Traffic nightmare due to road and lane closures near eventful night in downtown Fort MyersFEMA gives Lee County another deadline extension for the flood insurance discount
MGN MIAMI (AP) – The Marlins’ wait to host an All-Star Game will end in the franchise’s 25th season. A person familiar with the decision says the Marlins have been awarded the 2017 All-Star Game, and an announcement by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is planned for this week at the team’s ballpark. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the decision, first reported by The Miami Herald, had not been announced. Miami’s franchise started play in 1993 and two years later was awarded the 2000 game at Pro Player Stadium. After the team’s ownership dismantling the roster of the team’s 1997 World Series champions, Major League Baseball took away the game in 1998 and awarded it to Atlanta’s Turner Field. The Marlins moved into their new ballpark in 2012, and the franchise is up the upswing. The team signed slugger Giancarlo Stanton to a record $325 million contract and is widely expected to compete for its first playoff berth since 2003. The All-Star Game will be played in Cincinnati this year and in San Diego in 2016, meaning a National League team will host the game in three consecutive seasons. Four current ballparks have yet to be assigned an All-Star Game – the homes of the Yankees, Phillies, Nationals and Rays. The Braves plan to move into a new ballpark in 2017.