How to celebrate MLB All-Star Week at any budget in Seattle
If you wanted to attend every MLB All-Star Week event VIP-style, the package deal for a single person can top $10,000. But enjoying a weekend of baseball doesn’t have to break the bank.
The All-Star Game on July 11 will pit top Major League Baseball players like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani against one another at T-Mobile Park. But on top of the game itself, the Seattle Mariners and MLB collaborated with local groups to hold five days of festivities around the annual event. For $35 or less per person, you can attend a unique baseball game like the HBCU Swingman Classic or spend a day getting autographs and playing ball in Pioneer Square.
The Mariners prioritized making All-Star Week budget-friendly from the get-go, said Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB vice president of global events.
“Baseball, by the nature of how we are as a game, is really all about playing the game wherever you are,” he said. “If you want to make the game accessible, you also have to make the events accessible.”
Below, we’ve broken down the best ways to celebrate All-Star Week, whatever your budget or availability.
If you’re looking for all-day entertainment
From July 8-11, Lumen Field and its event center will be home to Play Ball Park, MLB’s official fan experience. You’ll have the chance to play virtual reality games, gather autographs from Hall of Famers and Mariners legends, snap pictures with team mascots and browse artifacts from the Hall of Fame.
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Tickets inside the field for Play Ball Park typically cost $35 a day, or $110 for a family four-pack. On July 11, however, fans can buy four tickets for $15 each, and eligible Capital One cardholders may be able to snag complimentary tickets. Using the code PBPO on Ticketmaster, under the “Unlock” option, can also get you $10 tickets.
MLB is also hosting a multitude of free activities outside Lumen Field, Yolkut said, including a baseball diamond on Muckleshoot Heritage Plaza where fans can play, as well as a celebration of players of the past. Attendees will just be required to download the All-Star Experience Pass app to gain entry. Those who don’t have a smartphone will need to fill out information upon their arrival.
“It’s really like a Disneyland version of baseball,” said Ali Daniels, chief marketing officer of Visit Seattle, a local marketing organization helping organize All-Star-related events.
If you have a few hours and a strict budget
Seattle Center plans to host a free drone show on July 9 at 10 p.m., in collaboration with MLB and the Mariners. The show will highlight Mariners legends, Yolkut said, and honor Seattle baseball.
To follow up, Seattle Center will also screen free baseball film classics “The Sandlot” and “A League of Their Own” in the Mural Amphitheatre at 9:30 p.m. on July 10 and 11, respectively. The more artistically minded can also swing by RailSpur Alley’s exhibit of baseball-themed art in Pioneer Square, on display July 6-11.
And right before the Midsummer Classic itself on July 11, the All-Star red-carpet show will bring players to a Hollywood-esque event at Pike Place Market. Though getting a great view may be tough, anyone can stop by to try and get a glimpse of baseball’s hottest names.
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Need a break from all the baseball-centric festivities? Daniels recommended visitors check out the Downtown Seattle Association’s free pop-up roller-skating rink in Occidental Square, just blocks away from Lumen Field. The rink will be open July 8-15 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with skates available to borrow.
If you want to catch a game in person
Begin All-Star Weekend with the HBCU Swingman Classic, which highlights 50 baseball players from historically Black colleges or universities across the country and gives them the opportunity to show off their abilities to a national audience. Hall of Famer and former Mariners center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. proposed the idea and helped select this year’s players.
This first-of-its-kind event is set for 7 p.m. July 7 at T-Mobile Park, with tickets going for $10. The game “was really designed to make sure that any fan that wanted to attend could do so at a price point that was reasonable,” Yolkut said.
T-Mobile Park will also host two games July 8: the All-Star Futures Game highlighting top Minor League Baseball prospects, and the Celebrity Softball Game, which features players such as former Mariners pitcher Félix Hernández, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and actor Joel McHale.
Saturday tickets, which include access to both games — and a “joyful” atmosphere, Daniels said — start at $30.
The two biggest games of the week — the Home Run Derby, a competition among power hitters to see who can hit the most home runs, and the All-Star Game itself — cost hundreds of dollars a ticket, but fans have already snapped up all available tickets.
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If you have extra cash to spend
Unfortunately, VIP packages starting at $2,750 and stretching well past $10,000 have already sold out. But if you’re interested, you can still find ways to buy some premium baseball perks.
Most of Play Ball Park’s activities are included in the entry ticket, but you can bid on baseball memorabilia in both a multiday silent auction and a live auction on July 11. You’ll also get the chance to splurge on officially licensed baseball art and batting gloves, buy and trade baseball pins and sample signature dishes from ballparks throughout MLB.
Those not at Play Ball Park will also have plenty of opportunities to buy gear specific to this year’s All-Star Game, Yolkut said.
No matter what experiences you attend, Yolkut said MLB has worked to make the All-Star fan experience appealing to all.
“The week of July 7 through 11 is going to be the best that Seattle has to offer and the best that baseball has to offer,” he said.
For All-Star Week news and a schedule of official MLB All-Star Week events, visit mlb.com/all-star.
Source: The Seattle Times
