Name Change News

Choctaw Nation gets to name the old Texas Rangers stadium in Arlington

"Hmmm, what sounds good? Hey, Choctaw Stadium has a nice ring."

Courtesy rendering

Globe Life Park in Arlington, former home to the Texas Rangers baseball team, has a new name.

The Texas Rangers entered into a naming rights partnership with Choctaw Casinos & Resorts for the sports and entertainment venue, and it will now be called Choctaw Stadium.

The venue opened in 1994 and served as the home of the Texas Rangers until 2019. It's currently home to soccer team North Texas SC and Dallas Renegades, the XFL football team, and will host college and high school football, pro soccer, and Major League rugby.

The naming rights agreement expands a partnership that the Rangers and Choctaw Casinos & Resorts have had since 2010. In May 2019, Choctaw became the Official and Exclusive Casino and Resort of the Texas Rangers.

The venue was previously named for Globe Life, the life insurance company for which the Rangers' new Globe Life Field ballpark was named in a partnership that extends until 2048.

Texas Rangers Chairman and Managing Partner Ray Davis says in a statement that the newly named Choctaw Stadium expands Choctaw's presence in the Arlington Entertainment District, which also includes Globe Life Field and Texas Live!

Choctaw does have a presence already at Texas Live! via its Choctaw VIP Lounge, described as a one-of-a-kind, upscale experience with an exclusive beverage menu and premier seating overlooking Live! Arena.

The now Choctaw Stadium was reconfigured from a baseball diamond format to a multi-purpose facility after the Rangers moved across the street in 2019, and was the site of XFL pro football, USL League One pro soccer, and 50 Texas UIL high school football games a year ago.

Pro soccer and high school football return this year and the expansion team Dallas Jackals of Major League Rugby will call Choctaw Stadium home in 2022.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is the third largest Indian Nation in the United States with close to 200,000 tribal members and 10,000 employees. They own Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, which encompasses a variety of gaming, hotel, and resort properties throughout southeastern Oklahoma including Durant, Grant, Pocola, Idabel, Broken Bow, McAlester, Stigler, and Stringtown.

In August 2021, they just completed a major expansion at the Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant with the addition of the Sky Tower, featuring 1,000 new luxury hotel rooms, 3,300 additional slot machines, table games, a new poker room, new restaurants, bars, movie theaters and three acres of swimming pools.

Choctaw Stadium already has 19 games scheduled through early November, beginning Thursday, August 26, when Arlington Sam Houston hosts Lakeview Centennial High School from Garland at 7 pm.

That will be the first of 14 regular season games involving high schools from the Arlington Independent School District. A total of 16 regular season high school games are scheduled.

In addition, Choctaw Stadium will host three college football games:

September 11: Texas A&M-Commerce of the Lone Star Conference will host Midwestern State University
September 18: Tarleton State University of the Western Athletic Conference will host Southern Utah University
October 9: The Arlington Football Showdown features the Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup of Texas Southern University and Southern University

Parking for games at Choctaw Stadium will be available in Toyota Lot D, Avalon Lot E, Sequoia Lot L, Sienna Lot M, and Highlander Lot N. Parking lots will open 90 minutes prior to kickoff with the Choctaw Stadium gates opening one hour prior to kickoff.

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Love the Land

Daytripper host Chet Garner highlights Texas conservation in PBS series

Photo courtesy of PBS

Making of a Million: Daytripping with The Nature Conservancy in Texas is free to watch online.

Thanks to a new three-part PBS docuseries, you don't need to go to all of Texas' protected lands and waters to appreciate their breadth. Making of a Million: Daytripping with The Nature Conservancy in Texas follows host of The Daytripper, Chet Garner, from West Texas to the coast, discussing conservation efforts by The Nature conservancy (TNC) along the way.

"Making of a Million" refers to the 1 million acres in Texas that fall under TNC's protection. The 1 million figure is a milestone TNC is celebrating with the series, but it's not the full extent of its work; actually, according to the 2025 annual report, its total impact is 1.6 million acres.

The Daytripping project has been rolled out slowly in 2026, from YouTube previews to an official release on PBS in April to events in Texas' biggest cities that formally introduced the works.

The 26-minute video shows off striking aerial images of mountains, close ups of plants and wildlife, and even a quick feature of an archeological find. Water, of course, is a big topic in the desert, and it's a large topic across the series. Fresh water even has its own dedicated episode.

Although conservation experts are consulted throughout the series, viewers can do more than passively watch other people solve environmental problems. One story, toward the end of the West Texas episode, highlights how a rancher directed researchers to a habitat for an endangered species of fish on his property, simply because he overheard a scientist at a café claim they were extinct.

Garner recently spoke on a panel after an Austin screening with TNC director of land protection Jeff Francell, spatial analyst Jacqueline Ferrato, and director of land protection/stewardship Dan Snodgrass. They discussed the series and the broader conservation topics it connects to.

“This new series really captures the spirit of our efforts and collaborations to protect Texas lands and water,” said Snodgrass in a recap for press. “Chet’s storytelling skills spotlight our partners and projects in a unique, engaging way — we’re excited for more Texans to see why conservation matters and learn how they can get involved.”

“Daytripping with The Nature Conservancy in Texas allowed us to visit some of the most amazing places in Texas and to meet people who are making a real difference for conservation,” said Garner. “Folks will love traveling with us across wildly diverse landscapes and learning the solutions shaping the future of our state’s biggest environmental challenges.”

While the series has already aired locally on KERA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth viewers can check listings for encore presentations and watch the series for free on the Nature Conservancy's website or on YouTube.

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