ARLINGTON, Texas — Love or hate a turf baseball field, the Texas Rangers will have an upgrade for 2024.
The club this week revealed it has installed new synthetic turf for this season, which will see Globe Life Field host the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
The decision was made last fall to put down fresh turf for the Midsummer Classic. But also, club officials said the stadium's turf was "always contemplated to be replaced" after about four years of usage. Globe Life Field opened in 2020.
The Rangers' new turf is the same style as the old one, just with a darker color contrast. So fans might notice a different.
But it's the same Shaw B1K Natural Sports Turf with Legion Pro synthetic grass, sand and geofill over a performance pad, according to the club. The same turf system is used at the Diamondbacks' Chase Field in Arizona (where the Rangers clinched the World Series), and the Marlins' loanDepot Park in Miami.
The Rangers say they'll use part of the old turf for field replacements at their MLB Youth Academy complex in West Dallas.
The Toronto Blue Jays' Rogers Centre and the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field also feature artificial turf playing surfaces, but not the exact same kind of Texas, Arizona and Miami.
The Rangers also have some new additions to Globe Life Field off the field. Whataburger is opening a concession stand at the ballpark on April 5, and the stadium is rolling out a host of other new concession items, as announced Monday. Check out the full list here.