Randy Ford, owner of Arlington鈥檚 , was on the edge of his couch Oct. 23.
The Texas Rangers were just a few outs away from making their first World Series appearance since 2011. A strikeout, a pop out and a ground out were about to decide his team鈥檚 championship fate.
The inning also was bound to determine how Ford鈥檚 next couple days and weeks would unfold. Would it be business as usual or would he 鈥� along with the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth 鈥� have to prepare for something much bigger?
With , the Rangers鈥� home ballpark, right in the middle of Arlington鈥檚 entertainment district, businesses in the city and in Fort Worth stand to benefit from a World Series appearance by the Rangers, Ford said.
When the ninth inning ended, he got up from his couch, took it all in for a second, then immediately started preparations for a busy but profitable next few weeks.
鈥淭his coming Friday night, we鈥檙e talking about a difference of 鈥� minimum 鈥� $5,000 to $6,000 on top of what we normally end up doing on a Friday night,鈥� Ford said.
He鈥檚 not alone in his projections, according to the
Downtown Arlington鈥檚 is prepping for maximum capacity. , which has locations in Fort Worth and Arlington as well as inside Globe Life Field, is preparing to serve thousands, on thousands of customers in the next week, Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce said.
At J. Gilligan鈥檚, Ford has already set up a backup grill and a few extra fryers. He鈥檚 expecting about 600 people to take advantage of the shuttle his business operates on Rangers and Cowboys game days.
Revenue for the Rangers鈥� World Series games may reach the amount J. Gilligan鈥檚 brings in for a regular-season Cowboys game, Ford said.
The difference? If the series goes seven games, Globe Life Field would host four games in a nine-day span. That takes a lot of prep, Ford said.
Keeping fans in Arlington
The World Series is baseball鈥檚 biggest event, but this year, it鈥檚 not just the teams on the field that are vying for national recognition.
As the series unfolds, Arlington and Fort Worth will compete to lure tourists and their dollars.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an absolute cooperative effort on all the cities in the region,鈥� said Jacobson. 鈥淏ut at the same time, Arlington is going to be looking after Arlington. How do we make sure we benefit from everything going on?鈥�
The newly improved entertainment district will help, Jacobson said. and the right next to the stadium should drive World Series tourist traffic from one to the other.
Other hotels in the area, such as the and the , have increased prices. Staying at the Sheraton on Oct. 27, the night of Game 1, , while a night at
Arlington restaurants and bars are ready to rake in profits, too, Jacobson said.
鈥淲ith food and drink, we have the assets where we can keep people here in Arlington,鈥� Jacobson said. 鈥淜eeping them entertained, keeping them fed and housing them.鈥�
The goal is for establishments like J. Gilligan鈥檚, Grease Monkey and Texas Live! to keep people in Arlington after the games end, he said.
For Ford, that means ordering a few more kegs.
鈥淏efore or after a ballgame, and especially after a few beers, people just want something to eat at a reasonable price,鈥� Ford said.
鈥楾hey need to support the demand鈥�
Fort Worth sits in a solid position, as well, Visit Fort Worth CEO Bob Jameson said. The city doesn鈥檛 have to actually host the games to benefit.
Fort Worth has contracted 3,000 hotel room nights to the MLB, and it could be more as the series plays on, Jameson said.
鈥淎rlington is getting all sorts of new hotel inventory, but they don鈥檛 have all that yet,鈥� Jameson said. 鈥淭hey need to support the demand that will come with these games.鈥�
Jameson is welcoming anyone who can鈥檛 find a hotel room in Arlington or who doesn鈥檛 want to travel all the way from Dallas to Globe Life Field, to stay in Fort Worth.
So are the city鈥檚 hotels, he said.
Prices for hotel rooms in downtown Fort Worth are significantly less than those near Globe Life Field. A night at the on Oct. 27 , while staying at the
Other Fort Worth businesses, such as and , are brewing up advertising to position themselves as watch-party locations for home and away games. will even have Rangers-themed cans and shirts available.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the World Series. It鈥檚 just a remarkable event for our community and one that will bring a lot of people our way,鈥� Jameson said.
鈥楾ogether, We Succeed鈥�
Globe Life Field鈥檚 Games 1 and 2 are already sold out, .
If the series goes seven games, that means at least 161,200 people will be inArlington鈥檚 entertainment district over a nine-day stretch. And that鈥檚 just the ticket holders; thousands of other revelers are likely to take advantage of the district during the games.
While neither Arlington nor Fort Worth has estimates for the economic impact this year鈥檚 World Series will bring to the region, both Jacobson and Jameson know it can鈥檛 be understated.
And they both know the whole region will benefit.
鈥淵ou know, our tagline over here is 鈥楾ogether, We Succeed,鈥欌�� Jacobson said of the Arlington chamber鈥檚 mantra. 鈥淭he Rangers are part of the family, and we鈥檙e thrilled to see the family do well. We all want to be a part of it, the energy is electric.鈥�
Fort Worth certainly wants to be a part of it, too, Jameson said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all grateful to Arlington, and Globe Life Field,鈥� Jameson said. 鈥淚t allows us all to enjoy the benefits of the entertainment district 鈥� and a Rangers World Series.鈥�
Matthew Sgroi is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy . Read more about our editorial independence policy .
This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
