Battle over new Arlington Rangers stadium continues

ARLINGTON, Texas - As the Texas Rangers battle for the division, the battle for votes continues to ramp up as well.

The campaigns continue to fight to convince Arlington residents to either vote yes or no for a brand new retractable roof stadium.

“Do you really want to tear down the stadium that you’re getting ready to win the World Series in?” said Warren Norred with Save Our Stadium. “I hope the answer to that is no."

The Save Our Stadium group is urging Arlington voters to say no to a proposed one billion dollar stadium and the continuation of special taxes that would pay for the city's portion of 500 million dollars. Those are the same taxes used to pay the city's portion of the Cowboys stadium.

Norred says having the Rangers in the playoffs works in their favor.

“It's very exciting. You have people that are more paying attention to the game, and so that naturally goes over to the election,” he said.

On the other side of the ballot, there is also an excitement with the Vote Yes campaign that if the Rangers keep doing well, it helps their cause.

"Not only is it obviously fantastic for the campaign because the economic engine is rolling with the Rangers playoff games, but we're literally benefitting our community is benefitting by having playoff games here,” said Kelly Curnutt with Vote Yes.

Curnutt says it's clear why they need a roof on a new ballpark.

“We're watching the weather tomorrow, a perfect example of the concern,” he said.

Signs for both groups can be seen all over the city. Although the much better funded Vote Yes signs are far more prevalent, Vote Yes enjoys the backing of city leaders.

Vote No points to an ethics investigation into the other side's campaign and a true grass roots effort gaining momentum.

Neither side cited any negative impact from a Rangers playoff run.

"We love it when they win. It's an even bigger economic engine,” said Curnutt. “Either way, it's a blessing and a benefit to the community."

The negative for the Vote No side is the momentum and the feeling from fans that a new stadium would keep that going.

The negative for the Vote Yes folks is certainly a Rangers success and then tearing down a large portion of the ballpark since baseball fans can be very superstitious.