Sam Kennedy Gives Update For Red Sox Bid For All-Star Game

The Boston Red Sox continuously offer one of the most historic venues in sports at Fenway Park. The venue hosts a number of events on a yearly basis. One event that has not returned to the park since 1999 is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Team president Sam Kennedy provided an update on Wednesday on the organization's efforts to bring the midsummer classic back to Fenway for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.

"We've been lobbing baseball," Kennedy told Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive.com on the "Fenway Rundown" podcast. "It's so rewarding because the players seem happy. The front offices are happy with everything that's happening. That also means the All-Star Game and the surrounding events are very, very attractive and competitive. We have made it very, very clear to Commissioner Manfred and his team that we would absolutely love to host the game as soon as possible."

The 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park holds legitimate historical value, from Pedro Martinez's string of strikeouts to a pregame ceremony honoring the greatest players of the 20th century. Kennedy wants to honor that history.

"We are incredibly historic and poetic," Kennedy added. "1999 was probably the best All-Star Game in history, or certainly one of them. We're biased of course. Having a 30-year anniversary of that would be incredible. 2030, although it sounds like it's a long way away, it really isn't. It's a possibility."

The context for when the game could return to Fenway also depends on a new development project around the Fenway area. The completion of that project adds greater appeal for the All-Star Game.

"We are doing a major real estate development here in the neighborhood," Kennedy explained. "I think for the city of Boston, for the Fenway neighborhood to highlight and showcase this development, growth and building would be great. We certainly don't want to host an All-Star Game in the middle of construction project. Obviously, not Fenway, but the surrounding area. If I were a betting man, I would say that range of years is probably more likely than 2026 or 2027 just because of the reality of baseball and people who want the game and what's happening around here with the development around Fenway Park."

While 2025 is without a location, the Texas Rangers will host the game in 2024 while the Philadelphia Phillies will host in 2026.