CALIFORNIA— The Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game scheduled for July 14 of this year in Los Angeles, has been cancelled. The city will instead host the event in 2022 at Dodger Stadium, as announced on Friday, July 3.
MLB announced that the the 2021 All-Star Game will remain scheduled to take place in Atlanta, but that the LA Dodgers would get their chance to host the annual game in 2022. The organization explained that the current health circumstances “are beyond MLB’s control,” adding that government directives against large gatherings contributed to the decision to cancel this year’s event.
“The league determined it is unable to conduct the All-Star Game and its week of surrounding fan activities this year,” organizers said in a statement.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred today thanked the city of Los Angeles and the LA Dodgers for collaborating in the decision-making process.
“Once it became clear we were unable to hold this year’s All-Star festivities, we wanted to award the Dodgers with the next available All-Star Game, which is 2022,” Manfred said. “The 2022 All-Star celebration promises to be a memorable one with events throughout the city and at picturesque Dodger Stadium.”
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten also thanked the city’s collaboration and shared the hope that Los Angeles “will host a world-class event in 2022.”
The MLB’s statement does not indicate a date for the 2022 event. In a tweet, the LA Dodgers said fans who had tickets to the 2020 All-Star Game can keep their tickets for 2022. Fans can get refunds starting on Monday, July 6.
The LA Dodgers along with the Dodgers Foundation will still honor the $1.7 million commitment to contribute to projects from the All-Star Legacy initiative. The four projects include upgrades to city baseball fields in South Los Angeles, Lincoln Heights, and Chinatown.
The All-Star Veterans Courtyard in Skid Row will receive “an upgrade to outdoor gathering spaces for homeless veterans receiving day services and those in long-term housing at the Veterans Service Center.”
This is the first time since 1945 that the MLB All-Star Game has been suspended. Created in 1933, the event was cancelled in the 1940s due to travel cancelations amid World War II.
