It's been more than 30 years since the Chicago Cubs last hosted the MLB All-Star Game at Wrigley Field, but that streak could be coming to an end soon.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke this week about which cities are candidates to host upcoming All-Star Games, and he named Toronto and Chicago as potential options for 2027 and 2028.
The locations of the next three All-Star Games have already been set. The defending champion Texas Rangers will host at Globe Life Field in 2024, followed by the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in 2025 and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in 2026.
After that, it may finally be the Cubs' turn.
Manfred, who has said he will retire from his commissioner duties in 2029, still has two more All-Star Game locations to choose. In a recent article for The Athletic, he named the Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays as two top candidates for 2027 and 2028.
“With respect to those two years, I am strongly influenced by two things,” Manfred told The Athletic. “One, when did you last have a game? Toronto stacks up pretty well on that variable. I think Chicago is older."
Neither team has hosted the All-Star Game since the early 1990s. The Blue Jays last hosted in 1991, while the Cubs haven't hosted since 1990.
“The city being willing to step up on those issues is the other big variable,” Manfred said. “Our All-Star (events), what’s become most of the week, we need certain facilities and certain kinds of support in terms of security.”
As the third-largest city in the U.S., Chicago is well-equipped to handle the Midsummer Classic. The Cubs have hosted the event three times since it was first played in 1933, hosting in 1947, 1962 and 1990.
There are 30 teams in MLB, so the Cubs are officially overdue. Manfred has done a lot to make baseball fans dislike him during his tenure, but giving Wrigley Field the All-Star Game is something most fans would approve of.
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