There was a pre-game party for the All-Star game last month on the third floor of the new Loews Hotel. While standing on a balcony overlooking the chaos below, Chamber of Commerce President Michael Jacobson was approached by a man who said, “This is the coolest city! I am blown away by what you guys have.” Jacobson did not know the man but learned that he lives in Westchester County and works in New York City.
Anyone visiting Arlington for the first time might have said the same thing. But the truth is even those who visited Arlington as recently as ten years ago would have noticed how different things are now. Things are bigger now, things are better now and the sports world has noticed.
Many of the All-Stars that competed in the Midsummer Classic were asked which ballpark is their favorite. The answers were varied, of course, but Globe Life Field was the top choice among ballparks built after 1914. Wrigley Field opened in 1914 Fenway Park opened two years earlier. Each got a lot of votes but no more than GLF.
Walking around the entertainment district during the week-long event was a feast of smiles. Everyone was happy to be there, happy to be celebrating one of baseball’s biggest events, happy to be headed toward an air-conditioned venue.
What a difference twenty-nine years makes. The 1995 All-Star game was remembered as a coming-out party for the city and, of course, The Ballpark in Arlington. However, back in those days, the All-Star festivities covered only two days. There was the home run derby on Monday and the game on Tuesday. Now it is a celebration of baseball that lasts nearly a week. Most of the festivities took place in the Arlington Entertainment District.
Thankfully, the beautiful Ballpark in Arlington, now called Choctaw Stadium, still stands today. Arlington made history last month becoming the first city in America to use a former All-Star game venue to help stage another All-Star game. Choctaw was the centerpiece of the All-Star Village, a village which stretched all the way to the Esports Stadium and which accommodated tens of thousands of baseball fans during All-Star Week.
Inside Globe Life Field there were baseball fans of all teams. I encountered a fan in an Astros jersey on the night of the home run derby and wondered if it galled him to stand in the home of the World Champion Texas Rangers. “Yea it does, it really does,” he said. “But I had to come out, it’s only a three and a half hour drive, I had to come out.”
The players and their families filled the 800-plus-room Loews Hotel, which served as a grand host for the All-Stars. The lobby of the Loews was the place to be. During a thirty-minute stay in the lobby I encountered Rollie Fingers, Danny Darwin, Kevin Mench, Mark McLemore and Dave Valle. On the afternoon of the home run derby, there were dozens of fans in jerseys that said American League on the front and Witt Jr. on the back. Local product, Bobby Witt Jr., did not disappoint as he made the finals of the derby. He did not bow out until the final swing of the contest.
Fans traveled from all over America, and even the world, to attend this event and left with memories of a very exciting week. From the acres and acres of All-Star Village to the highly competitive Home Run Derby, to a game that was very competitive and won by the “home team,” The American League.
Those fans also left something behind – money – and lots of it. None of the hotels in the area had any vacancies for the entire week. The restaurants were jammed, and the stadium was sold out. Jacobson estimates that the economic impact was well into the tens of millions of dollars.
For Arlington this was about more than money though.
This was a chance to prove that the growing infrastructure of Arlington and the Entertainment District can host any event. Jacobson believes that the world was watching. “This event will cement our status for hosting global events headed into FIFA and the World Cup.
Just two more years until the world arrives. They call it football, we call it soccer – and if you thought the All-Star game was big, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Sports columnist John Rhadigan is an anchor for the Bally Sports Southwest television network.
