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In-Depth

A local stamp for the Midsummer Classic

Major League Baseball, arguably the most regionally focused of all the leading U.S. sports properties, seeks to balance the local with the national when it comes to most of its jewel events.

This is particularly true with the sport’s key in-season showcase, the All-Star Game. Continually refined and expanded over the years, baseball’s Midsummer Classic has grown into a nearly weeklong extravaganza that includes the FanFest, Home Run Derby, celebrity softball game, downtown block party, charity run, sponsor zone, VIP gala and Futures Game, among other elements beyond the actual game itself.

MLB All-Star Games contain elements unique to the host market. In Cincinnati this year, statues resemble the handlebar-style mustaches sported by the Reds’ mascot.
Photo by: MLB
With each of those components rather well-defined, MLB and each year’s All-Star host club spend a significant portion of planning time looking to find ways to place a specific local stamp upon the iterative event. For this year’s game in Cincinnati, scheduled for Tuesday at Great American Ball Park, that primarily means playing up the city’s long baseball history and its status as the home of the sport’s first all-professional team.

“Every host city looks to put their own flavor upon this,” said Marla Miller, MLB senior vice president for special events. “In Cincinnati, they haven’t had the All-Star Game since 1988, and it was a very different event back then, much smaller. It was pretty much just the game.

“But the Reds and the region have been very enthusiastic, highly engaged, and completely embraced all the additional facets of what All-Star is now.”

The All-Star Game also is serving as a template for MLB’s heightened focus on youth engagement, a priority of new league Commissioner Rob Manfred. Prior to Manfred’s formal installation in January, the event already featured a concert with a younger-skewing artist, such as Imagine Dragons in Minneapolis last year. That continues with pop singer Demi Lovato performing this year at neighboring Paul Brown Stadium.

Youth baseball participation similarly has become a larger presence with the All-Star Game festivities. Manfred recently introduced a multi-pronged grassroots campaign called Play Ball aimed at boosting youth participation, and events connected to that initiative will be staged in Cincinnati, including a game of catch aimed at setting a new milestone for the Guinness Book of World Records. Nine local youth fields are being renovated as part of a series of legacy projects that are also part of the All-Star event playbook.

“We’re also doing some things during the week at our new MLB Urban Youth Academy and elsewhere that really highlight the youth component,” said Phil Castellini, Cincinnati Reds chief operating officer. “It’s a very important part of the entire week.”

Among the early activities for Manfred was also to name three future All-Star Game hosts. The 2016 game will be in San Diego, 2017 in Miami and 2018 in Washington, D.C. After many years under predecessor Bud Selig of having only one or two future game hosts known, the lengthened runway already has been beneficial internally.

“As someone who is a planner professionally, this helps tremendously,” Miller said. “Every piece of engagement in each city can be defined that much sooner.”

Sites for the World Series, conversely, are determined with as little as 48 hours notice before the first pitch of Game 1. As a result, the league’s event planning and activation for its championship series is comparatively much more confined to activities that can be staged within the ballparks.

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