Rangers begin renovating All-Star Legacy Park

ARLINGTON -- Just over 50 years ago, former Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff fought to bring Major League Baseball to the Metroplex. Since then, the Rangers have been ingrained in the community, not just in Arlington, but throughout the area.

That connection between the Rangers and the community was re-energized on Friday morning, as the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, the City of Arlington and Mayor Jim Ross, MLB Charities and Corey and Mady Seager joined forces for the groundbreaking event of the All-Star Legacy Project at Senter Park.

Senter Park, located less than three miles from Globe Life Field, will undergo a transformative renovation, with the ribbon-cutting taking place during All-Star Week in Arlington this summer.

April Brown, senior vice president of social responsibility for Major League Baseball, emphasized the importance of projects like this in MLB cities throughout the country.

“It's such a pleasure to be here in Arlington, the home of the World Series champions Texas Rangers,” Brown said. “We were here for the World Series last fall. We got to do our legacy programming, which is the work that we do off the field. It's Major League Baseball, together with our host clubs and with our nonprofit partners, that we’re able to work off the field to reduce equity gaps and to help those that live in the communities where we play our sport.

“This coming July for All-Star, it will be renamed and it will be renewed. It will be the same historical beacons, with some great new touches to it. It will be amazing for the youth to step on to these fields, pursue their dreams, have fun, have a good time with physical activity that we encourage and to do the sport that we love.”

The renovations will include brand-new synthetic turf installation on two fields, new dugouts and fencing for both fields, replaced and extended bleachers with shade structures, a new scoreboard installation and extended parking lots.

The biggest addition will be the building of the Corey Seager Batting Cages, donated by the Rangers shortstop and his wife, Mady. The batting cages will be turfed under a hardcover structure with interior lighting.

“It's just something we're really passionate about, giving back to the community,” Seager said. “It’s something we love, something we know kids can enjoy in the future, and it just kind of really touches home for us.”

“That's what it's all about. It's the next generation. We were this generation a couple years ago, so it's always about giving back to the kids and trying to inspire people just to come out and be active and play and see if they liked it as much as we do.”

In his short time with the Rangers, Seager and his family have ingrained themselves in the community, including hosting multiple events and providing donations to the Texas Rangers Youth Academy.

“This city, this community, has supported us tremendously throughout the years,” Seager said. “So to be able to just give back a little bit to them and to be around people, to meet people, shake people's hands and stuff like that -- it's really fun, especially with the kids. Our camp last night was a lot of fun, just to be around those kids and see how they interact and see how much they enjoy the game. It kind of brings the child back in us. So it's something fun to be a part of.”