High school football: Former World Series venue Choctaw Stadium to host 10 Texas prep games in 2026

North Mesquite will start off the action against Sam Houston on Aug. 28 at Texas Rangers' old stadium.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Thomas Frey
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Aug 4, 2026, 1:00pm
Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers, will host 10 high school football games in the 2026 season.

The action starts Aug. 28 as North Mesquite (Mesquite) squares off against Sam Houston (Arlington) and continues almost every week into the start of November.

From 1994-2019, Choctaw was home of the Texas Rangers. It hosted 25 playoff contests, including five World Series games. Known as the Ballpark in Arlington for the majority of its time, the stadium also hosted the 1995 MLB All-Star game featuring Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson.
J.J. McCarthy of IMG Academy throws a pass in 2020 at Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers. Behind him is Green's Hill, the grass batter's eye just beyond the center field fence. (FILE PHOTO: Robbie Rakestraw)
J.J. McCarthy of IMG Academy throws a pass in 2020 at Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers. Behind him is Green's Hill, the grass batter's eye just beyond the center field fence. (FILE PHOTO: Robbie Rakestraw)
The venue was reconfigured into a multi-purpose rectangular field after the Rangers left in 2019. Since 2020, Choctaw has hosted more than 60 high school football games. Arguably the biggest game happened in 2020 when No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) took down No. 6 Duncanville 41-14 as future first round draft choice J.J. McCarthy tossed three touchdown passes.

Since then some of the top teams in Texas have played here including Allen, Lake Travis (Austin), North Crowley (Fort Worth), Southlake Carroll (Southlake) and Aledo.

Aledo plays at Choctaw Stadium again on Oct. 30 against Sam Houston. The Bearcats are ranked No. 57 in our expanded Top 100 rankings and are led by Boise State commit Kingston Parks and Oregon State pledge Tymon Meeks.

The venue was reconfigured into a multi-purpose rectangular field after the Texas Rangers baseball team left.

Full schedule at Choctaw Stadium
Aug. 28 — North Mesquite (Mesquite) vs. Sam Houston (Arlington)
Sept. 4 — South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie) vs. Bowie (Arlington)
Sept. 11 — Haltom (Haltom City) vs. Bowie
Sept. 18 — Arlington vs. Sam Houston
Sept. 25 — Granbury vs. Bowie
Oct. 8 — Martin (Arlington) vs. Sam Houston
Oct. 16 — Lamar (Arlington) vs. Sam Houston
Oct. 23 — Arlington vs. Bowie
Oct. 30 — Aledo vs. Sam Houston
Nov. 5 — Sam Houston vs. Bowie

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