Excavation work nearly done for new Texas Rangers ballpark

The digging and excavation work is nearly done for the Texas Rangers' new billion-dollar ballpark, officials said on Wednesday.

Nearly a million and a half cubic yards of dirt have been excavated, with 75 miles of steel rods holding up the retaining walls. The excavation will be complete in two weeks and then the project will enter a new phase.

Over the next few month’s fans will start to see the actual structure begin to take shape. Crews have started pouring the first of 725 concrete columns which will support flooring for the seating bowl.

"With the schedule of April 2020 coming up quickly, you’ll start seeing the structure coming up, start seeing facade by the end of the year, start seeing the roof early next year and the retractable roof first scheduled to be up and in by October 2019,” said Wesley Weaver, Manhattan Construction.

The Rangers have released renderings of how the ballpark will look when it's finished, but some tweaks are still possible. For now, it's the field of your imagination.

For any fan who has suffered through an afternoon game in July, the main attraction will the one-piece retractable roof.

"The mechanization will move from the east side and move over to the west,” said Rob Matwick, Texas Rangers.

Parts of the $250 million Texas Live entertainment venue will be finished later this year, in time for the final part of the baseball season. It will feed into the new ballpark when it's ready in two more years.

The new Rangers stadium will welcome fans on Opening Day 2020.