(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The last time Wrigley Field hosted the MLB All-Star Game, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg won the Home Run Derby — with three homers.
It’s been 34 years and counting since Wrigley Field has hosted the festivities, and despite all the ballpark improvements the Cubs have made over the last decade, there's still at least one major change needed before MLB comes back.
“Active streets around Wrigley Field are very difficult, from a security perspective, from the league’s judgment,” Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney said on Inside the Clubhouse on 670 The Score on Saturday.
“After the ugly incident in Paris, the Stade de France issue (in 2015, the league assessed every ballpark for risks for terrorism through an automobile, and we were in one of the bottom rungs there."
The Cubs met with three high-ranking city officials last week, Kenney said, and there's an emerging solution to surround Wrigley Field with bollards — small posts that could stop dangerous traffic, thereby allowing the streets and Wrigleyville’s bars and restaurants to stay open.
"We're kind of chasing down that road, and I think that's a solution," Kenney said. "I think if we were to do that, I'd feel incredibly confident that the commissioner would give us an All-Star Game."
The 2024 All-Star game will be hosted by the Texas Rangers at their ballpark in Arlington, and the Atlanta Braves will host the game in 2025. The 2026 Midsummer Classic will be played in Philadelphia to commemorate the United States’ 250th year of independence.
Wrigley Field and the Cubs last hosted the All-Star Game in 1990.