Major baseball events to be held in London in drive to grow the game in UK

9 May 2022, 20:01 | Updated: 9 May 2022, 20:33

Major League Baseball is set to hold events in London over the next five years including regular season games in 2023, 2024 and 2026, in a drive to grow the game in the UK.

Sadiq Khan and Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. today announced a long-term strategic partnership on Monday during the Mayor of London's trip to the US.

Mr Khan is in New York City as part of a four-day trip to America to support London’s economic recovery from the pandemic and promote the capital to international visitors and business.

Plans were revealed about the formation of the MLB London Legacy Group which will include members from the Greater London Authority, Baseball Softball UK and other key stakeholders in the UK.

The Group will be focused on delivering a wide-reaching and long-term legacy program that maximizes the impact of hosting MLB regular season games in London.

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The London Mayor said: "Today is an historic day for London and baseball.

"I want to continue attracting world-class sport to our city as part of my mission to make London the sporting capital of the world.

"This long-term partnership with Major League Baseball is ambitious and includes regular season games as well as a legacy programme designed to grow the number of Londoners watching and playing baseball at a grassroots level in London.

"These games will be a fantastic opportunity to once again showcase the London Stadium as a multi-use venue and a fantastic asset for the capital."

"All aspects of the inaugural MLB games in London were an overwhelming success," said Commissioner Manfred.

"It was clear that sports fans in London had a great appetite for baseball and that passion was shared by Mayor Khan as well as the business and media community.

"We are confident in making a long-term commitment to London and are looking forward to returning to the city with more MLB games, special fan events, and other opportunities to play and watch the game."

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London hosted Major League Baseball games for the first time in June of 2019 when the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox met in the inaugural MLB London Series.

The two-games at London Stadium were the first-ever regular season games played in Europe.

To complement these events, MLB Europe will continue to conduct new London-based fan engagement events, expanded UK-focused content, baseball participation programs, and other city specific media arrangements to help continue the growth of baseball’s popularity across London.

This includes the Home Run Derby X which will take place in London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 9, 2022.

Mr Khan is set to make his way to San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles in the coming days in a bid to boost London's tourism industry.

He will also discuss pandemic recovery with senior politicians.

London was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, losing £7.4 billion of international tourist spend in 2020 alone.