PITTSBURGH — UPDATE (4/5) According to the Associated Press, the MLB is going to relocate its All-Star game to Denver’s Coors Field after pulling it from Atlanta over Georgia voting laws.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Officials with the City of Pittsburgh confirm to Channel 11 they’re now exploring hosting the 2021 MLB All-Star Game.
Mayor Bill Peduto’s Chief of Staff, Dan Gilman, told Channel 11, “With today’s news we have begun conversations on the potential ability to host in Pittsburgh. We believe this could be a win for our hospitality industry and also highlight Pittsburgh and Allegheny County’s commitment to voter protection.”
Breaking: city of Pgh leaders discussing potential ability to host MLB All star game in Pgh. “We believe this could be a win for our hospitality industry and also highlight Pittsburgh and Allegheny county’s commitment to voter protection,” Mayor’s Chief of staff says. #wpxi
— Rick Earle (@WPXIRickEarle) April 2, 2021
This comes after MLB officials said they were moving the game and the draft out of Atlanta after Georgia passed new changes to its voting laws that some see as imposing more restrictions on voters.
>>>RELATED: MLB All-Star Game, draft moved from Atlanta
The last time the event was held in Pittsburgh was 2006, five years after PNC Park was built along the Allegheny River.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE NEW GEORGIA VOTING LAW
State Sen. Jay Costa said he welcomes the league to move the game to Pittsburgh. He sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred outlining why hosting the game here makes sense:
- PNC Park is consistently ranked among the best stadiums in the country
- The city has the capacity to handle the audience
- There’s a long, storied history of baseball in Pittsburgh
The @MLB decision to stand against voter suppression & moving the All Star Game from Georgia is the right one.
— Senator Jay Costa (@Senatorcosta) April 2, 2021
Here, PA offers unbridled access to the ballot box for our citizens, so Senator @WayneDFontana & I would like to invite baseball fans to Pittsburgh for the 2021 game. pic.twitter.com/F0Hkl2m3AY
It could mean big business for many areas, especially in Downtown Pittsburgh.
“We’ve done it before and we’ve done it well,” Costa told Channel 11. “The opportunity to bring in tens of thousands of folks to the City of Pittsburgh has a tremendous economic impact. The benefit to our bars, restaurants, hotels and just the exposure for the City of Pittsburgh, that we’re a wonderful city.”
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