MLB All-Star Game to be played at Coors Field after league strips event from Braves: reports
Coors Field hosted the 1998 All-Star Game but it came under less pressure than in 2021
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Colorado Rockies will host the 2021 MLB All-Star Game after the decision to move the event from Atlanta over Georgia’s restrictive voting law, according to multiple reports.
ESPN and Altitude TV reported the game was going to be moved to Coors Field in Denver on July 13. Neither the Rockies nor MLB immediately responded to Fox News’ request for comment.
The 1998 All-Star Game was played at Coors Field. The American League defeated the National League, 13-8. Cleveland Indians second baseman Roberto Alomar was named MVP of the game.
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement to strip the Braves of the event on Friday in response to the mounting pressure to change the location of the July game in response to Republican-backed election reform legislation recently signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
"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," he said in a statement last week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," he continued. "Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support."
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Republicans argued the legislation was necessary to shore up confidence in the election process.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Georgia was one of the key states that the Trump campaign focused on as it homed in on unproven claims of voter fraud during and after the 2020 presidential election. Biden narrowly won Georgia by roughly 12,000 votes.
A spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the governor would be "burning up the phones" to bring the game to Denver, according to The Denver Post.
When voting restrictions are compared with Georgia, Colorado’s voting rules require polling centers to be open 15 days before the election – similar to Illinois. But absentee ballots are received automatically, which is far less restrictive than many other states, Georgia included.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As previously reported by FOX Business, the game generates a healthy amount of economic activity for the host city, so it is not a surprise lawmakers are jockeying to get their respective stadiums on the MLB’s radar.
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The 2020 All-Star Game hosted in Los Angeles was canceled. The game the year prior in Cleveland was estimated to have generated $65 million in regional economic activity. The 2013 event in New York had a massive local payday – estimated at $191.5 million.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.