Atlanta awarded the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, Blue Jays have to continue to wait

Major League Baseball and Commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Thursday that the Atlanta Braves have been awarded the 2025 All-Star Game, with the festivities scheduled to take place in Texas (Rangers) next year while Philadelphia will host in 2026. For the Braves, this will be the third time the organization has hosted the event since the club moved to Georgia back in 1966 and the first time this will be taking place at Truist Park.

The news was disappointing for Blue Jays fans, as the club hasn’t hosted the Midsummer Classic since 1991, right before the franchise went on to win the 1992 and 1993 World Series Championships. Still known as the Skydome back then, Toronto has only hosted the All-Star Game once since becoming a team in 1977. The All-Star Game is not just the game itself but includes a weekend full of festivities, including the Home Run Derby, the All-Star Future’s Game, the Celebrity Softball Game, and the MLB Draft, events for every type of fan across the league.

One reason that Toronto would have been an ideal location for the festivities is the recent renovations that the Rogers Centre is going through.

Last winter, the Jays organization added numerous social spaces to the upper 500 level of the stadium while replacing the seats in that level as well. With that phase complete, the club is now focusing on the lower two levels this offseason, which includes additional social spaces on the lower concourse and replacing the seating to ensure the seats face the diamond, transforming the Rogers Centre from a stadium to a ballpark atmosphere. These renovations extend to the playing surface as well, with the bullpens and the outfield walls getting raised to add to the fan experience and add to the game experience.

With all of these modifications and considering the city of Toronto has a diverse, friendly atmosphere, it makes sense that the Blue Jays would be one organization to be on the radar for the All-Star festivities. The MLB also tends to favour newer ballparks for the Midsummer Classic in recent memory, with the Rangers hosting next year in their new stadium (Globe Life Field), which opened back in 2020, while Atlanta’s Truist Park is only six seasons old as well. Only the Cubs (1990), the Athletics (1987) and the Rays (never hosted) hold longer All-Star hosting droughts than the Blue Jays.

For now, Blue Jays fans will have to wait for any potential All-Star Game to come North of the border. CEO and President Mark Shapiro confirmed that the team put in a bid to host for the 2027 festivities last eyar citing the stadium renovations as a major driver behind the bid and potential success.