SEATTLE (KOMO) — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday announced that the Seattle Mariners and the city will host the 2023 All-Star Game, a marquee event for the sport that is expected to draw thousands of fans to the region.
"The eyes of the world will be on this community within 22 months and it's our time to shine," said John Stanton, managing partner for the Mariners during an afternoon news conference held at the Space Needle. "We take very seriously this opportunity and commit to delivering the best All-Star Game ever."
In addition to Manfred and Stanton, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and King County Executive Dow Constantine also participated in the announcement of the sporting event, which team officials said will draw 50,000 fans over four days to Seattle. The televised game will bring a global television audience to the city as well.
"It's an honor to host The Midsummer Classic here in our region once again," Constantine said.
Said Durkan: "I challenge you to find any city that's a better place to host this game. This is exactly the kind of thing our city needs to look forward to together."
Seattle will host the All-Stars for the third time. The ballpark, then known as Safeco Field, opened in 1999 and was the site of the American League's 4-1 victory in 2001, part of a streak of 12 AL wins around the 7-7 tie in 2002. The game marked the final All-Star appearances of Cal Ripken Jr., who homered, and of Tony Gwynn.
The 1979 All-Star Game was at the old Kingdome and was won 7-6 by the NL.
Shortly after the reports were posted, the Mariners responded by saying "no comment" then posted to social media.
This year's All-Star Game was moved to Denver's Coors Field from Atlanta's Truist Park over MLB's objections to changes to Georgia voting laws that critics have said are too restrictive.
Next year's All-Star Game will be at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 19. The Dodgers were to have hosted the 2020 All-Star Game, but it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MLB announced in 2019 that the 2026 All-Star Game will be at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.