WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals Park will host baseball’s 2018 All-Star Game, the fourth consecutive year that event will be in an NL city.
New Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Monday before attending the Washington Nationals’ opener against the New York Mets.
Speaking at a news conference at Nationals Park, which opened in 2008, Manfred called the awarding of the 2018 game an “opportunity to showcase this terrific facility.”
Cincinnati will hold the All-Star game this year, followed by San Diego in 2016, then Miami in 2017.
When Miami’s turn was announced in February, MLB said leagues will continue to alternate who bats last, no matter what city is host. So the AL will bat last in the 2016 game at San Diego and in the 2018 game at Washington.
The game will be an economic jolt for the city, and that means big things for Ward 6 — which includes Navy Yard and Nationals Park, says D.C. Council member Charles Allen.
Allen says the area is in the midst of a revitalization, and the idea of preparing for the weeklong event that draws fans from around the nation will only spur more development.
“You see a lot of cranes. Over the next couple years, you’re going to see a lot more. This area has really done well and is going to do, over the next couple years, an incredible amount of development,” Allen says.
A new development project breaks ground next week near the park and there is much more to come, he says.
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
