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MLB Ballparks Await Their Turns at All-Star Games

Citizens Bank Park

Now that the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is in the books, Marlins Park can officially join the long list of ballparks that have hosted the event.

Included in the list of previous All-Star Game sites are many active facilities, as 25 of MLB’s current slate of ballparks have hosted the Midsummer Classic at least once. That leaves five that have not, and only one is guaranteed a game in the coming years. Nationals Park—home of the Washington Nationals—is set to host the 2018 All-Star Game, bringing the event to Washington for the first time since 1969.

The other four are Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies), SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves), Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays), and Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees). Here is a close look at the cases of those ballparks:

Citizens Bank Park

Since its debut in 2004, Citizens Bank Park has been home to plenty of memorable moments—the Phillies’ have made the World Series twice during the facility’s history, and clinched the 2008 title at the ballpark. What Citizens Bank Park has yet to see, however, is an All-Star Game.

Back in 2015, it was reported by The Washington Post that the Phillies were waiting until 2026 in order to have the All-Star Game coincide with the United States’ 250th anniversary. That would be a fitting time to bring the event to Citizens Bank Park—especially since the 1976 game was played in Philadelphia to coincide with the bicentennial— but time will tell if that proves to be the case. Philadelphia last hosted the All-Star Game in 1996, when it was held at Veterans Stadium.

SunTrust Park

Given that SunTrust Park just opened in April, it is not surprising that it is not already guaranteed a game. With that said, the ballpark has attracted plenty of positive attention since its opening and is expected to be the last new facility to debut until at least 2020—when the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark is slated to open.

For those reasons, the case of SunTrust Park is more of a question of when it will be awarded an All-Star Game rather than if. Atlanta’s last turn at the All-Star Game was at Turner Field in 2000.

Tropicana Field

Tropicana Field has a few distinctions in comparison to the other ballparks on this list. It is not only the lone facility whose home team has not hosted a game, but it is also the oldest venue on the list. The Rays (then the Devil Rays) debuted at Tropicana Field in 1998, eight years after it originally opened.

The Rays have been searching for a new ballpark, so it stands to reason that MLB could hold off on rewarding the franchise an All-Star Game until its replacement for Tropicana Field has arrived.

Yankee Stadium

The case of Yankee Stadium has multiple factors to consider. While it is now in its ninth season and has yet to be guaranteed a game, it is not as though MLB has completely overlooked New York City in its All-Star Game site selection process. The 2013 contest was held at the Mets’ Citi Field, and it has only been since 2008—the final year of the previous Yankee Stadium—that the Yankees have hosted the game.

When the time comes for the current Yankee Stadium to stage the event, it should be in a good position to do so. The ballpark received numerous upgrades to the fan experience prior to this season.

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