s playoff run last October.
“We only had two playoff games, though, and we had great demand for it, so we decided to bring it back this year,” says Chef Todd McBee.
Other new items include Pub Pretzels with Beer Cheese and the “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Dog,” which is topped with nacho cheese that has been infused with Cheetos.
Delaware North has also developed a foot-long skewer of donut holes and fried chicken drizzled with buffalo sauce.
McBee says chefs spend the winter developing new ideas.
“In the offseason, we sit around and just think about things and then put them together,” he says.
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