Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico will host the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets baseball teams in the first major league, regular season, 3 game series, August 16-18 this year. Fans are expected from all over northern Mexico. The series were to be played at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego but scheduling conflicts arose due to Republican National Convention scheduled , in San Diego, at the same time. As a result, the series will be at Monterrey Stadium in Monterrey. The new stadium, built in 1990 as a baseball only ballpark holds 26,000 fans. This series signifies the first time a regular season major league game will be held outside of the U.S. or Canada.
Major league owners hope these games will help create new fans of baseball south of the U.S. border and expand its marketing appeal. The Padres will play as the "home team". Ironically enough, two of the Padres pitchers, Fernando Valenzuela and Andres Berumen are from Mexico. Valenzuela said, "I think it's going to be a good experience for the fans there [in Mexico]." Mets vice president David Howard stated, [the Mets] "are excited about participating in this historic event. This is important in the international growth of the game. The Major League Baseball Players Association deserves a great deal of credit for its support and cooperation."
Sources: Associated Press, El Paso Times