ATLANTA — A year ago, the Orioles’ application to land a future MLB All-Star Game was in “flux” because of their recent change in ownership. This season, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged Baltimore is back in the mix, along with the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, to host a Midsummer Classic in the near future.
“A really significant factor in terms of All-Star Games is when did you have one last,” Manfred said in a news conference with the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday. “So, you can figure out kind of [what teams are being considered]. It’s not the sole determining factor but it’s a significant one.
“The Orioles are in that conversation.”
After the Atlanta Braves host the game and its four-day schedule of festivities this year, the Philadelphia Phillies are on deck for 2026. USA TODAY also reported that the Chicago Cubs have landed the 2027 All-Star Game, with an official announcement coming at the end of July. That leaves 2028 for the Orioles, Blue Jays and Red Sox, among others, to sort out.
“Obviously, time is one issue, the level of interest in the club is another issue,” Manfred said. “Not every club is interested in having an All-Star Game. Most are but it just depends.”
Toronto has the longest All-Star Game drought of any current major league city (1991), though it’s closely followed by Baltimore (1993) for the second longest. Boston last hosted the game in 1999. Both the Blue Jays’ Rogers Centre and Orioles’ Camden Yards have undergone ballpark renovations in recent years; Baltimore is planning for major upgrades to the scoreboards, sound system and premium seating options to be completed by the start of the 2026 season.
Hosting the All-Star Game is a priority publicly shared by both Orioles president of business operations Catie Griggs and principal owner David Rubenstein.
“I don’t think it will hurt,” Rubenstein said in spring training of whether the renovations could boost their chances. “I think baseball wants to show off its best all the time. We haven’t had an All-Star Game for quite some time. There are a couple other commitments that have already been made to major league teams for All-Star Games, but they haven’t made commitments too far in advance. I think we have a reasonable chance, but we don’t have any commitments yet.”
The logistics of hosting an All-Star Game in Baltimore would be much different than Atlanta’s Truist Park, which is located on the Battery and surrounded by mixed-use properties that can support the large number of events and fans milling about. Camden Yards is located in the heart of downtown and the associated “All-Star Village” expands beyond the outfield gates.
In 1993, the Orioles held their “FanFest” at the Baltimore Convention Center and shut down seven blocks from the inner harbor to the ballpark for street vendors and entertainment booths.
The club still has unsettled negotiations with the Maryland Stadium Authority over a ground lease for some of the land surrounding Camden Yards and the final 15 years of their current 30-year lease are contingent upon an agreement being reached. The lease was negotiated by former chairman and CEO John Angelos, who saw the Battery as a potential model for how the land could be used.
Griggs has since shut down that notion under current ownership and any progress toward a ground lease has yet to be announced.
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