MLB Moves Forward With Plans for Paris 2025
As Major League Baseball works on logistical hurdles in its plan to open the 2024 regular season in Seoul, South Korea, it is committed to playing games in Paris in ’25.
The Yankees and Red Sox are among the teams that have expressed a strong desire to play in Paris, which will host the first MLB games in continental Europe, according to a source familiar with the plan. They may be competing for one of the two coveted spots. It is unlikely MLB would schedule a Yankees–Red Sox series, according to the source, if only because those teams played the first London Series games in 2019.
No site has been selected for the Paris games. MLB is looking at soccer venues, which are not always easily converted to MLB specifications. For instance, before deciding on London Stadium for the London Series, MLB considered historic Wembley Stadium as the venue but found the maximum distance for the right field wall to be 280 feet from home plate. MLB rules require parks constructed since 1958 to have a minimum distance of 325 feet.
As part of the collective bargaining agreement signed last year, MLB and the Players Association agreed to play regular season games at multiple international sites each year of the five-year contract, through 2026. South Korea and France would join Mexico, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom as countries to have hosted regular-season MLB games outside of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
The tentative plan for next year is to open the season with the Dodgers and Padres playing in Seoul, as first reported by ESPN. The series has not been finalized because of “logistical issues,” according to the source. A plan for an MLB All-Star tour in South Korea after last season fell through over the summer. If the Dodgers-Padres series in Seoul cannot be finalized, MLB would consider opening the season in Tokyo, as it did in 2000, ’04, ’08, ’12 and ’19, though the teams picked to play in Japan could be different than the ones scheduled for Seoul.
This year, MLB is returning to London with the Cardinals playing the Cubs June 24 and 25. Another London Series is scheduled for 2024, with the Mets scheduled to play the Phillies. Games also are returning next season to Mexico City, where the Padres and Giants played last month. The Astros and Rockies are expected to play there in ’24.
In 2025, MLB plans games in Paris, Mexico City, Japan and possibly San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 2026, games are tentatively scheduled for Mexico City, London and possibly San Juan. The World Baseball Classic returns in ’26, with sites to be determined.
A domestic special venue event, the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa, is on hiatus because of renovations at the facility. The game could return in 2025 or ’26, according to a source familiar with the plans.
