For years now – many, many years – it has felt like the Chicago Cubs were on the cusp of getting an All-Star Game. For one thing, they’d passed the 30-year mark since the last All-Star Game at Wrigley Field, and, what with 30 teams, that means lots of teams were double-dipping before the Cubs got their next one. For another thing, the renovations at Wrigley Field were truly impressive and almost entirely positive, and you’d think the league would want to showcase the preservation and modernization of one of its most historic parks.
But, for those same years, other facilities kept getting the event. We still know it’s coming eventually, but the next two are spoken for (Atlanta this year, Philadelphia next year), so the soonest it could be is 2027.
Thankfully, the Cubs do kinda like their chances, as indicated by the team’s president of business operations:
Crane Kenney: 'It’s a very realistic expectation' for Cubs, Wrigley Field to host the MLB All-Star Game in 2027https://t.co/F8V5xkCgWZ pic.twitter.com/hz2eSE4YaB— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) January 20, 2025
The Cubs have been asking, and the various Mayor’s of Chicago have been pushing. The problem, according to Kenney, has been stadium security – specifically, the ability to control and manage around the ballpark thanks to its unique situation:
“The commissioner has basically made it very obvious – fix your security issue, and I’m going to award you an All-Star Game,” Kenney said on Inside the Clubhouse on Saturday.
“We’ve had multiple mayors chase this,” Kenney said. “Mayor Emanuel went to New York with a proposition for the game. We were trying to get it for the finish of the Wrigley project. So we were looking at like 2021, which turned out, because of COVID … wouldn’t have been the (best) year for us. The commissioner made it very clear to then-mayor Emanuel, ‘This is what I need to see around Wrigley Field.’ So every year, there’s a scoring system and unfortunately in New Orleans, we just saw another incident. But even going back to the Stade de France (in 2015) and what has been happening internationally, there’s a scoring system for each ballpark in terms of perimeter security and we are last in baseball.
“The beauty of Wrigley is we play in a neighborhood. That means active streets during the game, 40,000 people inside and a U-Haul truck that could have fertilizer in it rolling right past the gates. That’s no good, and the commissioner made it very clear that’s no good. Those streets need to be closed – not just from the moment the game starts but during the game. Progress was made, and then Rahm left office. Honestly, mayor (Lori) Lightfoot made a lot of progress with the commissioner and a plan and then was not re-elected (in 2023). So we picked up the torch with mayor (Brandon) Johnson, and he’s been making a lot of progress. And I think it’s a very realistic expectation for 2027 based on the conversations I’m aware of that are happening.”
I’m sure it’s REALLY EASY to get that kind of stuff done in Chicago! … In all seriousness, I’m sure the number of levers that have to be pulled to get so much coordination accomplished between the city, the political bodies, the local businesses, the Cubs, and the league are enormous. It’s potentially more complex than it is for almost any other stadium in MLB.
Fingers crossed that everyone can get on the same page, though, because I know a lot of fans want to see those festivities take place in Wrigleyville, and I know the announcement of the 2027 All-Star Game venue could be coming sometime in the first half of this year.