DENVER — Just days after it yanked the All-Star Game from Cobb County, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that the Midsummer Classic is headed to Denver, Colorado.
MLB said it chose the mile-high city because the Colorado Rockies were already in the bidding process to host a future All-Star Game and that league staff had already made several visits.
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“What usually takes months or even years to happen, happened in just a matter of days. But we are absolutely honored and thrilled that Major League Baseball has selected Denver and the Colorado Rockies as the new home for the summer’s All Star Game,” Denver mayor Michael Hancock said.
This year’s game was supposed to be played at Truist Park in July until MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Friday the decision to move it.
“Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft,” Manfred said in a statement.
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“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States.”
On Saturday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp held a news conference Saturday blasting the MLB’s decision, calling it a “kneejerk decision” and an “attack on our state.”
Other Republicans have criticized MLB’s move. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott backed out of throwing the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener Monday and said the state would not seek to host the All-Star Game or any other special MLB events.
Under the new Georgia law, a photo ID is required in order to vote absentee by mail. The law also makes it a misdemeanor to hand out food or water to voters in line within 150 feet of a polling place or within 25 feet of any voter at a polling site.
Kemp has vowed to defend Georgia’s measures. Meanwhile, several lawsuits have been filed by civil rights groups, asking a federal court to deem the law unconstitutional.
Democratic state officials in Colorado have touted their state’s mail-in-voting system, which began in 2013, for its ease and accessibility. In the November election, there were more than 350 ballot drop boxes around the state along with a ballot tracking system that allowed voters to trace their votes as they were accepted and counted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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