Letter to Selig argues to keep All-Star Game in AZ

Courtesy photo of Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and site of the 2011 Major League Baseball All Star Game.

FLAGSTAFF, AZ – In response to renewed calls for Major League Baseball to boycott our state, Representative Ann Kirkpatrick sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig on Saturday urging him to commit to keeping the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix and not preventing Arizona families and small businesses from earning much-needed income during the downturn.

At an Arizona Diamondbacks game in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, fans and activists held up signs and walked onto the field during the game in protest of SB 1070, demanding that Selig move the Mid-Summer Classic to a new location. While the Commissioner has previously declined to get involved in the debate, the pressure on MLB has continued from those determined to extend the boycotts further. A decision to move the game would be a major economic blow for working Arizonans - the annual event attracts thousands of fans and should bring in millions of dollars of revenue to the region.

“In these tough economic times, we must do everything we can to create jobs and bring new business to our communities,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “Major League Baseball’s All-Star game is not only a high point for one of America’s favorite pastimes – it is a crucial economic boost for the state that hosts it. Not allowing Arizona to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity will do nothing to help secure the border or put a national immigration strategy in action, but it will make it more difficult for hard-working folks who have already been hit by the economic downturn.”

Rep. Kirkpatrick, Arizona’s only Member of both the House Homeland Security and Small Business Committees, opposes SB 1070 because it will not do anything to make our borders more secure. However, the Congresswoman strongly opposed from the beginning every effort to create more hardships for Arizona’s workers and businesses, and she has repeatedly called for an end to the boycotts of her home state.

“Arizona was and remains a natural choice for the 2011 All-Star Game,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “People across our state need the economic benefits this event would bring, and we cannot allow a boycott to reduce them to political symbols. I urge the Commissioner to commit Major League Baseball to its current plans.”