Rob Matwick, Executive Vice President – Business Operations, Texas Rangers Baseball Club
In an interview with Invest:, Rob Matwick, executive vice president of business operations for the Texas Rangers, talked about key achievements and developments over the past year, including the successful openings of Texas Live!, the Live! by Loews Hotel, and Globe Life Field.
What have been some recent highlights or achievements for the organization over the last year?
It really starts with the opening of Texas Live! in 2018, the Live! by Loews Hotel in 2019, and Globe Life Field in 2020. Those were three significant pieces of the development picture that have served as a catalyst for the future. From the time The Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994, there had always been an expectation of development in the Entertainment District. The Glorypark project was started, then stopped in 2008. We had an opportunity in 2014 to re-engage in discussions, and we were able to gain support from the city, ownership, and our development partners. That momentum allowed us to go before the public and vote on a potential new ballpark, which we did in 2016. We won the referendum to secure the public portion of financing for the ballpark and it allowed us to get three major projects under crane in a short amount of time.
The opening of the new Loews Arlington Hotel and the new Arlington Convention Center in February 2024 are significant additions, which have built upon the success of the first three projects. This has truly put Arlington on the map as a convention and meetings destination because we now have the facilities to accommodate about 80% to 85% of business that’s available. A destination planner once told me that if you have between 250,000 and 300,000 square feet of event space, you can handle most of the business related to meetings. We are in a sweet spot there, with quality hotel rooms within walking distance to amenities. For years, Arlington was missing the “Sunday through Thursday” business, which are primarily the business travelers. Now, we’re in the game. Plus, because the buildings are connected, guests don’t have to go out into the weather. The next step is getting people to live in the entertainment district, and our first residential project, One Rangers Way, will begin welcoming residents in the first quarter of 2025.
How will improvements to infrastructure benefit the area?
When the Glorypark project was planned, a lot of infrastructure work was done at that time to accommodate the development because leadership believed that project would go forward. Although that project did not happen, the infrastructure was in place to accept development when it came. This put us in a much better position to develop what eventually became Texas Live! and the Live! By Loews Hotel.
Additional infrastructure will need to be completed depending on where future development occurs. We still need more hotel inventory in the Entertainment District. If leasing goes well on our residential project, I expect we will have more demand for housing. A high-speed rail line between Dallas and Fort Worth, with a stop in the Arlington Entertainment District, is now under environmental review. That is an interesting discussion as the Arlington stop would also have a connection to DFW Airport. As we look to future phases, infrastructure will play a key role.
How would you describe the state of sports and entertainment in Arlington?
Sports and entertainment in Arlington is as strong as it has ever been! Beyond being the home of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys, we’ve created two of the finest special event facilities in the world adjacent to each other. One of the strengths of our Entertainment District is our ability to operate the facilities independent of each other, or we can combine the entities and create a walkable campus atmosphere. 2026 will be a great example of that use. In that year alone, we will host the Grand Prix of Arlington in March, which is a 2.7-mile Indy Car Street race that will run around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field and use all of the facilities in the District as part of the activation. That summer, AT&T Stadium will host nine matches for the FIFA World Cup. That is the highest number of matches for any venue in North America, so all of our hotels and entertainment venues will be busy. In March of 2025, the National Medal of Honor Museum will open. This $270 million dollar project will become a national treasure when it opens. Our neighbors at Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor continue to welcome families and create lasting memories for their guests.
When we were campaigning to build Globe Life Field, one commitment we made to the community was to open our doors wider and make the venue available throughout the entire year. Globe Life Field now hosts more than 200 events per year, including everything from baseball games to business meetings, concerts to rodeos, and even graduations and proms. In addition to the new ballpark, we made a promise to keep Choctaw Stadium (the former home of the Rangers) a vibrant part of the District. In addition to office space, restaurants and a coffee shop, we have played professional, college, and high school football, soccer and rugby in that building. We’ve hosted holiday events. We have new retail concepts under construction. The most exciting thing about the Arlington Entertainment District is that it has become a destination whether an event is taking place or not. We have Arlington residents that will take “staycations” at the hotels on weekends to enjoy the four-diamond quality experience. A great indicator of our success is bookings we are getting now for future years at the hotels and convention center. As we add amenities and give those guests more to do while they are in Arlington, they will become repeat customers and keep us top of mind. Governor Abbott calls Arlington the “Marquee of Texas!” We’re really proud of that and excited to keep creating a brighter future.
