A cloud of smoke was billowing up from the Texas Rangers’ new stadium Saturday.
A fire had broken out at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the $1.2 billion stadium that is scheduled to open for the 2020 Major League Baseball season.
The brief fire, which began at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, likely won’t have an impact on that opening. The Dallas Morning News reported that no one was injured, while Arlington Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Ingols said that the fire was under control in 37 minutes, according to CBS 11.
“I can’t speak enough to the men and women of the Arlington Fire Department who got up there and did this today,” Ingols said. “It’s a long, hard climb up there to the roof of that building and they practice on it regularly. Without the partnership between us, Manhattan and the Rangers, these kinds of things can get out of hand really fast.”
CBS reported that Manhattan Construction Senior Vice President Greg McClure said that a crate of materials caught fire about 100 feet off the ground – underneath the retractable roof that was closed for the first time earlier this month.
“A crate of materials staged in the roof area of the Globe Life Field project caught fire,” the statement from Manhattan said, according to the Fort Worth-Star Telegram. “It was quickly contained and extinguished. There were no injuries. We are investigating the cause of the fire in conjunction with the Arlington Fire Department and will release that once it is determined. We would like to express our appreciation for the Arlington Fire Department and emergency personnel for their quick response and support to this incident.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation, while engineers are being brought in to determine the damage and if it will impact the stadium’s timeline. Work continued at the stadium Sunday. The first event scheduled for the venue is a Chris Stapleton concert on March 14, while the Rangers are scheduled to host an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 23.
