by Major League Baseball announced today that Salt River Fields at Talking Stick will be hosting the first two rounds of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, as well as Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. The Salt River Fields is the first MLB park built on Native American land that is owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community . The facility was completed in the Spring of 2011 and the complex is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has an official capacity of 11,000.
While the teams have yet to be excited their is a strong possibly that at one of the three Native American currenlty playing in the MLB could be selected to the team. The front runner would be Kyle Lohse (Nomlaki tribe) but Jacoby Ellsbury (Navajo) or Joba Chamberlain (Omaha) could make the squad late in the season as well.
About the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and created by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. The tournament is the first of its kind to have national baseball teams feature professional players from the major leagues around the world including Major League Baseball. The World Baseball Classic was created in 2005 in order to further promote the game around the globe.
About the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is a sovereign tribe located in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Bounded by the cities of Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa and Fountain Hills, the Community encompasses 52,600 acres, with 19,000 held as a natural preserve. With two distinct backgrounds and cultures, the Community is comprised of two Native American tribes: the Pima, “Akimel O’Odham” (River People) and the Maricopa, “Xalychidom Piipaash” (People who live toward the water).
