All-Star Game Returns to Atlanta With Big Plans After 2021 Exit

After more than six years of planning, plenty of political bumps along the way, and a rare relocation of an MLB jewel event, Atlanta’s Truist Park is finally hosting an All-Star Game, though again not entirely as envisioned. 

The run of events for the 2025 All-Star Game has begun in earnest with Friday’s HBCU Swingman Classic, to be followed over the next four days with other core elements including the All-Star Futures Game, the draft, the Home Run Derby, and the All-Star Game itself. 

Truist Park was originally set to host the events in 2021, but MLB shifted them to Colorado’s Coors Field after Georgia passed the Election Integrity Act, sparking widespread outcry over elements such as limitations imposed on ballot drop boxes and absentee ballots.

Though the broader political landscape is certainly no less fractious than four years ago, parts of the state law have been adjusted and some concerns about voter suppression in Georgia have not necessarily materialized. Similarly, Braves officials have long since been focused on helping the league execute the events.

Now, with the long-planned showcase unfolding at last with a youth-driven energy in the game rosters, the team particularly sees the Midsummer Classic as a global showcase for The Battery, the team’s mixed-use development surrounding the eight-year-old Truist Park that has been a key influence across sports.

“We’ll actually have the ability to do some things with this that we wouldn’t have been able to do in 2021,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller tells Front Office Sports. “The Battery is certainly more built out since then, and there are many people coming in who still haven’t seen this. It’s going to be a great chance to really show this off, and have people discover everything we have to offer here and the walkability that’s going to be central to all of this. Things like [three-on-three co-ed baseball competition] Home Run Derby X and the draft are also much bigger now. 

“It’s all been a long time in the planning stage, but it’s really exciting to finally see this coming to life,” Schiller says. 

The Battery will also be the site of additional events such as a live broadcast on Monday of The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.

Team Matters

Perhaps the biggest surprise now surrounding the 2025 All-Star Game is how disappointing the host club Braves have been on the field this season.

The Braves are “really, from our perspective, a model franchise,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said at a recent investor day for the publicly traded club, and in many respects, that’s definitely true. But after having MLB’s second-best World Series betting odds to open the season behind the defending-champion Dodgers, Atlanta entered Friday’s game at St. Louis with a 40–52 record, the NL’s fourth-worst mark.

Injuries have been a notable problem, with stars such as outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and pitcher Chris Sale having missed significant time. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is out until at least late August. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, however, has been adamant there will not be a fire sale at the July 31 trade deadline, saying last month on WCNN-Radio, “I’ve seen the speculation. It’s completely ridiculous to me. Will. Not. Happen. Bold it. Italicize it. Caps.”

Most of the Braves’ player core remains under team control for multiple years. 

“We certainly want the team to be doing better than it is, but we’re not giving up by any means,” Schiller says. “We haven’t met expectations and remain heads down on turning this around.”