2018 MLB All-Star Game could bring $100 million to D.C., economists say

Last week thousands of baseball fans flocked to Miami, the site of the 2017 Major League Baseball AllStar Game.

In the crowd were a dozen people from Washington including government officials and representatives of Destination DC, the District's marketing arm. They made the trip because they want to be ready to play ball next year when the All-Star game lands in D.C. — and generate as much revenue from the event as they can.

Next July the MLB All-Star Game will be held at Nationals Park, making it the first time the nation's capital has hosted the game since 1969, when Lyndon Johnson was president. The city has already started planning for how things will run and how to maximize the amount of money it could bring in from the week-long events.

It's a rare opportunity for the city to profit off a major sporting event. A high-profile bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games fell through a few years ago, dashing the hopes of planners and architects who hoped it would jump-start a new round of long-term development.

The District is an unlikely candidate for a Super Bowl, which usually goes to a Southern city where snow is less likely in February. The Wizards haven't seen an NBA finals in this century. And while the Nationals hope for a Cubs-like breakout this fall, the team has yet to make a World Series.

So the All-Star Game will bring D.C. it's most high-level sporting event in decades.

"We are the nation's capital, and baseball is the nation's pastime," said Jack Evans, Ward 2 councilman who is helping to lead the effort. "So hosting the All Star game this could be one for the ages. It's a chance to showcase DC as a world capital."

Nationals star outfielder Bryce Harper has done his part to help promote next year's events, saying — if he's an AllStar, he would partake in the Home Run Derby, where players from the National and American League slug it out to see who can hit the most long balls. The event generally takes place the day before the All-Star Game.

According to Anirban Basu, a regional economist with Sage Policy, an MLB All Star game usually brings a minimum of $60 million to the local economy. He said smaller market cities that have hosted the game in recent years such as St. Louis, Cincinnati and Kansas City have all stayed closer to the $60 million mark or a little better while markets like Anaheim and New York City have flirted with $100 million in economic impact.

"For us it's about what sort of programs occur away from the site and what can you do around the stadium over a four- to five-day period," said Michael Stevens, president of Capitol Riverfront BID and one of the people who went to Miami.

Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC, was on the trip to Miami last week to see how the city handled things like security and transportation. He believes the city can bring in between $50 million to 60 million in economic impact; while Evans thinks they can make $5 million to $10 million in additional sales tax revenue alone.