2008 Mid-Summer Classic Planned for the Bronx
According to a Bill Madden report in the Daily News, baseball officials will soon announce that the 2008 All-Star Game will be played at Yankee Stadium. A very special occasion, considering that the House That Ruth Built will be torn down following that season and the new stadium will be ready for opening day, 2009.
With all the classic games that have been played at Yankee Stadium, it would only be fitting to hold the Mid-Summer Classic there. Add in all the pre-game events and hoopla and it will be the proper way to say goodbye to a baseball institution.
New York is long overdue to host the All-Star Game, as well. Since the game was first played in 1933, the Empire State has only hosted seven games. And this is including former teams, such as the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Polo Grounds was the first New York stadium to have the honor in only the second All-Star Game played in 1934. Yankee Stadium then was the place to be in 1939. The Polo Grounds faired once again in 1942, and Ebbets Field got into the action seven years later. After a long drought, Yankee Stadium was chosen in 1960. The brand new Shea Stadium held its first and only All-Star Game to date in 1964. Then in 1977, the refurbished Yankee Stadium was shown off to the baseball world. It has been three decades since Gotham has done the honors.
A question that is sure to come up is when the two new stadiums hold the game? With both scheduling to open in 2009, it would seem that at least one of the two should get the nod in its first few years of operation. Considering if the Yankees get the 2008 game, and they held the previous one here, the Mets should be granted before the Yankees. Citi Field will be an amazing place, and how great would it be to host an All-Star Game there? The 'second coming of Ebbets Field' will be a retro and modern stadium in one. The rotunda in the front will make patrons feel as if they stepped into a time machine and were at 55 Sullivan Place again.
Major League Baseball has already stated that the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis will host the 2009 All-Star Game. So the first year the doors are open on these two new ballparks will definitely not be an All-Star year. But the powers that be in MLB know that holding the game in New York is a smart move, and the brand spanking new stadiums will make this a 'can't miss' and 'must see.'