World Baseball Classic Heads to Four Venues for 2026 Tournament

The 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) will take place in four venues, with Miami’s loanDepot Park set to host games in all three rounds of the tournament for the second consecutive season. Japan’s Tokyo Dome, a staple of all previous WBCs, will host first-round games in 2026. Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium will also host first-round games, marking the first time games will be played there since 2013. Additionally, Houston’s Minute Maid Park will host WBC games for the first time, making the Astros the eighth MLB team to have their home venue host a portion of the event.

Houston Astros owner Jim Crane expressed excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to host World Baseball Classic games for the first time. He praised Houston as a global city with passionate baseball fans and expressed pride in welcoming fans from around the world to watch international competition at Minute Maid Park. Each of the four venues will host one of the four pools in the first round of play. Minute Maid Park and loanDepot Park will then host the quarterfinals, with the final stages of the tournament taking place at loanDepot Park in Miami.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic saw Japan emerge victorious over the United States in