Sanchez said the mural will come down sometime between November and February, when the construction on the new store is expected to wrap.<\/p>\n
\u201cMurals aren\u2019t made to be forever,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cI wish they were, but it\u2019s part of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MLBMuralReveal_CamiloDiaz754-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Mural artists Juan Velazquez and Armando Aguirre stand in front of the finished MLB mural during its Northside reveal July 10, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Both Velazquez and Sanchez agree the mural belongs somewhere in Northside, but negotiations over a replacement fell apart after the two could not come to terms on Velazquez\u2019s commission or cost of a move.<\/p>\n
Velazquez said he posted about the potential removal of the artwork on social media not to upset the community, but to give people a chance to see it before it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to just tell people so that one day it wouldn\u2019t be just gone and nobody knew about it,\u201d Velazquez said.<\/p>\n
The mural, which debuted in July 2024, was commissioned by the Rangers and Major League Baseball. Beyond Garcia and Gallardo, who both played for the Rangers, it features team legend and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ivan \u201cPudge\u201d Rodriguez, along with images depicting a young player\u2019s path from T-ball to the pros. Velazquez said he used real images from players at North Side High School so that kids in the community could see themselves in the art.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted people to see themselves in the mural,\u201d Velazquez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/942A6836-1024x683.jpg\")
A mural on North Main Street in Fort Worth\u2019s Northside is pictured June 2, 2026. Artist Juan Velazquez painted the 2024 work in collaboration with MLB and the Texas Rangers to reflect the surrounding community, including students from North Side High School. (Nicole Williams Quezada | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Sanchez said he reached out to Velazquez last September, before the sale was finalized, to let him know the mural would likely be painted over and to offer him a commission to paint the replacement. He also raised the possibility of helping cover costs to relocate the existing mural to another spot in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it really means a lot to the community, I\u2019m more than happy to relocate that mural,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n
Velazquez said he was offered too little. Sanchez said Velazquez\u2019s asking price was too high, and that other muralists had already reached out expressing interest in the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like there should always be a middle ground,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cI didn\u2019t lowball him to a drastic amount.\u201d<\/p>\n
Velazquez said his plan had been to use the commission payment to self-fund moving the original mural to another location in Northside, possibly near the high school baseball field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might still paint it somewhere else if I get an opportunity to do it self-funded,\u201d he said. \u201cI just don\u2019t have the resources to do it right now, but it might be something that I do later on in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanchez, who was born in Cleburne, said his father is originally from Northside. He wants the new mural to reflect his Mexican and Texan roots, and envisions imagery tied to his cowboy hat business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also pushed back on the notion that the mural is being admired to the fullest in its current location, adding it deserves a more visible home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it deserves to be repainted, it deserves to be repainted in the right location where it\u2019s going to be appreciated,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n
Aguirre, who helped Velazquez paint the MLB mural two weeks ahead of a tight All-Star Week deadline, said its potential loss is personal regardless of the circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe all-nighters that we pulled just to get the mural done on time, the effort put into it, it\u2019s not just like we go up there and magically get it done,\u201d Aguirre said.<\/p>\n
Aguirre, who is from Dallas and has been doing mural work across DFW for about six years, said he sees the mural as carrying a message beyond baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cSticking with what you love, seeing it all the way through, having this dream and holding on to it, that\u2019s how I viewed the mural,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause you see something outside of yourself, it makes you believe more in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MLBMural_CamiloDiaz-01-1024x683.jpg\")
Armando Aguirre paints a child\u2019s T-shirt on a mural for All-Star Week on July 5, 2024, at Mercado de Fort Worth in Northside. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The Northside situation is unfolding alongside a separate, high-profile legal dispute in Dallas, where artist Wyland filed a $25 million federal lawsuit after the city\u2019s iconic Whaling Wall was painted over to make way for a FIFA World Cup mural. That case centers on the federal Visual Artists Rights Act, which in some cases required building owners to give artists 90 days notice before destroying a work attached to a building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Velazquez said he is uncertain whether he has any legal standing to fight his work\u2019s removal but has decided not to pursue legal action.<\/p>\n
He added that Northside is a neighborhood that needs more public art, not less and that communities like it, including Riverside and Eastside, have historically been underserved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to paint in those areas because I\u2019m painting for a version of me as a kid somewhere,\u201d Velazquez said.<\/p>\n
Nicole Williams Quezada is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.williams@fortworthreport.org. <\/p>\n