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DOLPHIN STADIUM TO SERVE AS A HOST VENUE FOR
2009 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ROUND TWO GAMES
2009 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ROUND TWO GAMES
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – Dolphin Stadium has been selected to serve as a host venue of the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Round Two of the tournament, when the games will be played March 14-18, it was announced today at a World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) press conference in Los Angeles. PETCO Park in San Diego, CA will be the other site venue of the second round while LA will host the semi-finals and finals.
“Dolphin Stadium and PETCO Park will provide strong international venues for Round Two of the tournament. Baseball fans across the globe will have the exciting opportunity to experience these three exceptional settings during the world’s premier international baseball tournament,” said Bob DuPuy, President and COO, Major League Baseball.
“We are extremely proud to host this international tournament at Dolphin Stadium,” said Bruce Schulze, President of Dolphin Stadium. “With us hosting the Bowl Championship Series game in 2009 and Super Bowl XLIV in 2010, it’s fitting that we also host this other world-class event.”
Claude Delorme, Sr. Vice President of Stadium Development for the Florida Marlins, said: “We are known as the Gateway to the Americas and we appreciate the opportunity to welcome baseball fans from throughout the region and around the world.”
“Just think about the potential match-ups, both in San Diego and Miami, and then in Los Angeles, and you’ll get some sense of just how excited about the 2009 Classic all of us who are involved in it are right now,” said Gene Orza, Chief Operating Officer, Major League Baseball Players Association. “Fans should be too. With an even broader array of great players competing, a level of intensity that memory of the inaugural World Baseball Classic is bound to heighten, and now the announcement of the final venues, the upcoming 2009 Classic promises to give them the baseball thrill of a lifetime.”
The tournament, which will open in Tokyo, Japan on March 5 and conclude at Dodger Stadium on March 23, will span five countries, include 16 participating National Teams and feature 480 of the world’s best baseball players.
About Dolphin Stadium
Dolphin Stadium, located in Miami Gardens, Florida, is a world-class sports and entertainment facility that hosts a wide variety of events including Miami Dolphins football, Florida Marlins baseball, University of Miami football, FedEx Orange Bowl, Bowl Championship Series game in 2009 and the upcoming 2010 Super Bowl.
The stadium has also been the home of two Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series Games, five National Football League (NFL) Super Bowls, and numerous concerts. Dolphin Stadium boasts the largest hi-definition video boards in professional sports and the world’s longest LED ribbon display. Owned by H. Wayne Huizenga and Stephen M. Ross, Dolphin Stadium recently completed a $250 million improvements and innovations project. For more information on Dolphin Stadium, please visit www.dolphinstadium.com.
About World Baseball Classic, Inc.
World Baseball Classic, Inc. is a company created at the direction of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the
Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to operate the World Baseball Classic tournament. The
tournament, which is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), is supported by MLB, the
MLBPA, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players
associations and other leagues and players from around the world.
About the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is the premier international baseball tournament, sanctioned by the International
Baseball Federation, and features the best players in the world competing for their home countries and
territories. In March 2006, 486 players – 235 of them from MLB organizations – representing 16 teams from
across the globe competed in the inaugural event. More than 740,000 fans from 48 states and 15 countries
attended games and millions more watched on TV as Team Japan was crowned the first-ever World Baseball
Classic Champion. Broadcast by 48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and territories around
the world, the inaugural tournament had 50 official sponsors and 21 official licensees. Media members
representing 25 different nations attended the 39 games in seven host venues across three
countries/territories. The next tournament will be held in March 2009 and will again feature 16 of the
greatest baseball-playing nations in the world. The tournament will be held every four years thereafter, with
plans in place to expand the participant field beginning in 2013.
Additional Contacts: Richard Levin or Patrick Courtney, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7878
Greg Bouris, Major League Baseball Players Association, (212) 826-0808
