Rangers to play exhibition games at the Alamodome

The Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres will bring baseball to the Alamodome for the first time when they play a pair of exhibition games on March 29-30 in San Antonio.

The Alamodome has hosted the NFL, the Final Four, and NBA All-Star Game, and several San Antonio Spurs championship finals, but has never had a baseball game played under its roof in its roughly 20 year history.

"We're excited about the opportunity to be playing in the first-ever baseball games in the Alamodome," Rangers President and CEO Nolan Ryan said in a statement. "We appreciate the support of everyone involved from the city, the [San Antonio] Missions and the Padres as well."

After the dome is configured for baseball -- with a custom 133,000 square foot field outfitted by Ryan Sanders Baseball and AstroTurf -- it will be able to hold over 50,000 fans. A sell-out would make the dome the host of the single largest baseball crowd in the history of the state of Texas.

Season-ticket holders for the Missions (the Padres Double-A affiliate) will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets for the event, which will go on sale to the general public at noon CT on Nov. 30.