MLB to open up 2025 season in Tokyo

Major League Baseball (MLB) has confirmed that it will return to Japan for the first time since 2019, with the Tokyo Series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs set to open up the 2025 regular season.

The games between the Dodgers and Cubs will take place on March 18 and 19 at Tokyo Dome. Traditional Opening Day, featuring all 30 MLB clubs, will follow on March 27.

The Tokyo Series will be the latest instalment of MLB’s World Tour. It will mark the sixth time in which MLB opens its regular season in Tokyo, and represent the 25th anniversary of the first-ever regular season games played in Japan in 2000 between the Cubs and the New York Mets.

It will also be the first games in Japan since the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics opened the 2019 season at the Tokyo Dome. In addition to the openers in 2000 and 2019, other season openers in Japan took place in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

Yesterday’s (Thursday’s) announcement came after Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) commissioner, Sadayuki Sakakibara, in April stated that the 2025 MLB season would open in Japan. The Dodgers and Cubs will provide plenty of Japanese star power for home fans to enjoy in the form of the former’s Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the latter’s Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki.

The Dodgers made significant investments in their two players this past winter, committing to contracts worth $700m (£542.1m/€643.4m) for Ohtani and $325m for Yamamoto. Ohtani, in particular, is a superstar in world baseball and the Dodgers have signed up a raft of Japanese sponsors since adding the two players to their ranks.

Next season will mark the second consecutive year in which an international series is featured to begin the season, following March’s 2024 Seoul Series between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

Gocheok Sky Dome received a number of upgrades ahead of its landmark hosting of MLB games. Located in western Seoul, South Korea’s only domed ballpark staged the country’s first MLB regular-season fixtures on March 20-21.

In addition to Chicago’s 2000 opener in Tokyo, the Cubs also played international games in 2023 during a two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals in London. For the Dodgers, it marks their fourth international series, joining the 2014 season-opening series in Sydney, Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks; the 2018 series against the Padres in Monterrey, Mexico; and the aforementioned Seoul Series in 2024.

MLB and its Players’ Association (MLBPA) had intended to play regular-season games in Paris next June, but this plan ultimately failed to come to fruition. The league’s current collective bargaining agreement also called for September 2025 games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but this wasn’t included in yesterday’s announcement.

Braves detail latest Truist Park upgrades

In other MLB news, the Atlanta Braves are continuing efforts to enhance the fan experience at Truist Park by once again expanding seating options.

The Braves have detailed an expansion to the Coors Light Chop House Seating as well as a brand-new product called The Bullpen, both of which are set to open prior to the 2025 season. The Bullpen, located in sections 152-155, will include exclusive access to a private lounge located underneath the seats.

Fans sitting in The Bullpen will enjoy complimentary ballpark classics and non-alcoholic beverages, upgraded breathable mesh seats, and an enhanced viewing experience with television monitors and tables.

The Coors Light Chop House Seating will be expanded into sections 107-108 of Truist Park. Chop House Seating offers in-seat food and beverage service, high barstool seats, and a $15 credit for food, beverages, or merchandise.

The renovations are being made in partnership with Rossetti, with Impact Development Management as an advisor on the project. In March, the Braves unveiled a new premium seating offering for the 2024 season in the form of the Lexus Premium Box.

“We continue to provide the best possible ballpark experience for our fans,” said Atlanta Braves president and CEO, Derek Schiller. “These projects, as well as the upgrades prior to this season, are all about making Truist Park the top place to watch baseball.”