Update (11:30 a.m. April 6): MLB officially announced Tuesday that the Rockies will host the 91st Midsummer Classic on July 13. The following is the story from Monday night.
The 2021 MLB All-Star Game is coming to Colorado, a league source confirmed Monday night.
Just days after Major League Baseball decided to move the game out of Atlanta, the source says MLB is expected to officially announce Tuesday morning that the July 13 game will be moved to Denver’s Coors Field.
“We are excited about the possibility of hosting the All-Star Game and are awaiting MLB’s decision,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement released to The Denver Post on Monday night.
Gov. Jared Polis echoed Hancock’s hopeful statements when contacted by The Post.
“Like so many Coloradans, I’m excited and hopeful that Major League Baseball makes the best decision and formally chooses to play the 2021 All-Star Game in Denver,” Polis said in a statement. “It would be good for baseball and good for Colorado.”
It’s not known, at this time, how many fans would be able to attend the All-Star Game. Currently, the Rockies are allowing 42.6% of Coors Field’s usual capacity of 50,144 fans in the stadium due to the coronavirus. Colorado state officials have said they expect to turn over decision-making on most COVID-19 public health restrictions to local authorities in mid-April — well before the All-Star Game will take place in July.
The possibility of the All-Star Game’s return to Colorado emerged Friday when MLB announced its intention to move the game in response to a new Georgia voting law that raised concerns among civil groups that it would restrict voting access for people of color. The 2021 MLB draft, a new addition to All-Star Game festivities this year, also was moved from Atlanta.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement at the time that his decision to move the game from Atlanta was made after discussions with individual big-league players as wells as the Players Alliance, an organization of Black players that was formed after the death of George Floyd last year in Minnesota.
Manfred said his decision was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport.”
After Manfred’s decision, the Atlanta Braves released a statement.
“The Atlanta Braves are deeply disappointed by the decision of Major League Baseball to move its 2021 All-Star Game.
“This was neither our decision, nor our recommendation and we are saddened that the fans will not be able to see this event in our city. The Braves organization will continue to stress the importance of equal voting opportunities and we had hoped our city could use this event as a platform to enhance the discussion. Our City has always been known as a uniter in divided times and we will miss the opportunity to address issues that are important to our community.
“Unfortunately, businesses, employees and fans in Georgia are the victims of this decision. We will continue to support the community legacy projects which have been planned and are in process.”
The Rockies were a candidate to host the 2022 All-Star Game before the Los Angeles Dodgers won out. Last spring, officials from Major League Baseball visited Denver multiple times. The other contenders to host the 2022 Midsummer Classic were the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs.
Denver last hosted the All-Star Game on July 7, 1998, in Coors Field’s fourth year of existence. A sold-out crowd of 51,231 saw the American League beat the National League 13-8.
Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr., elected to the All-Star Game by collecting the most votes from fans, won a memorable Home Run Derby on the day before the All-Star Game. He hit 19 homers in all, three in the final round to defeat Cleveland’s Jim Thome.
Senior politics editor Erica Hunzinger and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
