The Major League Baseball All-Star game is one of summertime's most storied traditions.
The team that gets to host the game every year is excited by the prospect of having their own players compete in front of their home fans and in 2015 the Cincinnati Reds will be able to do just that. According to MLB.com, the game will be hosted by the Reds and Cincinnati, and the announcement will be made on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET by commissioner Bud Selig. The game will be played at Great American Ball Park.
The news conference can be seen live on MLB.com and Reds.com. According to MLB.com, it will also be announced that Major League Baseball is making a contribution toward an Urban Youth Academy in the city. According to Fox Sports, "Cincinnati will have the seventh of the urban youth academies, the first in the Midwest."
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Selig will be in the Queen City to make the announcement on Wednesday. It will be the first time the city has hosted the game since the 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game which was played at Riverfront Stadium. The franchise has tried to lure the game to Cincinnati since building Great American Ball Park in 2003, but hadn't made any progress until now.
Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini bought the team in 2006 and had repeatedly tried to bring the game to the city that has one of baseball's oldest franchises. In the past, the team has hosted the Civil Rights Game (in 2009 and '10) and also holds a fan fest at Duke Energy Center. The way the franchise handled those events helped show the league that it could handle an All-Star game.
MLB always announces the games years in advance and the 2013 All-Star Game will be hosted by the Mets at Citi Field in New York while the Twins and Target Field in Minneapolis will have the 2014 All-Star Game.
In the past, the Reds hosted the 1970 All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium and also was the host in 1938 and 1953 at Crosley Field. The 1970 game was notable for Reds star Pete Rose, who crashed into Indians catcher Ray Fosse to score the winning run in the 12th inning of a 5-4 NL victory, effectively ending Fosse's career.
According to the Daily Mail, weather could be a factor, as the 1988 home run derby was washed out by rain. The Reds have been one of the best franchises in baseball over the past few seasons after going through a decade of futility and has hosted playoff games in two of the last three seasons.
According to WCPO in Cincinnati, the game will bring up to $80 million into the city.
Cincinnati is going to benefit tremendously," said Heath, director of the Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati. "The greater extent that we have tourist friendly destinations, like the Banks, like the museums, like the Freedom Center, we can really maximize the impact of an event like this. And I think we have those outlets in Cincinnati.
According to the report, last year's All-Star game in Kansas City had over 150,000 out-of-town visitors and brought in over $60 million to the area. St. Louis also recorded a $60 million impact from the 2009 All Star Game.
"The multiplier is different for spending on food, hotels, events at the stadium," said Ruth Sergenian, director of research and analysis for the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Organization. "The money recirculates through the economy. New dollars (from out-of-town visitors) circulate more."
The team has many stars that have played in All-Star games in the past and could make the game in 2015. Some notable names include former NL-MVP Joey Votto, Todd Frazier, Aroldis Chapman, Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Homer Bailey, who threw a no-hitter last season.
The Reds went 97-65 last season and won the NL Central division for the second time in two years. The team went up 2-0 on the San Francisco Giants in the National League division series, but lost three straight games to get sent home early from the playoffs
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The team has made a number of moves so far this offseason, including signing free agent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to a two-year deal. Last season Ludwick played right field for the Reds and hit .275 with 16 home runs, 80 RBIs, 28 doubles and 97 strikeouts. He spent four seasons with the Cardinals from 2007 to 2010 and has spent time with the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Cincinnati ranked 13th in the league in slugging percentage, but only ranked 21st in runs with 669 for the season. The team hit .251 on the year with a .315 on-base percentage, ranked 21st in baseball.
