The crew is smaller, but work continues on Globe Life Field amid coronavirus outbreak
Construction crews continue to put the finishing touches on Globe Life Field amid the coronavirus pandemic, though the workforce is down to below 1,000 workers who have been schooled in how to combat the virus.
The last major project is completing installation of the synthetic playing surface, which is on scheduled to be completed by Saturday. The rest of the work is mostly punch-list items that don’t require large groups working in close proximity, said Rangers executive vice president Rob Matwick.
Once the Texas Rangers can resume organized workouts, their new $1.2-billion ballpark with the retractable roof will be ready for them. Dust might have gathered, but it’ll be ready.
“The target was always by the end of this week,” Matwick said. “We’re still trying to maintain that schedule and get the surface in place so that once we get word on when players can use it, we’ll have the field available.”
The concert stage that was to be used for the postponed Chris Stapleton All-American Road Show last weekend has been removed, enabling the final touches to be completed on the playing surface.
The Stapleton concert has been rescheduled for Nov. 21.
Matwick estimated that the ballpark is more than 98 percent complete. Of the remaining work, some wireless technology is still being installed and MLB is testing the Hawk-Eye SMART Replay technology, which is replacing TrackMan radar, this week.
While a workforce under 1,000 workers seems large, it’s down from the 1,500 or 1,600 workers who had been working on the ballpark throughout the process.
“They’re spread across the project — inside, outside, on all levels,” Matwick said. “It sounds like a big number, but they’re not working shoulder to shoulder like you would have people sitting at a concert.”
The Rangers are allowing their employees to work from home, and staff has been given CDC information on how practice good hygiene. Matwick was in the office Monday along with other members of the executive staff.
General manager Jon Daniels said he is working from home, and so is the majority of the baseball operations staff.
“For those employees that we’ve determined can do their jobs remotely, we’re giving them flexibility to do that,” Matwick said. “We’re all connected electronically these guys, so that does give us the benefit to allow people to still be engaged and still be productive work-wise but also creating that social distancing as recommended by the CDC.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 3:58 PM.
