Baseball/Softball Venues for 2020 Still in Flux

(ATR) The World Baseball Softball Confederation will have little time to celebrate the IOC’s approval of Yokohama Stadium as the main venue for the sports’ return to the Olympics in 2020.

The WBSC still has plenty of work to do in hammering out an agreement with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 to lock down what it considers a suitable second venue for the Games.

The IOC and Tokyo 2020 are pushing for some of the baseball and softball games to be played in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture. The region was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 which sparked a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant.

The WBSC tells Around the Rings that a best-case scenario for them would be a second venue near Tokyo with a single "special" game played in Fukushima. The federation doesn’t want to discuss anything tied to Fukushima until a second venue near Tokyo is finalized.

WBSC president Riccardo Fraccari is making it clear what is needed from his perspective.

"Based on the single group round-robin format and two venue plan that we presented from the beginning, it is highly critical at this stage to confirm with Tokyo 2020 the second venue needed around the Tokyo metropolitan area before considering Tokyo 2020's proposal to add Fukushima as a site.

"And while WBSC is committed to social responsibility and sending a powerful Olympic message, as we hosted our U-15 Baseball World Cup there this year, we must ensure that playing travel games and the scheduling for any game in Fukushima will not compromise the Olympic baseball-softball events, or add any undue burden on the athletes, as we aim to deliver the best-ever international baseball and softball tournaments in history at Tokyo 2020, in order to earn a place and remain in the Olympic Games."

ATR has learned that two existing baseball stadiums are being looked at as a potential second venue: Chiba Marine Stadium and the Seibu Lions Dome.

Chiba Marine Stadium is 42 kilometers (26 miles) from the Yokohama Stadium. The Seibu Lions Dome is 77 kilometers (48 miles) from the Yokohama venue. A domed stadium is considered an advantage because it would prevent postponements due to rain or inclement weather. The Tokyo Dome would seem to have been an obvious choice, but it failed to pass muster with IOC standards because of its location in a high traffic area and its lack of space for television trucks required by the Olympic Broadcasting Service.

Iwaki Green Stadium in Iwaki, the only one of three venues in the Fukushima Prefecture that the WBSC reportedly has approved, is 240 kilometers (149 miles) from the Yokohama Stadium.

The WBSC says potential final proposals for the additional venues are expected in 2017, as is confirmation of the Olympic baseball and softball qualification method.

Only after all that is completed can the WBSC go to Major League Baseball and begin working on a deal to make sure that the world’s best baseball players will be taking part in the Olympics in 2020. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has made it clear the logistical details must be ironed out before any negotiations can begin with the WBSC.

The WBSC is pleased with how many MLB players have signed on for the World Baseball Classic this spring, telling ATR they are starting to get some traction in the national team product in a sport where national teams have always taken a back seat to the domestic leagues.

Written by Gerard Farek

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