Major League Baseball and Texas Rangers notables gathered in Arlington Monday morning at what was once Senter Park to cut the ribbon on the opening of the new and improved MLB/Texas Rangers All-Star Legacy Park.
"My oldest son, Tim, played Optimist baseball on these very fields that were here previously at Senter Park," former Texas Rangers Hall of Famer and General Manager Tom Grieve told the crowd.
The Arlington project by MLB Together and the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation is one of two renovated youth fields in DFW that opened for MLB All-Star Week. The other is in West Dallas.
"One of the best parts of All-Star Week is the Legacy program because it gives us an opportunity to give back to the community that steps up and hosts all-star week," MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said. "To leave something behind in the community that's meaningful."
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The renovated park in an Arlington neighborhood that sits in the shadow of Globe Life Field includes new and improved ballfields, shade for bleachers, and Corey Seager Batting Cages. The World Series MVP and All-Star player attended Monday's ribbon cutting.
"This park is now gorgeous," Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said. "It's a phenomenal place where kids are going to create their own legacy."
The first kids to use the new and improved field were from the MLB Play Ball program.
"For the kids that get to play on this field," Grieve said. "They will experience what it feels to play on a major league field."
