Major League Baseball dropped a shock on many yesterday, announcing that it would be pulling the 2021 All-Star Game (and MLB Draft) from Atlanta, Georgia in response to the state’s new voter restriction law. In the announcement, Commissioner Rob Manfred indicated a new site for the game would be identified in short order, but was not formally named.
To that end, there was a rapid fire of speculation and state/city offers to host the game yesterday afternoon, but it sounds like MLB may already have a target in mind:
Among top industry officials, the expectation is that Coors Field seems to be where the All-Star Game is headed. From @EvanDrellich… https://t.co/PLieOypO2C
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) April 3, 2021
Coors Field did already host an All-Star Game, albeit back in 1998 when it was a new ballpark. Certainly a game there – and a Home Run Derby! – would be a lot of fun. This doesn’t appear to be finalized yet, by the way.
I know a lot of Cubs fans want the game at Wrigley Field as a replacement, but for selfish reasons, I kinda want Chicago to get the game when we are definitively, crystal-clearly out of the pandemic so it can just be a full-on celebration. Will we be there in mid-July? Could be. Could be a perfect way to kick off a celebration, even. But since I’m not totally 100% certain yet, I don’t quite have it in me to push. Post-renovations, Wrigley Field is already on the short list for one of the next All-Star Games, by the way. Next year goes to Dodger Stadium, which lost last year’s installment to the pandemic.
The Cubs last hosted an All-Star Game at Wrigley Field in 1990, the third longest “drought,” as it were, among existing teams. The Dodgers last hosted in 1980, and the Athletics last hosted in 1987.