Commissioner Rob Manfred suggests Toronto's a candidate to host future All-Star Game

At his press conference to open spring training, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred had some welcome news for Canadian baseball fans: Toronto is being considered to host the All-Star Game festivities in either 2027 or 2028.

After successfully hosting the NHL All-Star Weekend from February 1-3 this year, Toronto certainly proved it can meet the criteria to host the Midsummer Classic, showcasing the best baseball talent.

As per Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription required), “The final two All-Star Games that Manfred expects he will award in his time as commissioner are in 2027 and 2028, and the Blue Jays and the Cubs appear prime candidates to host.” Manfred says he’ll step down as MLB commissioner in January 2029 at the end of his current contract.

“With respect to those two years, I am strongly influenced by two things,” Manfred said. “One, when did you last have a game? Toronto stacks up pretty well on that variable. I think Chicago is older,”

“The city being willing to step up on those issues is the other big variable,” Manfred said. “Our All-Star , what’s become most of the week, we need certain facilities and certain kinds of support in terms of security.”

For a city that hasn’t hosted the MLB All-Star Game since 1991, Toronto certainly meets the first criteria. In terms of “certain facilities” and “support in terms of security”, Toronto has over 340 hotels, features some of the best gourmet dining outside of New York City and California, and proved with the recent NHL events that they can provide the security necessary to meet Manfred’s criteria.

And for a city — and country — starved for prime time sporting showcases like Championships and All-Star Games, this news ranks right up there with Toronto being selected to host six matches in the FIFA World Cup 26, kicking off on June 12, 2026 with the first-ever men’s FIFA World Cup match on Canadian soil and featuring Canada’s Men’s National Team. Toronto is also hosting a round of 32 match in July of 2026.

Toronto sports fans have experienced very few major North American professional sports league championships since the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993. The Raptors won their only NBA Championship in 2019, Toronto FC won an MLS Championship in 2017, but the Maple Leafs haven’t hoisted a Stanley Cup since 1967. The Argos last won the Grey Cup in 2022.

Toronto also successfully hosted the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, the first time it was ever held outside the United States. So this would be another opportunity to showcase Toronto’s multicultural melting pot as one of the cleanest, safest and most energetic cities in North America.

As per the City’s website, “Toronto is home to more than three million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities.” It’s the 4th largest city in North America, and when you consider the greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA), that population swells to over 7 million.

With the $300M worth of renovations to Rogers Centre over the past two offseasons, we can look forward to some iconic photos with the roof open and the CN Tower as a backdrop in July of 2027 or 2028.

As per MLBTR, the next three All-Star host cities have already been selected: “Arlington this summer, the first time Texas hosts since opening Globe Life Field four years ago… Atlanta in 2025… Philadelphia was awarded the ’26 Midsummer Classic to coincide with celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.”

So mark your calendars baseball fans, Toronto looks like it will be welcoming baseball royalty for the All-Star Game once again in the next 4~5 years.