MLB cancels 2025 Paris games after failing to find promoter, AP sources say

Major League Baseball has canceled plans to play regular-season games in Paris in 2025 after failing to find a promoter, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity following an owners’ meeting because the decision was not announced publicly.

MLB and the players’ association agreed to the Paris games in their March 2022 labor deal and incorporated them as an attachment to the collective bargaining agreement. The people familiar with the decision said it became apparent in recent months that no progress was being made to make the games work financially.

MLB played in London for the first time in 2019 when the New York Yankees swept two games from the Boston Red Sox at West Ham’s Olympic Stadium. A planned two-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs in 2020 was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Cardinals and Cubs split a two-game series this past June. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are scheduled to play there next June 8 and 9.

Regular-season games will be played in Seoul, South Korea, for the first time when the Los Angeles Dodgers open the season against the San Diego Padres on March 20 and 21. In addition, the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies play at Mexico City on April 27 and 28.

The collective bargaining agreement calls for a Tokyo opener in 2025 along with regular-season games in Mexico City and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The labor deal includes 2026 games in London, Mexico City and San Juan.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb