The Chicago Cubs denied a report from their flagship radio station that the 2027 All-Star Game was coming to Wrigley Field, telling the Tribune “no decision has been made.”
WSCR-AM 670 reported Thursday that MLB has awarded the game to the Cubs, who have long sought the big event since a massive ballpark renovation in the 2010s.
MLB tends to make its All-Star Game announcements at a mutually acceptable date to the club to get maximum publicity for its TV networks and corporate sponsors, so speculation that the decision has been made but was prematurely leaked seems plausible.
Bruce Levine, a reporter for The Score and Marquee Sports Network, which is co-owned by the Cubs, later clarified his report, writing on X that the All-Star Game would be “awarded to the Cubs sometime this summer.”
The Cubs have hosted only three All-Star Games at Wrigley and none since 1990. The only other MLB teams who have not hosted since ’90 are the Tampa Bay Rays, who currently play in a minor-league facility after extensive hurricane damage to Tropicana Field, and the Athletics, who moved from Oakland, Calif., and are temporarily playing in West Sacramento before relocating to Las Vegas starting in 2028.
The Cubs’ first All-Star Game was played in 1947, and they hosted again in 1962. The Cubs were awarded the 1990 game after Tribune Co., the then-owners, agreed to install lights in 1988, ending the day-baseball-only tradition. The ’90 All-Star Game at Wrigley included a rain delay in the seventh inning of a 2-0 American League win.
In the 1990 Home Run Derby, which took part in the daytime the previous day, Cubs All-Star Ryne Sandberg hit three home runs to pace the NL Derby “team” to a 4-1 win over the AL team, which included Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jose Canseco. Different rules were in place at the time, leading to the miniscule home run totals, and the event was not nearly as big a deal as it is now.
Under the Ricketts family ownership, the Cubs have tried to host an All-Star Game at Wrigley under three mayoral administrations, starting with Rahm Emanuel, continuing with Lori Lightfoot and currently with Brandon Johnson.
Increased security demands around Wrigley requested by the Cubs to the city to meet MLB’s standards for big events have gone unheeded by the last two administrations, sources told the Chicago Tribune in 2023 after they were bypassed for the 2025 game, which will be played in July in Atlanta.
The Project 1060 renovation of Wrigley Field, which began in 2014 and was completed in 2019, was important in the Cubs even being considered for the All-Star Game. The visiting clubhouse had been too small, and security around the ballpark was lacking due to its proximity to bars, restaurants and buildings.
The Home Run Derby, which is arguably more popular than the game itself, also might require some extra security demands on rooftops and in the streets. Fans without tickets are typically allowed on Waveland and Sheffield avenues outside the ballpark during games, and large crowds would be expected to congregate for valuable home run balls onto the street from the game’s biggest sluggers.
The Wrigley press box also needed changes. It’s still among the smallest in the majors, but the Cubs at least added air conditioning at the tail end of the renovation. The influx of the Japanese media at All-Star Games for players such as Shohei Ohtani, the game’s biggest star, would probably test the capacity of the Wrigley press box.
The Cubs-Dodgers games last month at Wrigley Field drew so much Japanese media the Cubs had to use the media dining room to accommodate requests. An All-Star Game at Wrigley would be significantly more taxing.
Many other issues would need to be remedied, but if the report turns out to be accurate it would mean the Cubs and MLB have resolved most of them, bringing the All-Star Game to Wrigley Field after a 37-year absence.
