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Over the last few ten years or so, MLB has been playing games abroad, be they exhibitions or regular season, in an attempt to grow the game. The majority of these games have been in Japan, but what other stadiums and countries abroad could support a MLB game?
Here's a quick list I was able to come up with (I chose to ignore Japan for this list):
Estadio Latinoamericano- Cuba
Capcity- 55,000
Largest seating capacity of any non-MLB stadium in the world. Won't happen until the communist regime falls or the US government ends it's boycott. If it ever does happen, you have to think the game will be hugely popular, as baseball is a way of life in Cuba.
Sajik Baseball Stadium
Capacity- 30,543
Largest baseball stadium in Korea, another baseball-rabid country. I can see this as a likely possibility for a game in the next 5-10 years.
Munhak Baseball Stadium
Capacity- 30,480
Second largest stadium in Korea by less than 100 people. Also a high likleyhood for the next decade or so.
Jamsil Baseball Stadium
Capacity-30,265
Third largest Korean stadium, higher likleyhood than the other two only because it is in the capital of Korea and offers a better Media Image.
Dennis MartÃnez National Stadium
Capacity- 30,100
Largest stadium in Nicaragua.
Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey
Capacity-27,000
Largest baseball stadium in Mexico, has hosted an opening day game before between Colorado and San Diego, could host more in the future.
Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Capacity- 20,000
Largest baseball stadium in Taiwan where baseball is huge. Could see this happening as a way to draw more players (Chien-Ming Wang is one of their biggest celebrities), and would be a great move for MLB.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Capacity- 100,000
Here's where it gets interesting. While cricket stadiums are not perfect for baseball, they are much better than soccer stadiums when it comes to converting to baseball. Sight lines would not be perfect, but they would be reminiscent of the cookie cutters, so we know that it would be bearable. Australia is not baseball-crazy, but they have produced a handful of MLB players in the past. This would be a great way to grow the sport there, and it would most likely sell out. This ballpark also held the record for largest attendance at a baseball game when 114,000 watched the Australia National Team play the US Armed Forces team.
Lord's Cricket Ground
Cricket-29,000
Largest cricket ground in England, and while baseball isn't insanely popular in England or Europe just yet, neither is American Football, and the yearly NFL games have all sold out at Wembley, so you can asume that the same would happen here. This is my favorite Idea for a future game, and, according to wikipedia the MLB had already begun discussing such a game.
So anywhere else we could see games being played?
Here's a quick list I was able to come up with (I chose to ignore Japan for this list):
Estadio Latinoamericano- Cuba
Capcity- 55,000
Largest seating capacity of any non-MLB stadium in the world. Won't happen until the communist regime falls or the US government ends it's boycott. If it ever does happen, you have to think the game will be hugely popular, as baseball is a way of life in Cuba.
Sajik Baseball Stadium
Capacity- 30,543
Largest baseball stadium in Korea, another baseball-rabid country. I can see this as a likely possibility for a game in the next 5-10 years.
Munhak Baseball Stadium
Capacity- 30,480
Second largest stadium in Korea by less than 100 people. Also a high likleyhood for the next decade or so.
Jamsil Baseball Stadium
Capacity-30,265
Third largest Korean stadium, higher likleyhood than the other two only because it is in the capital of Korea and offers a better Media Image.
Dennis MartÃnez National Stadium
Capacity- 30,100
Largest stadium in Nicaragua.
Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey
Capacity-27,000
Largest baseball stadium in Mexico, has hosted an opening day game before between Colorado and San Diego, could host more in the future.
Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium
Capacity- 20,000
Largest baseball stadium in Taiwan where baseball is huge. Could see this happening as a way to draw more players (Chien-Ming Wang is one of their biggest celebrities), and would be a great move for MLB.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Capacity- 100,000
Here's where it gets interesting. While cricket stadiums are not perfect for baseball, they are much better than soccer stadiums when it comes to converting to baseball. Sight lines would not be perfect, but they would be reminiscent of the cookie cutters, so we know that it would be bearable. Australia is not baseball-crazy, but they have produced a handful of MLB players in the past. This would be a great way to grow the sport there, and it would most likely sell out. This ballpark also held the record for largest attendance at a baseball game when 114,000 watched the Australia National Team play the US Armed Forces team.
Lord's Cricket Ground
Cricket-29,000
Largest cricket ground in England, and while baseball isn't insanely popular in England or Europe just yet, neither is American Football, and the yearly NFL games have all sold out at Wembley, so you can asume that the same would happen here. This is my favorite Idea for a future game, and, according to wikipedia the MLB had already begun discussing such a game.
So anywhere else we could see games being played?
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