MLB News: Yankees Awarded 2008 All-Star Game

The 2007 All-Star Game will be played on July 10th at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

NEW YORK - The New York Yankees have been awarded the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and will host the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008, during the final year that the ballpark will be open, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced at a press conference Wednesday.

Commissioner Selig was joined by the Mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Steve Swindal, General Partner of the New York Yankees.

The 2008 All-Star Game -- the 79th Midsummer Classic -- will be the fourth held in "The House That Ruth Built" and the eighth time that New York City has welcomed the event.

The Yankees previously hosted the All-Star Game in 1939, 1960 and 1977; the Polo Grounds held the game in 1934 and 1942; Ebbets Field was the site in 1949; and Shea Stadium hosted the 1964 Midsummer Classic.

"Major League Baseball is delighted that the 79th All-Star Game will be held at Yankee Stadium," Commissioner Selig said.

"Baseball fans from around the world will be able to celebrate our great game in one of baseball's great cathedrals. Yankee Stadium has been the site of numerous historical moments since its opening in 1923, and the 2008 All-Star Game will help provide a proper farewell to this splendid ballpark."

George Steinbrenner, principal owner of the Yankees, said, "It is always a great honor for a team's home stadium to serve as host for the All-Star Game, and the Yankees are proud and delighted to have been selected for the honor in 2008. I want to especially thank one of my oldest and dearest friends, Commissioner Bud Selig, for this honor. It will be one of many historic moments in the 2008 season as we say goodbye to a great facility and look forward to our new ballpark, where the heritage of the Yankees and Major League Baseball will be extended for decades to come. I am especially glad that so many of the sports' great players and New York's great baseball fans will have the opportunity to participate in what will be an especially significant All-Star Game. I appreciate all the support and want to thank Mayor Bloomberg for all of his efforts to bring the 2008 All-Star Game to Yankee Stadium."

"On behalf of 8.2 million New Yorkers, I thank Commissioner Selig and Major League Baseball for selecting a place that has been synonymous with success over its 85-year history as the 2008 All-Star Game venue," said Mayor Bloomberg.

"Considering the Yankees have gone to the World Series each time the All- Star Game has been played at The House That Ruth Built, I'm confident that baseball will continue to be played at Yankee Stadium well into the fall of 2008. The All-Star Game and its accompanying week will also be an economic boon to the City, generating an estimated $148.4 million in economic activity and attracting more than 175,000 visitors."

Commissioner Selig announced on January 15th that Busch Stadium in St. Louis will serve as the host of the 2009 Midsummer Classic

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