The City of Arlington and the Texas Rangers are preparing to welcome thousands of baseball fans to Globe Life Field for the 2024 MLB-All Star week and the MLB All-Star Game.
“The game hasn't been here since 1995, so it's really exciting for everyone in our organization to be able to bring the greatest players in the world to Globe Life Field in celebration of the great game of baseball," said Rob Matwick, the Texas Ranger's executive vice president of business operations.
The week-long event will take place in and around the Entertainment District. Crews are building the Capitol One All-Star Village, which will accompany All-Star events inside Choctaw Stadium and the E-Sports Stadium.
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"To have it at Choctaw stadium incorporate that along with our North Lawn and an Esports stadium in the early two Museum of Art, turning it into really a 650,000 square foot celebration festival of baseball, is going to be really cool for four days. So we're excited for fans of all ages to come and experience the all-star village. There's something for everyone there," said Matwick.
Between July 12 and July 16, thousands of people will be walking around every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., which is why there will be major road closures.
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According to the city, for the entire week, police will block off the Road to Six Flags to Stadium Drive all the way to Nolan Ryan Expressway for the All-Star Village.
"The major closure on Randol Mill Road basically from Ballpark Way to Stadium Drive all the way to AT&T, that will be a closure that we have for the red carpet event that will be from 11:30 to 3:00 p.m. next Tuesday," said Keith Brooks, the City of Arlington Public Works director.
A traffic management center will observe traffic patterns in real time and adjust traffic signals if necessary. Reversible lanes will also be available on Division St. and Collins St. to move traffic in and out.
"We understand that the traffic is going to be an issue," said Arlington Police Deputy Chief Leo Daniels.
He said the police department sent a team to the 2023 MLB All-Star Game in Seattle to get insight into their planning.
“We are obviously used to doing a lot of large-scale events, but every event has different things that we have to worry about. So we are trying to look at the different nuances. We had some different ideas that came from Seattle and some different things that we're trying to do this time," said Daniels.
He said they're urging people to give themselves enough time to get to Arlington and plan their parking arrangements in advance.
Parking
The Texas Rangers said they have 13,000 parking spaces and will use an additional 5,000 to 6,000 from the AT&T Stadium and spots from local businesses.
"We tried to keep all of our parking consistent and what we've done with postseason last year in addition to what we've done for our regular season, and concerts at Globe Life field so that consistency helps with traffic flow coming in and it helps with our fans coming in, they know their way," said Mike Healy, executive vice president of venue operations & guest experience for the Texas Rangers.
Pricing will fluctuate depending on the location of the spot. The Rangers said people can expect to pay between $30 to $60 for parking.
Ride Sharing
With so many people coming from out of town, Healy said they're expecting a heavy rideshare presence.
The designated area will be by Ball Park Way and Chapman Cutoff.
“It’ll be geofence within their app, and people will be able to drop off and pick up in that location as well. And that mitigates any sort of traffic and people stopping on the roads within the entertainment district," said Healy.
The Heat
Organizers know the triple-digit weather is not going anywhere in the middle of the Texas summer.
"That's something that we work in conjunction with our fire partners, but they do have cooling stations and will have their hydration stations. They will have extra bodies who are just going in and out of the crowds, firefighters just walking through the crowd just to check on people," said Daniels.
There will be cooling locations within Choctaw, the All-Star Village, and E-Sports Stadium, according to Healy.
"Around the ballpark itself, we will have vendors out there with water," said Healy.
The MLB All-Star week is July 12 - 16, with the All-Star game on Tuesday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m.
Event dates
The Capital One All-Star Village, Choctaw Stadium, and Esports Arlington + Expo Center will be open Saturday, July 13, and Sunday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. From Monday, July 15, to Tuesday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. People can park in Lots F, G, and H, and parking opens at 8 a.m.
Friday, July 12: HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile and powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation (YDF), Globe Life Field. Parking lots B, C, D, E, L, M, N, Q, R, V, and W will open at 2 p.m. Globe Life Field opens at 4 p.m.
Saturday, July 13: All-Star Futures Game and Skills Competition/All-Star Celebrity Softball Game presented by Corona, Globe Life Field. General parking opens at 11 a.m. for lots B, C, D, E, L, M, N, Q, V, and W. Globe Life Field opens at 1 p.m.
Monday, July 15: Gatorade All-Star Workout Day/T-Mobile Home Run Derby, Globe Life Field. Parking lots B, C, D, E, L, M, N, Q, V, and W will open at 2 p.m. Globe Life Field Entrances will open to the public at 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 16: MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, Globe Life Field. Lots open at 2 p.m. B, C, D, E, L, M, N, Q, V, W.
