CHICAGO — Framed by the backdrop of the ballpark’s iconic center-field scoreboard and green ivy, the long-awaited reveal was less anticipatory and more celebratory, a moment years in the making.

The 2027 All-Star Game officially is coming to Wrigley Field.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Friday that the Friendly Confines will host the Midsummer Classic for the first time since 1990, with the game scheduled for July 13, 2027. Wrigley will become the third ballpark to host the All-Star Game for a fourth time, joining Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium and old Yankee Stadium in New York.

Among those attending the announcement were Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and board members Laura Ricketts and Todd Ricketts, president of business operations Crane Kenney and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, Chicago Sports Commission Executive Director Kara Bachman and former Cubs players Andre Dawson and Shawon Dunston.

The Cubs had been attempting for years under multiple Chicago mayors to bring the All-Star Game back to Wrigley, making necessary renovations and upgrades to the ballpark. But security measures around the ballpark were insufficient until a recent action by the city council to address those concerns, including installing bollards on surrounding streets.

“I’m very excited about getting the All-Star Game,” Tom Ricketts told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s something that we always wanted to have. We knew we had a lot of work to do to get the ballpark in shape, to make a credible case to bring the All-Star Game here.”

Manfred credited the planned safety overhaul outside Wrigley for helping win the bid. The city, state and team are contributing a combined $32.1 million to widen sidewalks and add bollards.

“It really is important for us and it was important for securing the game,” Manfred said.

Two Cubs fans sat behind him for the announcement: Pritzker and Johnson.

“What makes the city and state so welcoming is the kindness and the uplifting spirit of our people,” Pritzker said. “So to all the baseball fans out there, we can’t wait to welcome you to the great city of Chicago.”

MLB’s decision to play the game in Chicago cements the city’s status as “the global capital of the world,” Johnson told reporters. And it will spur the city’s economy too, he said.

“It certainly adds to the boost that’s already happening,” Johnson said. “Being able to attract large-scale events like this further substantiates corporations’ confidence in my leadership.”

After months of eagerly awaiting the announcement, Wrigleyville Ald. Bennett Lawson called Friday “a day to celebrate” and the game “cool for the neighborhood, cool for the whole city.”

“I want kids playing baseball in every neighborhood and every park with an All-Star,” Lawson said. “It’s about visibility, reinforcing that we are a top tourist destination, and, frankly, the top tourist neighborhood outside of downtown.”

Since the Cubs last hosted an All-Star Game at Wrigley, the only other MLB teams that have not hosted one are the Tampa Bay Rays — who currently play in a spring training facility after extensive hurricane damage to Tropicana Field — and the Athletics, who moved from Oakland, Calif., and are temporarily playing in West Sacramento before relocating to Las Vegas in 2028.

Manfred said the Cubs formally requested to host an All-Star Game eight years ago, and he acknowledged this was probably overdue, adding “there’s tremendous competition” to land the marquee event.

“Frankly, there were cities that had been even longer than Chicago in terms of having a game,” Manfred said (the White Sox last hosted in 2003 at what’s now called Rate Field). “We had some new stadiums that came online, and it’s just a product of lining up all of the hotels and venues that need to be available for an All-Star Game.”

The looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement with the players union after the 2026 season creates some uncertainty around whether an All-Star Game would happen if a work stoppage caused regular-season games to be lost. In 1981, a strike started June 12 and lasted until an agreement on July 31, pushing the All-Star Game to Aug. 9, which kick-started the rest of the season.

Asked if there’s a contingency plan should a work stoppage affect the schedule, Manfred said, “Look, my contingency plan is to make an agreement with the players and play the 2027 season.”

Tom Ricketts told the Tribune that no contingency plan has been presented to the Cubs.

“I think everyone’s just planning on having the game,” Ricketts said. “It’s really early to start thinking about that kind of stuff. I’m very optimistic. I think everybody has the right incentives to get on the field as soon as possible in ’27 and I think it’ll work out.”

The Cubs first hosted the All-Star Game in 1947, and they hosted again in 1962. They were awarded the 1990 game after Tribune Co., then the team owner, agreed to install lights in 1988, ending the day-baseball-only tradition. The 1990 All-Star Game at Wrigley included a rain delay in the seventh inning of a 2-0 American League win.

In the 1990 Home Run Derby, which took place in the daytime the previous day, Cubs All-Star Ryne Sandberg hit three home runs to pace the National League to a 4-1 win over an AL team that included Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jose Canseco. Different rules were in place at the time, leading to the minuscule home run totals, and the event was not nearly as big a deal as it is now.

Under the Ricketts family ownership, the Cubs had tried to host an All-Star Game at Wrigley during three mayoral administrations, starting with Rahm Emanuel, continuing with Lori Lightfoot and now with Johnson.

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