Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth Stockyards has been transformed for MLB Draft. Take a look

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When Major League Baseball was looking for a venue to host its 2024 draft, it wanted a place that reflected the culture of North Texas.

“You can’t get anymore Fort Worth than the Cowtown Coliseum rodeo arena,” said coliseum general manager Tim Long.

The 116-year-old building, which Long called “Wrigley Field of Rodeo,” will host the first two rounds of the MLB Draft on Sunday. The event will be broadcast on ESPN and MLB Network starting at 6 p.m.

The coliseum is being staged to reflect that cowboy culture with a star-shaped stage and cattle pens meant to reflect the surrounding Stockyards.

Fans will be able to get on the ground floor as the rodeo arena will be open along with the surrounding grandstand. The setup is more intimate than drafts in the past, said Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB’s vice president of events..

While the entire draft will be broadcast, only the first 30 picks will be open to the public. Fans can watch the rest of the draft at a watch party outside the coliseum.

Admission is free, but fans need to register online to get a seat. Seating will be doled out on a first-come-first served basis, but fans can come and go as they please.

This will create a lively atmosphere that allows more fans to see the draft, Yolkut said.

Six prospects will attend the event, including Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery, who is ranked eighth among MLB prospects heading into the draft.

The other five players are Saguaro High School Arizona pitcher Cam Caminiti, Mississippi State University pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, Kansas State University shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, University of Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore, and West Virginia State University shortstop JJ Wetherholt.

The draft will cap off a day of festivities in the Stockyards, starting with the 11:30 a.m. cattle drive and ending with a baseball themed drone show, said Jason Sands, director of the Fort Worth Sports Commission.

There will be live music outside the coliseum from noon to 3 p.m. along with selfie and photo opportunities set up by MLB, he said. There will also be a question and answer session with Texas Rangers legends Michael Young and Ian Kinsler starting at 3 p.m.