Get the Facts About Globe Life Field

The 2020 Major League Baseball season was supposed to be a coming-out party for the HKS-designed Globe Life Field, the new home of the Texas Rangers. But the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic altered those plans. The massive retractable-roof stadium did open with an abbreviated season and no live fans. But that restriction on in-person guests was lifted for the post-season and with Globe Life Field hosting the 2020 World Series, here are some fun facts about the stadium for fans everywhere.

  • Workers excavated 1.3 million yards of dirt from the ballpark site to build the stadium. It took 97,000 trucks to haul all of that dirt away.
  • Construction of the stadium took 31 months and more than 11,000 people worked on it.
  • The stadium sits on 13 acres, is 1.8 million square feet and contains 40,300 seats.
  • The 240,000 square-foot roof is the largest single-panel operable roof in the world. It takes 12 minutes to close/open with the help of 120, 42-inch wheels that sit on rails.
  • There are 71 long-term suites and 37 nightly suites in the stadium. It contains 24 elevators, 13 escalators, 47 concession stands, 20 bars and 1,100 toilets and urinals.
  • The field dimensions are connected in some way to significant players or events in Texas Rangers history. For example, the 372 feet distance to the left field power alley represents the year the team moved to Texas — 1972. And the distance between home plate and the backstop – 42 feet – is not only the closest in baseball but it pays homage to the number for Jackie Robinsons, MLB’s first Black player.
  • The pitcher’s mound can be lowered and raised hydraulically for non-baseball events.
  • The average temperature inside the stadium with the roof closed is 72 degrees, aided by 91 miles of piping and 9,000 tons of chilled water moving throughout the structure.
  • The right field video board extends 40 feet over the field, the only one in MLB that is in the field of play.
  • The first official event at Globe Life Field was not a baseball or football game, a soccer match or even a concert. It was a socially-distanced high school graduation.