MLB Ends Grand Teton Park Game Evaluation

Major League Baseball will stop evaluating Grand Teton National Park as a possible site for a game, Commissioner Rob Manfred told local officials in a letter Thursday, after community leaders objected to the idea. Manfred said the league had no formal plan and had not determined whether a game at the Wyoming park was feasible. In the letter, Manfred said MLB had been conducting preliminary due diligence on multiple potential sites. He said the league had not yet assessed environmental impacts or sought community views, steps he said would have been part of any process if the idea had advanced. MLB would not continue evaluating Grand Teton as a potential site, he wrote, citing local concerns. The response followed a letter opposing the idea from Teton County Commission Chair Mark Newcomb, Jackson Mayor Arne Jorgensen and Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce President Rick Howe. Their objections came after reports that the park was being considered. Manfred also sent a similar letter to U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. The precise scope of the preliminary inquiry remains unclear.