Major League Baseball – SportsTravel

Speedway Classic to Break MLB’s All–Time Attendance Record

Justin Shaw — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 21:32:50 +0000

The Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway will break Major League Baseball’s single-game, regular-season attendance record. Bristol Motor Speedway photo

This weekend’s Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway will break Major League Baseball’s single-game, regular-season attendance record, according to the league.

The game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves on August 2 has sold more than 85,000 tickets. Fans have purchased tickets from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and nine countries on four continents.

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The first American or National League game played in Tennessee will eclipse the previous paid attendance record of 84,587, set on September 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.

It will be a Reds home game with the first two being played at Cincinnati preceding the Saturday matchup and Sunday held as a potential rain makeup date.

The Speedway Classic will be more than a baseball game. As part of the U.S. Navy’s upcoming 250th birthday in October, the U.S. Navy will be featured throughout pregame ceremonies. Four U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets from VFA-103 of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach will conduct a flyover.

The game will include a ceremonial first pitch between two Hall of Famers: Chipper Jones (Braves) to Johnny Bench (Reds). There will also be a full day of musical performances, with Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen taking the stage for concerts.

The spectacle will have a strong NASCAR integration with racing traditions and crossover elements featured throughout the game including a pregame player parade, taking inspiration from NASCAR-style driver introductions, racing-themed between-inning activations and an on-field, NASCAR “Victory Lane” celebration for the winning team with a custom Speedway Classic trophy presentation.

Bristol Motor Speedway has hosted major auto races, football games and many other events. Tennessee features four professional baseball teams, including the Triple-A Nashville Sounds and the Memphis Redbirds of the International Leagues along with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and the Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League.

Major League Baseball, Union Could Let Players in 2028 Olympics

Matt Traub — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:00:33 +0000

Major League Baseball met with organizers of the 2028 Olympic Summer Games this week ahead of the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta as movement continues to see if MLB players will be allowed to play in the Games for the first time.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Olympic officials were meeting with the Major League Baseball Players Association this week as well.

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“It is a opportunity to market the game on a really global stage,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “Obviously the clubs are going to have to endorse this. I mean, it’s a big deal.”

The 2028 Olympic baseball tournament will be from July 15–20 at Dodger Stadium, which hosted baseball as a demonstration sport in the 1984 Games. The tournament will feature six teams, divided into two groups of three.

The preliminary round will take place over three days, with two games per day at 11:00 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time. The top team from each group will advance directly to the semifinals while the second- and third-place teams will meet in the two quarterfinal games on July 18 to determine the remaining semifinalists.

The semifinals will be held July 19, followed by the bronze and gold medal games on July 20 at 11:00 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time. The 2028 Games are the seventh time baseball has been in the Olympics and first since 2020 in Tokyo when Japan beat the U.S. to win the gold medal, which at the time had snapped a 12-year drought of the game in the Games.

“They put out a schedule. They tell you it’s not going to move. We’ll see whether there’s any movement on that,” Manfred said. “It is possible to take it, to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, obviously, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November. That is possible, OK? It would require significant accommodations, but it’s possible.”

MLB did not allow players on 40-man rosters to participate in Tokyo Olympics, when Nippon Professional Baseball interrupted its season.

“There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done,” players’ union head Tony Clark told the BBWAA in a separate session. “We do know players are interested in playing, whether it’s for the Team USA or any number of other teams around the world. … There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is, but we’re hopeful that we can figure our way through it for the benefit of the game.”

In Tampa, Teamwork Keeps Rays in Town

Matt Traub — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 11:00:57 +0000

The grounds crew for the Tampa Bay Rays puts on the tarp during an early June game against the Texas Rangers, the first rain delay the team had encountered this season in its one season playing outside at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

The crowd started to stir on this early June night in Florida as dark clouds gathered over the field. Rain started, slowly and then more steadily and harder, as those in the crowd began to take shelter under the concourses.

There was also a nervous energy for when — not if in this case — the umpires would call for a rain delay. Because on this night, against the visiting Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays and its fans were about to experience a first for the franchise: A regular season rain delay.

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The Rays are playing this season’s home games across Tampa Bay at the New York Yankees’ spring training home of Steinbrenner Field, because Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was severely damaged by Hurricane Milton. The Rays’ home since 1998, the fabric roof over Tropicana Field was ripped to shreds after Hurricane Milton came ashore, bringing wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and flooding parts of Florida.

At about 11,000 seats, Steinbrenner Field is the largest spring training site in Florida. That the Rays stayed in market and did not go elsewhere to play is the reverse of what the Athletics are currently doing in California, or what the Toronto Blue Jays did during the pandemic (including a season in Florida).

“Any time you’re fortunate enough to have a professional franchise in your market, you want to do everything to keep them there because of what it represents and means to your community,” said Jason Aughey, senior vice president of sports tourism for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. “That partners like the Yankees were able to make it happen says a lot about them and the way that the community has rallied and come together under the circumstances says a lot about the grit and togetherness of what Team Tampa Bay is all about.”

The Rays’ saga has dragged on for years and the news about a potential ownership change, with the tentative plan to return to the Trop next year, looms over fans. Yet in this region that abuts the Gulf of Mexico, there is way, way more than baseball.

All Pulling Together

Yes, Tampa has a reputation for major sporting events on both the collegiate and professional levels; five Super Bowls (including the famous pandemic event), the 1999 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and this past season’s Women’s Final Four (one year after hosting the NCAA Volleyball Championships). It’s been home in the past year to a preseason MLS game featuring Lionel Messi, four nights of WWE and will host the 2027 and 2028 American Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournaments.

But like many markets, what can move economic impact equally as much is the 97 youth and amateur events Tampa hosted last year. In November 2024, the Red Bull Flugtag attracted nearly 100,000 people to the Tampa Convention Center. More than 20,000 cheerleaders descended upon downtown for a recent Varsity Spirit competition.

“There’s no denying the profound economic impact that comes from hosting these events,” Aughey said. “We find that a lot of families turn their trip into a vacation because of all we have to offer away from the fields or off the court. When you see all these people staying in hotels, eating at restaurants and visiting attractions, there is an intrinsic value derived from knowing that your organization played a direct role in helping bring them to Tampa.”

The Tournament SportsPlex of Tampa Bay is home for nearly two dozen events each year in the region.

The Tournament SportsPlex of Tampa Bay, a county owned and operated facility, opened in November 2018 after a six-year process from proposal to approval to groundbreaking. The complex, which has 15 full-size soccer fields that can be adapted to as many as 54 flag football fields, is a special event complex that keeps its schedule to around 25 events per year at most to keep the fields from being overused.

Stephen Reed, vice president of the Sportsplex, said that more than 90% of what the complex hosts is youth events. “We don’t want it to be run down,” he said. “Having the outside partnership with the county has helped tremendously to keep the status of the fields and the status of the complex up.”

The SportsPlex’s location with a 20-minute drive between downtown and the Tampa Bay International Airport means there can be up to 10,000 hotel rooms available for tournaments (the region overall has approximately 26,000 hotel rooms). With three operations employees and five maintenance people to maintain the quality of the fields, the SportsPlex is able to serve as almost a one-stop shop for event organizers.

“We’ve gone from a lot of smaller local and regional events to more nationwide events,” Reed said. “Our scheduling has become easier because a lot of these groups want to come back here after year, so it makes it a lot easier for us just to roll to the next year.”

Seven years on from its opening, the SportsPlex has developed new parts within its facility. There’s been a building for locker rooms and extra shade for teams constructed and in addition to a concession area, food trucks will come to the venue to help feed athletes and families during big tournaments. There’s also meeting room space and a vendor building for event organizers who are selling merchandise during an event, Reed said.

“When you’re bringing in these events and giving local kids and coaches the opportunity to participate and experience events that are truly the best of the best, it raises the profile for people in the market and generates a tremendous sense of pride,” Aughey said.

The Tampa Bay Rays have used creative ways to cover up signs of the New York Yankees during regular season games at Steinbrenner Field, which the Rays are using for this season and is the home of the Yankees during spring training. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

Catching Rays Outside

On the night of this first regular season rain delay, it didn’t last long as a matter of fact. And when the Rays’ ground crew rolled the tarp back up, the scoreboard in left field kept track of the time needed — just under one minute, impressive given that before this season only two people on the grounds crew had ever pulled a tarp.

“The biggest difference is that during spring training, you typically gets cold fronts that come down so you can kind of really gauge when to put the tarp on,” said one of those people, Dan Moeller, director of special project and field operations for the Rays. “(Today), you’ve got those pop up storms and you can pull the tarp anytime.”

Playing outside means more time for Moeller on his phone — “I spend a lot of time looking at different (weather) apps on my phone. And it’s almost like every single app has a different story to tell.” But being outside means more than just needing to pull a tarp during a weather delay.

The Rays’ ground crew has worked to change how the grass is cut, especially in the outfield, as the regular season has gone on. Even more than that is the infield dirt, which is more of a clay-based surface.

“The infielders really didn’t like the clay that was in here, which is more of a spring training type clay,” Moeller said. “So we changed out the clay to give them more of a feel like the Trop.”

Watering the field also means new challenges for the Rays’ ground crew. Before, there was the consistent conditions of indoors at the Trop. Now with the changing conditions of outdoors, Moeller relies on player feedback.

“We’ll go out and talk to the players like during batting practice, try and get their feedback and tweak things as we go along,” he said. “And then, of course, having day games, that’s a totally different animal because it doesn’t matter how much water we put on the field at game time — by the third or fourth inning, it’s like a concrete out there. So it’s difficult to deal with in that respect, the day games and night games. And now that we’re coming into the rainy season, it’s going to be a whole another tweak to it.”

Tweaking how things are presented is something that Warren Hypes, vice president, creative and brand for the Rays, knows all too well this season. Steinbrenner Field looks and feels like the Rays’ home ballpark this season but it was nothing but easy in doing so. There was months of measuring the entire ballpark and working with the Yankees in knowing the dimensions needed for wall coverings, flags, advertising billboards — and then four days between the end of spring training and the start of the season to wrap the stadium in gold and blue.

“I don’t think the adrenaline stopped through those four days or even through the first homestand here,” Hypes said. “We all put so much into it and for on Opening Day to see how it went and to see the fans’ reaction to be able to do things outside — we don’t normally do flyovers and fireworks — it’s been really special and definitely a season I’ll never forget.”

Signage all around Steinbrenner Field shows no sign of it being the home of the Yankees in spring training. Instead, the Tampa Bay Rays have made it feel like their home stadium this season. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

The Rays worked with five different signage vendors to wrap the ballpark and 50 installers from those vendors, Hypes said, as well as several hundred team employees who volunteered time to do everything from putting Rays stickers on walls to going to the outfield wall with sponges and brushes to clean the walls of dirt before new sponsorship banners could be overlaid.

“Going into every season, you may have changes on the roster or different partners or whatnot,” Hypes said. “But to do it on this scale and with this kind of timeline and to work with a partner — it wasn’t our building that we could just do whatever we want, so the partnership aspect of it with the Yankees is super important. To this magnitude it’s the biggest project in my career.”

This project will be more than just one year’s worth of experiences for the Rays. Between not just the look at the ballpark but the digital assets on video boards and marketing campaigns, there are new ideas and presentations that could be transferred back to the old stadium for next year.

“I think anytime you do something challenging in your career and you get through it, it makes you better,” Hypes said. “You definitely have experiences from it that make you better. It make you learn new things. So that’s super important.”

Sooner or later, the attention for the Rays — playoff appearance notwithstanding — will turn to next year and the proposed return to the Trop, with lessons learned about dressing the facility with a new look. There will also be another youth event at the SportsPlex, the 2026 NHL Stadium Series or another update on the University of South Florida’s on-campus football stadium or more cheerleading at the convention center. It’s part of the mix that the region delivers for a sports market that appreciates what it in town but also are anticipating what’s next.

“Whether it’s coming out supporting a special event or contributing to record attendance at an NCAA championship, this is an engaged community where people are always looking for something to do,” Aughey said. “People always ask what’s next because that’s the expectation here — in looking ahead, there are a ton of exciting announcements on the horizon.”

How Pennsylvania Will Be the Epicenter of Sports in 2026

Matt Traub — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 11:00:22 +0000

Promoting the big 2026 ahead for Pennsylvania sports at the U.S. Open was Philadelphia 2026 Executive Meg Kane; VisitPA Executive Director Kaitie Burger; Anne Ryan, deputy secretary in the office of tourism for the commonwealth’s Department of Community and Economic Development; Mike Lewers, general chairman for the 2026 PGA Championship, and VisitPittsburgh's Jim Britt. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

One side is known for black and yellow, the other a mix of orange, green and red. One side was built on a reputation of steel and the other on a reputation of grit.

More than 280 miles stretch from one end of the commonwealth (do NOT call it a state) to the other. Through its mix of metropolitan regions and small-town Americana of one-way roads and no-stop-light towns, all of Pennsylvania will be on display in a way it seldom has been in the coming year.

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“Pennsylvania is quite quickly becoming the epicenter of the sports world,” said Anne Ryan, deputy secretary in the office of tourism for the commonwealth’s Department of Community and Economic Development. “There is no other state in 2026 offering this amount of events.”

The NFL Draft, PGA Championship, MLB All-Star Game, FIFA World Cup — it’s all in this part of the country in 2026. And yes, within the 250th anniversary celebrations of the United States next summer there will be more than a little Pennsylvania involved.

“We want to tell everyone about all the things we offer here in the commonwealth,” said VisitPA Executive Director Kaitie Burger, “and welcome them back in years to come.”

You could even say that this year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, part of a VisitPA trip SportsTravel took in June, was the opening course of a menu that started with a pepperoni roll in the Strip District and finished with a Primanti’s and an IC light.

Counting Down in Pittsburgh

The countdown clock sits in the middle of Pittsburgh’s stadium district, with the Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium within a half-mile walk of the Pirates’ PNC Park. Ticking down by the second, it’s a constant reminder of the time left before the North Shore hosts the NFL Draft.

“The number is still high enough that it’s exciting,” said Jim Britt, vice president of SportsPittsburgh. “I’m sure as maybe we get down to two digits on there, it will drive some anxiety, but we have a remarkable team that’s working on the project from the Steelers, Visit Pittsburgh and we’re in incredible hands with the NFL.”

The Steel City is set to bring between 500,000 and 700,000 fans to Pittsburgh between April 23–25, 2026. The main portion of the event is expected to incorporate Pittsburgh’s North Shore and Point State Park, as well as Acrisure Stadium.

“We’ve seen what they do at the Super Bowl,” said Britt of the NFL. “We’ve seen what they do at the draft every year. They are the best of the best, and it’s our role in this to make sure that they have the local resources to make this an authentically Pittsburgh event.”

A countdown clock near Acrisure Stadium keeps track of how long it will be until the NFL Draft comes to Pittsburgh in 2026 alongside the North Shore. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

The Sister Bridges-inspired steel beam holding up the countdown clock features 212 engraved notches. One side represents regional programs that make up the area’s football legacy and the other showcases Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods. The draft marks a full circle moment for the city and the Steelers, as the beginnings of what would become the first draft took place in 1936 at the Fort Pitt Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s history may be of steel but the city is promoting its transformation into a tech and medical hub of the East Coast. That said, its history is part of its pride, from the stanchion of the old Three Rivers’ Stadium that still stands near the current home of the Steelers to the team’s Hall of Honor Museum. The museum, located within the stadium, stands not only as a telling of the team’s history but in many ways the history of the NFL with 30 Pro Football Hall of Famers born and raised in Western PA. In addition, 11 other NFL markets and 35 NCAA Division I football programs are within a half day’s drive.

“We are a year away from the largest event we’ve ever had,” Britt said. “And as you stand here right now, looking at this skyline, the river, you see the barges and the boats coming by, it’s impossible to not be excited about what this event will mean for the city.”

The World Comes to Philadelphia

Take one final sip of that coffee from Sheetz as you head east because once the draft is over and the calendar turns from April to May, it’s going to be One Big Hot Wawa Summer.

First up in May is the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, May 14–17, the second time the major has been at the course in Newtown Square. The club, which opened in 1928, will host the major one year after Valley Forge was the home for the PGA Tour Truist Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, the oldest country club in the United States.

“We’ll have 200,000 next year for this championship,” said Mike Lewers, general chairman for the 2026 PGA Championship. “We sold out our daily ticket (capacity). There’s a ton of pent-up demand in Philadelphia — we saw it for the Truist. We’re ready for a major championship at Aronimink.”

The green at the 18th hole at Oakmont Country Club beckons for golfers at this year’s U.S. Open. Pennsylvania will host another major championship next year with the 2026 PGA Championship heading to the Philadelphia area. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

Ryan, while at the U.S. Open in Oakmont, said golf in Pennsylvania is a $6.3 billion industry.

“It’s variety, it’s quality — across the state, Pennsylvania plays second to no one when it comes to golf courses,” Lewers said.

“(Pennsylvania is) unapologetic and rough around the edges in the most endearing way and when it comes to golf, we bring the polish and prestige,” Ryan added. “That juxtaposition is one thing that I love about Pennsylvania.”

Golf fans can be rowdy at times, true. But there may be no greater juxtaposition than having the golf industry heading out of Philadelphia in time for the international soccer fan base that will descend upon the City of Brotherly Love for six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Five will be in the group stage and one in the Round of 16 ever-so-conveniently scheduled for the Fourth of July.

“The international component of FIFA World Cup is where the opportunity lies,” said Meg Kane, host city executive for Philadelphia Soccer 2026. “We are sharing hosting (East Coast) duties with New York/New Jersey, Boston, Toronto. We are an incredibly attractive destination because of our accessibility.”

Kane also noted the region will host a Fan Festival for 25,000 people per day at East Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill and plans are being explored to set three additional fan zones across the commonwealth. The region could also could potentially have team base camps both in Philadelphia and nearby Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“Seventy percent of people who will travel for the FIFA World Cup don’t have tickets to a match,” Ryan said. “People are looking to be in the environment. Philadelphia, where we are located geographically, you don’t get another host city (to the West) until Atlanta or Kansas City. We have a really large part of people who might want to feel that World Cup energy and experience the environment. We’re going to be able to offer that.”

Once the World Cup carnival leaves town with the Round of 16 game on July 4, the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be in Philadelphia in what marks yet another Midsummer Classic aligned with American history for the city, which hosted in 1976 on the nation’s bicentennial.

The game will mark the city’s fifth time hosting and the first time the event will be staged at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. Shibe Park staged the Midsummer Classic in 1943 and 1952 while Veteran Stadium held the honors in 1976 and 1996.

“We’ve been at the table with Welcome America, with the city, with the Phillies, on how is this going to look like and how are we going to create this incredible customer experience,” Kane said. “We might have somebody coming to Philadelphia who’s a die-hard history buff who wants to go to Independence Hall, visit the Liberty Bell. So how do we make them feel welcome? We want people coming to the All-Star Game to come a little early, people who come to the World Cup to stay a little longer. Our goal is to get as many visitors to use Philadelphia as their hub for activity in 2026.”

Athletics Celebrate Groundbreaking of $1.75 Billion Stadium in Las Vegas

Matt Traub — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:09:22 +0000

A person takes a picture near construction equipment during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Everybody from Little Leaguers to Baseball Hall of Famers were on hand in Las Vegas on Monday as the Athletics started the groundbreaking of a $1.75 billion, 33,000-person capacity ballpark that is expected to be finished in time for the 2028 season.

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The stadium will be built on nine acres of the 35-acre site owned by Bally’s on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana’s resort towers were destroyed in an overnight demolition in October to clear the way for the ballpark.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the project. The Las Vegas Stadium Authority in December approved lease, non-relocation and development documents, the last major steps for the A’s to eventually become Las Vegas’ team.

“I have no doubt this is done in 2028,” Athletics President Marc Badain said. “You know the workforce here; they’re all here and ready to get going. It’s nice to see the validation a day like today brings and what the next three years will mean for the community and for the construction project and the jobs and everything else that you’re going to see as this building comes out of the ground starting as early as tonight.”

The A’s are playing the first of at least three years in Sacramento, California, while they await their move to Las Vegas. Each A’s player wears a patch of Sacramento’s Tower Bridge on one sleeve and a Las Vegas logo on the other as part of a three-year sponsorship with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Artist renderings show a stadium with its five overlapping layers that bears a resemblance to Australia’s Sydney Opera House. A glass window beyond the outfield provides an outdoor feel with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Rather than a centralized cooling system, air conditioning will be distributed through the seats.

The A’s are set to become the fourth major professional team in Las Vegas, joining the Raiders, NHL’s Golden Knights and WNBA’s Aces.

“I think that the demographics, the success that other sports have had, and the amount of tourism here, those three legs of the stool make this an ideal market for us,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “I have no doubt that this team is going to be really successful in Vegas.”

Arizona Legislature Approves Bill For $500 Million in Chase Field Renovations

Matt Traub — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 14:13:59 +0000

The Arizona Diamondbacks moved closer to securing up to $500 million to help with renovations to the team’s Chase Field in the middle of the Phoenix downtown district.

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The Arizona House of Representatives voted to approve House Bill 2704 by a 35-20 margin on Monday. It would recapture sales taxes from the stadium and other adjacent buildings over the next 30 years and reinvest them into infrastructure at the retractable roof structure, which has been home to the team since 1998 and is owned by the Maricopa County Stadium District.

The only remaining hurdle is for Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign the legislation and she’s been publicly supportive of the bill. The team’s current lease with the county expires in 2027.

The Diamondbacks say they will also contribute $250 million of the team’s money to help fund renovations. Team President Derrick Hall has said the nearly 30-year-old stadium needs upgrades, notably to its air conditioning system.

“We are ecstatic over the legislative approval of HB2704,” Hall said in a statement. “This will be a monumental victory for baseball and Diamondbacks fans when signed by Governor Katie Hobbs. We could then shift our focus to a proper lease extension negotiation with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in hopes of modernizing and renovating this public asset to a level those fans deserve.”

Dodgers’ Kike Hernández Joins Discover Puerto Rico to Champion Travel Through Sports

Matt Traub — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 13:46:15 +0000

Discover Puerto Rico has released a video campaign starring Los Angeles Dodger and Puerto Rican Kike Hernández, celebrating the Island’s musical and sports culture while promoting conscious travel as World Music Day approaches.

Set in a baseball stadium and narrated by Hernández, the video invites visitors to experience Puerto Rico not just as tourists, but as guests immersed in the sounds, traditions, and spirit of the island in the third phase of the Return the Love campaign, Discover Puerto Rico’s ongoing effort to encourage respectful and community-centered tourism.

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“In Puerto Rico, music and sports are more than entertainment — they’re pillars of our pride, passion and corazón,” said Hernández. “I’m proud to share that vibrant spirit with the world and to help show visitors how they can connect with the Island in meaningful, respectful ways that truly celebrate and honor its essence.”

Hernández is a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers in 2020 and 2024. He helped Puerto Rico to a silver medal in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

“This launch is a celebration of the Island’s musical spirit and another opportunity for us to champion conscious tourism,” said Glorianna Yamin, vice president for marketing for Discover Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rico is culture, sports, and music. Kike brings this message to life with authenticity, pride, and energy that mirrors everything we love about Puerto Rico. We hope it inspires travelers to experience the Boricua spirit and carry it with intention.”

The video features an original song by Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning engineer Harold Wendell Sanders. Along with the video, Discover Puerto Rico releases a Q&A with Kike and his playlist of pregame favorites inspired by Puerto Rico’s musical heartbeat.

The Bahamas Partners with New York Yankees

Justin Shaw — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 11:30:31 +0000

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation has announced a partnership with the New York Yankees for the 2025 season via in-stadium branding, digital activations and hospitality events.

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“The New York Yankees represent a global standard of excellence and we are proud to partner with such an iconic organization,” said Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation. “This partnership allows us to connect directly with Yankees fans and invite them to explore our beautiful islands, vibrant culture and unmatched experiences.”

The Bahamas will be featured in Yankee Stadium with branding displayed on concourse televisions, LED animations in the Great Hall and on field-facing LED displays throughout the season. The Bahamas will also host a sweepstakes providing bucket list travel opportunities for fans, which will be promoted via Yankees social media.

“Partnering with the New York Yankees reinforces the Bahamas’ position as a world-class destination with global appeal,” said Latia Duncombe, director general of the BMOTIA. “This collaboration provides direct access to one of our most important visitor markets and enables us to showcase the diverse, authentic experiences of our islands to millions of fans throughout the season. It marks a strategic step in our ongoing efforts to drive visitation and elevate the Bahamas on one of the world’s most influential platforms.”

“We are excited to welcome the Bahamas as a partner this season,” added Michael J. Tusiani, New York Yankees senior vice president of partnerships. “With in-stadium branding, engaging activations and promotion on Yankees social media accounts, we expect that the multi-faceted exposure to our fans will result in increased recognition of the Bahamas as a premier tourist destination.”

Sacramento Embraces A’s, for as Long as They’ll Stay

Matt Traub — Thu, 22 May 2025 11:15:56 +0000

The Athletics, even if not by full name, are playing in Sacramento for this and two additional Major League Baseball seasons and drawing not only fans of the team but fans of the visiting team such as the New York Yankees. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

On one hand, the recent weekend series between the New York Yankees and the A’s looked like any other. Yankees fans made up most of the crowd, which is not uncommon for many of the team’s road trips. Stomper, the A’s elephant mascot, made regular in-game promotions between innings, alternating between walking the stands and throwing T-shirts to fans from atop the home team’s dugout.

But one thing was different about this series. Instead of Yankees fans descending upon Oakland, they were at the intimate Sutter Health Park, a 14,000-seat stadium in Sacramento, California, where the A’s will call home through the 2027 season before moving permanently to Las Vegas.

From the fans gathered on blankets on the grass berm behind right field or in lawn chairs with the smell of barbeque smoking on the concourse, the three-year residence in California’s capital city will give the region the chance to show itself off to potential new audiences and with the potential for additional new visitation.

“Sacramento has this Midwest feel of a city,” said Jill Culbertson, director of sports development for Visit Sacramento. “It is one of the most diverse cities in the country. I don’t think people realize that you can get a taste of everything while you’re here and it might not fit any kind of perception that you have.”

Savoring the Opportunity

This year and the two that will follow are important for the city, which has seen some near-misses with other professional leagues. Home to the USL’s Sacramento Republic, the city was supposed to be home to a Major League Soccer expansion franchise before those plans fell through. Some may even remember the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football in the early 1990s, or the Sacramento Gold Miners from the Canadian Football League for two years, or the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs.

So no, Sacramento will not worry about when the A’s go to Las Vegas. It’s going to savor every pitch, hit, run and win while the team is in town and the resulting eyes that set onto Sutter Health Park as the skyline behind the outfield glows in the evening sun, the Tower Bridge beckoning for fans to who want to walk over the Sacramento River.

“To be able to kind of walk across the bridge into your ballpark for a major league sporting event is pretty darn cool,” Culbertson said. “It’ll be really good for this neighborhood, for everything over here in West Sacramento, too, in terms of development, bringing more people downtown to everything. Even if they leave in three years, they’re leaving an impact on the community.”

The evening sun glimmers off the Tower Bridge beyond outfield at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Photo by Matt Traub/SportsTravel

The idea of an MLB team being in a state of temporary living is not new. The Toronto Blue Jays, during the pandemic, spent two years away from Canada and instead played one season in Florida and another in Buffalo. The A’s are not even the only team calling a minor league facility home this season — the Tampa Bay Rays are using the Yankees’ Single-A ballpark this year after its stadium was damaged by Hurricane Milton.

While the A’s will not take the name Sacramento during its stay — the team’s uniforms have a Sacramento patch on one sleeve, on the other sleeve a patch promoting its future Las Vegas home. Whether the team has the name Sacramento of not, the A’s presence has meant Sutter Health Park has improvements from a new video board in right field plus a new clubhouse behind left field and lighting. The River Cats still play at the ballpark as well, alternating home games when the A’s are away.

“For three years, they are the Sacramento A’s,” Culbertson said. “This is where they’re living, and this is where they’re calling home and we’re happy to have them here.”

Increased National Recognition

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The Athletics’ presence also means more time for Sacramento in the national spotlight to complement its reputation as the home of the Kings and one of the most loyal fan bases in the NBA. Loyalty for its sports teams runs beyond the NBA; the River Cats had the fifth-best attendance in the Pacific Coast League last season.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for Sacramento,” Culbertson said. “To get a chance to show off to MLB the support of passionate fans, it’s just a great opportunity.”

The city will also host a well-attended Ironman in October and the California International Marathon in December.

“There would be people that will know about Sacramento simply because the A’s are here, that maybe didn’t know anything about Sacramento before,” Culbertson said. “So the exposure is really cool. To be here and to be able to go to an MLB game in your backyard, it’s kind of like one of those surreal things.”

The surreal nature of the weekend series was repeated throughout town, whether in an Uber to the game, or walking around the Midtown Market on a Saturday morning. The same sort of thing was said over and again: “Can you believe the Yankees are in Sacramento?”

While this season is not yet at the halfway point, the true test won’t be whether the A’s are competitive but what their presence means for visitation in Sacramento. While the NBA’s Kings can draw tourism, those are often single games compared to a multi-day series.

“Anytime you get an opportunity to bring a pro team into town, whether it be for a short time or whether it be long term, you look at it as a chance for other people to see your destination,” Culbertson said. “ We have people traveling into town and we’re going to get them all here in Sacramento in the next three years because they’re going to be like, we’ve got to go see that place.”

MLB’s Home Run Derby X Expands in 2025

Matt Traub — Mon, 12 May 2025 11:00:16 +0000

Major League Baseball’s second annual Home Run Derby X, a format of 3-on-3 co-ed competition built around power hitting and defense, will expand this year with six U.S. events featuring four teams, each led by an MLB legend and female player from softball and women’s baseball.

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MLB and the Atlanta Braves will host the first Home Run Derby X stop on July 13 on the campus of Georgia Tech as part of All-Star Week. The rest of the schedule is July 26 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas; August 9 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina; August 23 at Bricktown Ballpark, in Oklahoma City; August 30 at Principal Park in Des Moines and September 13 at a venue to be revealed.

The winning team at each stop as well as two wild cards will advance to the finals September 19–20 at The Ballpark at America First Square in Daybreak, Utah, in the Salt Lake Valley. The winning team will get a $200,000 prize.

MLB Home Run Derby X is a Home Run Derby with defense with a single game taking about 30 minutes. Each player gets one at bat of timed at 2:30 with the opposing team in the outfield to make catches. Teams earn offensive points for home runs and defensive points for catches. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

Bonus points are earned by hitting home runs through a centerfield target. During each at bat, batters can call for a hot streak of 5 swings where everything counts double. In the final minute of an at bat, batters can tag in a teammate.

“Last year’s tour was absolutely awesome and I’m so happy we are adding more stops this year,” said Nick Swisher. “Fans should not be surprised to see them steal the show. Everyone loves Home Run Derby X – and I can’t wait to get back at it.”

The MLB players that have agreed to participate include Rick Ankiel, Jake Arrieta, Lorenzo Cain, Michael Cuddyer, Ian Desmond, Jonny Gomes, Alex Gordon, Adrián González, Ryan Howard, Andruw Jones, Daniel Murphy, Manny Ramírez, Nick Swisher, Adam Wainwright, Ryan Zimmerman, and Ben Zobrist. Among the softball players who have agreed to participate are highlighted by Jocelyn Alo and Hannah Flippen.

“After hearing what a great time Nick and Manny had in last year’s Home Run Derby X, I’m excited to put the uniform back on and take some swings for the fans,” Zobrist said. “I’m looking forward to going back to some of the great ballparks and cities I played in on my way to the Major Leagues.”