CHICAGO — An MLB All-Star Game back at Wrigley Field, widely expected for months and formally pursued by the Cubs for eight years, is finally happening.
The league, the club, and Illinois officials confirmed Friday that the Chicago ballpark, the league’s second-oldest behind Fenway Park, will host the 2027 MLB All-Star Game. The event will be the first at Wrigley Field since 1990, when the ballpark and the surrounding neighborhood were in a very different condition, and the fourth in the facility’s 111-year history.
Since Tom Ricketts and his family acquired the Cubs in 2009, they have spent $1 billion to upgrade Wrigley Field and transform the Wrigleyville neighborhood, particularly through an aggressive, multiyear renovation effort called the 1060 Project. The area now features a new gathering space adjacent to the ballpark called Gallagher Way and a series of new hotels, restaurants, and shops. The club’s renovations also included substantial improvements within the ballpark.
What was previously a somewhat downtrodden area has become a thriving entertainment district, mirroring the mixed-use developments widely seen elsewhere in sports. As a result, the 2027 All-Star Game, in part, will be a celebration of what Wrigleyville has become.
“There are many reasons why this is the perfect place for the All-Star Game,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a Friday morning event at Wrigley Field to herald the securing of the game. “For over a hundred years, this has been the beating heart of the baseball world and a shining emblem of our nation’s favorite pastime. There’s no place like it.”
The final, critical piece of securing the Wrigley Field bid for the event was the recent approval by city officials of $32.1 million in perimeter security enhancements that were critical to the bid. Wrigley Field has a much closer placement to area streets compared to modern ballparks, and the new measures include upgrades such as anti-terrorism bollards.
“All Cubs fans are very proud of Wrigley Field, and we can’t wait to show fans who have never been here before what kind of experience this place is, what kind of a special ballpark we have, and what an incredible neighborhood we have,” Ricketts said.
Larger Events
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred lauded Chicago’s ability to host an All-Star Game that has continued to grow into a weeklong celebration that, in addition to the game itself and Home Run Derby, now includes supplemental functions such as the league’s draft, MLB All-Star Futures Game, and HBCU Swingman Classic, among many others.
“I think we’re overdue in terms of being at Wrigley,” for the All-Star Game, Manfred said. “The Ricketts family, the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois made a tremendous investment, not just in the ballpark, but the area around it, and I think it’ll be a fantastic venue.”
The entire 2027 MLB season, however, could be threatened if accelerating labor tensions between the league and the MLB Players Association are not resolved.
“My contingency plan is to make an agreement with the players and play the ’27 season,” Manfred said. “I’m optimistic that we’ll find a way to make a deal.”
Other All-Star Games
Before the 2027 MLB All-Star Game, Philadelphia will host next year’s Midsummer Classic, with that long-planned event designed to coincide with celebrations for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The race for 2028 and beyond, however, remains wide open. There is a possibility that San Francisco’s Oracle Park, the 2007 game host, will get the nod for that year, particularly if MLB and the MLB Players Association complete a deal with Olympic officials for big leaguers to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Meanwhile, Baltimore, Boston, and Toronto—each of which last hosted the game in the 1990s—are all angling to bring the league jewel event back to their markets.
