The All-Star Game is returning to Texas (US).
‘MLB’ stated that the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Texas Rangers has been awarded the 2024 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, the Major League Baseball announced on November 17th. The Rangers will host the Midsummer Classic at their home arena – the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas (US) – in what will be the ballpark’s fifth season.
New York (US)-based the Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. The MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the ‘Midsummer Classic’, is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League and the National League.
The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. In 2020, the Rangers moved to the new Globe Life Field in Arlington after having played at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) from 1994 to 2019.
The 40,300-capacity Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, US. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. It is located just South of the 48,114-capacity Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers’ former home ballpark. Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company owns the naming rights for the facility through 2048.
‘MLB’ further stated that officials from the Rangers and the Cities of Arlington and Fort Worth were on hand outside the Globe Life Field following MLB’s announcement on November 17th. It will be the second time Texas hosts the Midsummer Classic (1995), but the first time in the new ballpark, which opened in 2020. The club has pursued hosting MLB jewel events since the groundbreaking of the new ballpark in 2017.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement, “The Major League Baseball is pleased to award the 2024 All-Star Game to the Rangers and the Cities of Arlington and Fort Worth, which presented a robust bid for the All-Star Week. The Rangers stepped up under difficult circumstances and the Globe Life Field served as a terrific host for the 2020 Postseason, including the World Series. We are excited to once again feature baseball’s newest ballpark on a global stage.”
Rangers Executive Vice-President of Business Operations Rob Matwick said that the City of Dallas was offered the opportunity to join in on the bid, but was unable due to prior convention commitments that same week in 2024.
Texas joins Seattle (2023) and Philadelphia (2026) as future sites of the Midsummer Classic. The Seattle Mariners are hosting next year’s All-Star Game at their home digs – the 47,943-capacity T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW’s) selection came as a shock to some after MLB relocated the 2021 Game from Atlanta due to restrictive voting laws passed in Georgia. Matwick said the topic wasn’t a major part of the bidding process for the Metroplex (read Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) as they work with both the MLB Commissioner’s Office and the Governor of Texas Greg Abbott’s office.
Outside of the game itself, the recently expanded Arlington Entertainment District will also play host to the All-Star Futures Game, the Celebrity Softball Game, the Home Run Derby, the MLB Draft, and the Play Ball Park during that week. Matwick said its possible events are held in Fort Worth, but that it is yet to be determined as the City will also provide additional hotel blocks.
Remarked Ray Davis, Rangers majority owner and Managing Partner, “The Texas Rangers are honored to be awarded the 2024 All-Star Game. With the opening of the Globe Life Field in 2020 and the incredible development that continues to take place around the park, Arlington is an ideal location to host Major League Baseball and the Midsummer Classic. We want to thank Commissioner Rob Manfred, the State of Texas and the Governor’s Office, the Cities of Arlington and Fort Worth and all of the dedicated officials from the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visit Fort Worth for their efforts in bringing this showcase event to the area.”
The last time the Rangers hosted the All-Star Game was in 1995 at the Ballpark in Arlington (now the Choctaw Stadium), the only time the franchise has hosted the Midsummer Classic. In that All-Star Game, the National League defeated the American League 3-2. Rangers’ catcher Iván Rodríguez started for the American League and pitcher Kenny Rogers joined him as the other Texas representative.
In 1995, the Ballpark in Arlington and Six Flags Over Texas (amusement park) were the only structures standing in the City’s Entertainment District. The City has grown tenfold since with the addition of the Globe Life Field, the National Football League team Dallas Cowboys’ home venue – the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and countless restaurants, hotels and bar areas surrounding the ballpark, and will only continue to grow ahead of the All-Star Game in 2024.
Hosting the announcement on the North plaza of the Globe Life Field, adjacent to the entertainment hub of Texas Live! (shopping mall), between the two ballparks, illustrated just how much has changed since that last All-Star Game and how dedicated the City is to furthering the event.
Concluded Matwick, “All those facilities will be fully engaged for the All-Star Week. What’s great about our facilities here is that they can operate independent of one another, or on a major event like this, we can roll them all into the experience and activate everything at one time…It’s just broadening the experience for fans and giving them more opportunities to come in and experience Texas and what we have to offer. It’s a celebration of the game really.”
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