San Diego's Petco Park to host baseball's 2016 All-Star game

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) San Diego's Petco Park will host baseball's All-Star game in 2016, marking the second straight year the game will be played at a National League site.

This summer's game will be played in Cincinnati on July 14. The same league hasn't hosted the game in consecutive years since 2006 at Pittsburgh's PNC Park and 2007 at San Francisco's AT&T Park.

''San Diego is a beautiful city,'' Bud Selig said Thursday after his final owners' meeting as baseball commissioner, ''and showcasing Petco Park will be a remarkable opportunity for the Padres franchise and all of Major League Baseball.''

He said the city ''made a detailed and very comprehensive bid in conjunctions with their city officials and are most deserving to serve as the host, really deserving.''

Selig said he received ''a number of outstanding bids from National League clubs that have never hosted the All-Star game.''

''Due to the quality of the Padres' bid,'' he said, ''it was determined that the 2016 site would be awarded to the club that made the most competitive bid, regardless of league affiliation.''

Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler thanked the San Diego city council and Mayor Kevin Faulconer for working together with the Padres in developing the bid.

''San Diego's a great place in the summer,'' Fowler said. ''We look forward to having all of you there and we will do our darndest to make it the best All-Star game you could ever have.''

This will be San Diego's third All-Star game following 1978 and 1992 at Jack Murphy Stadium.

Selig said that in choosing future All-Star sites, Major League Baseball will look at new ballparks and those that have undergone major renovation.

''We've made a lot of promises to cities about getting All-Star games,'' he said, ''so we'll be guided by a myriad of factors.''

Rob Manfred, who will take over for Selig as commissioner on Jan. 25, said his ''inclination'' was to stick with the rule Selig pushed for that gave World Series home-field advantage to the team from the league that wins the All-Star game.

''I think it was one of those reforms that commissioner Selig introduced that has allowed us to continue our All-Star game as the premier All-Star game in all sports,'' Manfred said. ''One of the things I've learned is if it's not broken, don't fix it.''