London Stadium Baseball could cause more problems
The Stadium will be the first venue in Europe to host Major League Baseball, when the New York Yankees and the Boston Reds Sox meet at the venue in June 2019. The MLB’s London Series 2019, will see the sport played in the UK for the very first time, as part of a double header between baseball’s two most-famous teams over the weekend of 28 and 29 June 2019.
However Claret and Hugh understand that the Stadium could be out of action for up to four weeks next summer to modify the stadium and change it back for the baseball event. Baseball will require an unique configuration which will add extra costs to transform the venue and the MLB have been given preference rental rates to attract them meaning the event is likely to lose more money. In a double whammy, the music concert season is also likely to be shorter next summer missing out on further potential revenue which could have helped reduce losses.
The project has been described as a vanity project for the Mayor of London by one insider with no real business case.