History
Turnpike Stadium opened in April 1965 as a 10,500-seat Double-A park on a site next to Six Flags Over Texas. The Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs played there through 1971.
Expansion began in 1970, and when the Rangers arrived for 1972 the renamed Arlington Stadium held about 35,700. An upper deck added in 1978 pushed capacity past 41,000, and it reached 43,521 by its final season.
Nolan Ryan threw his seventh no-hitter there in 1991. The Rangers played their last game on October 3, 1993, moved to The Ballpark in Arlington across the street, and the old stadium was demolished in 1994. Its land became parking and roads, and part of it is now the site of the National Medal of Honor Museum.
Why it matters: It was converted from a minor-league park into the Rangers' first home and brought major-league baseball to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Timeline
- April 23, 1965
A 10,500-seat Double-A park opened for the Spurs.
- April 21, 1972
The relocated Senators, now the Rangers, beat the Angels 7-6.
- September 30, 1984Mike Witt's perfect game[1]
The Angels' Mike Witt threw a perfect game against Texas.
- May 1, 1991Nolan Ryan's seventh no-hitter[1]
Ryan threw the last no-hitter of his career at home.
- October 3, 1993
Kansas City won 4-1 in the last game before the Rangers moved across the street.
- 1994
The stadium was demolished after The Ballpark in Arlington opened.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,3] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Mostly parking and roadway (AT&T Way) in Arlington's entertainment district; part redeveloped as the National Medal of Honor Museum[1,3] |
| Surviving remnants | Home plate, foul poles and some bleachers moved to The Ballpark in Arlington (the foul poles were replaced before 2016)[1] |
| Mapped location | Former venue parcel |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs | Texas League · 1965–1971 |
|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | American League · 1972–1993 |
| UT Arlington Mavericks | NCAA · 1970–1976 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Other names | Turnpike Stadium (1965–1971) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1701 E Copeland Rd, Arlington, TX 76011, Arlington, Texas[1] |
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball |
| Level | MLB, Minor League, NCAA |
| Opened | April 23, 1965[1,3] |
| Last used for sports | October 3, 1993[1,2,3] |
| Demolished | 1994[1,3] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 10,600[1,2,3] |
| Final capacity | 43,521[1,2,3] |
| Capacity notes | 10,600 (Wikipedia) or 10,500 (SABR, Ballparks of Baseball) as Turnpike Stadium; expanded in stages to 43,521 by 1991-93. |
| Architect | Preston M. Geren Architects & Engineers[1] |
| Construction cost | $1.9 million original; about $19 million total with expansions (SABR)[1,2,3] |
| Surface | Grass[1] |
| Owner / operator | City of Arlington[1] |
| Closure | Replaced by The Ballpark in Arlington (now Choctaw Stadium), which opened next door in 1994. |
Documented details
- As of 2016, SABR reported that nothing on the site marked that a ballpark had stood there, 'not even a home-plate marker'.[3]
Connected venues
Sources
- Arlington Stadium, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, events, opened, owner operator, remnants, surface, teams
- Arlington Stadium, Ballparks of Baseball. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates
- Arlington Stadium (Texas), Society for American Baseball Research (Will Osgood). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, construction cost, current land use, demolished, opened, teams
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (2)
- Demolition year: 1994 (Wikipedia, SABR, Ballparks of Baseball text) vs 1993 (Ballparks of Baseball facts).
- Original capacity 10,600 (Wikipedia) vs 10,500 (SABR, Ballparks of Baseball). Architect listed as 'Unknown' by Ballparks of Baseball.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.