SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Rangers announced Friday they will be playing two spring exhibition games this coming March in the Alamodome against the San Diego Padres, the parent club of the San Antonio Missions.
"We have a lot of fans in San Antonio area (and) in South Texas (who) come up to our ball games and we thought, 'Why not come down here and play a couple of games?' It would be a neat experience," said Nolan Ryan, Rangers' president and CEO.
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The idea was carried to reality by Reid Ryan, Nolan's son.
"My dad and I -- for years -- had kind of always kicked around (the idea that it) would be neat to see a game there," Reid Ryan said.
The biggest challenge was putting a baseball field inside a football stadium.
Rangers outfield Craig Gentry was finding it hard to imagine the baseball diamond in a football stadium
"You walk in (the Alamodome and) you see goal posts, you see a football field and you can't picture a baseball field," Gentry said.
The Rangers will be bringing in a new turf and building up mounds and bullpens. They will add netting, padding and raising right and right center field walls up to 16 feet. They will also add dugouts.
The configuration will hold 50,000 fans.
Dimensions will be a little odd for a ballpark, but it will work out.
Home plate will be in the Northeast corner. It will be 340 feet down the left field line to 395 feet in dead center, but only 280 feet to right field.
"I have been telling a few guys if I can't (hit to the opposite field), I shouldn't be playing baseball anymore," Gentry said. "I am excited to see this all play out and come down here and get to experience this."
The games will take place Friday, March 29, and Saturday, March 30. Friday's game is set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday's is set for 1:05 p.m.
Tickets range from $10 to $55 and go on sale through Ticketmaster starting Nov. 30.