LOS ANGELES _ Dodger Stadium will get its All-Star Game _ in 2022.
The Dodgers were scheduled to play host to the All-Star Game July 14, but the start of the 2020 season has been delayed to July 23 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The All-Star Game was officially canceled Friday, and the 2022 game was awarded to the Dodgers.
"Once it became clear we were unable to hold this year's All-Star festivities, we wanted to award the Dodgers with the next available All-Star Game, which is 2022," Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
The 2021 game already had been awarded to the Atlanta Braves. Dodgers president Stan Kasten said Manfred "agreed immediately" to award the next available date to the Dodgers.
The Dodgers said fans with All-Star tickets could get the amount spent on those tickets credited to their account, with a 10% bonus, for use through the 2021 season; or get a refund starting Monday. However, the 2020 All-Star tickets would not be valid in 2022. Fans that renew season tickets would retain priority for the purchase of 2022 All-Star tickets.
The Dodgers last played host to the All-Star Game in 1980. The Angels and San Diego Padres each have hosted the game twice since then.
The league said it would honor its pledge to make $1.7 million in "All-Star legacy" charitable contributions this year, including upgrades to youth baseball fields in South Los Angeles, Lincoln Heights and Chinatown and the construction of a courtyard at a downtown center for homeless veterans.
The All-Star Game, born in 1933, has been canceled on one other occasion: in 1945, because of travel restrictions imposed during World War II.
