BALLPARK ESTIMATE

When Brad Corbett announced his Al Oliver/John Matlack trade and the 1978 Texas Rangers took definite shape, we were smitten with a severe case of baseball fever. So to ease the four-month wait for the first pitch, we poked around Arlington Stadium and gathered a progress report. The news is all good news. Construction on the stadium expansion project is in full gear and, says one project supervisor, “proceeding beautifully, right on schedule.” Besides the 5,000 new seats (all the new upper deck seats will be priced at $5.50), there will be, thank God, additional new concession and restroom facilities on all levels. Completion date is set at April 15, but contractors are hoping to sweep out the last pile of dust by April 1, in time for the opening game a week later. Season tickets are selling at a record rate – officials estimate that at least 4,000 and maybe 5,000 will be the final tally (the previous high was 3,300). Best of all, the Rangers will open the season at home on Saturday afternoon, April 8, against the World Champion New York Yankees on national TV, followed by a Sunday afternoon game, and a Monday night game also on national TV. Individual game tickets go on sale in mid-March. That’s all for now, sports fans. We’ll keep you posted.