Houston, Miami Among 2026 World Baseball Classic Hosts

Houston’s Minute Maid Park and Miami’s loanDepot Park will be the U.S. host sites for the 2026 World Baseball Classic along with the Tokyo Dome in Japan and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Tokyo and Miami were hosts in the 2023 tournament which culminated with Japan beating the United States 3-2. It will be the first time that Hiram Birthorn Stadium hosts games since 2013 and the first time for Houston to have games in the event.

“We are excited and honored to be hosting World Baseball Classic matchups for the first time,” said Jim Crane, Houston Astros owner and chairman. “Houston is a global city with the best baseball fans and we are proud to welcome fans from across the globe to watch international competition at Minute Maid Park.”

The first-round pools of the WBC will be split across the four locations, while the semifinals will be split between Houston and Miami, with the final again at loanDepot Park.

Miami has been a WBC host site every year since 2009. Tokyo returns as the only location to be a host at every World Baseball Classic. For Puerto Rico, this will be the fourth time hosting the WBC, but the first time in over a decade.

“The return of the World Baseball Classic to Puerto Rico reaffirms our city’s capacity to host major international events and our commitment to bring the best baseball in the world to our shores,” said Miguel Romero, mayor of San Juan. “We are fully prepared to deliver a top-tier experience, showcasing not only our enduring love for baseball, but also the resilient, forward-looking spirit of San Juan and Puerto Rico.”

Minute Maid Park is no stranger to hosting major baseball events: The Astros have played in the ALCS every year since 2017. A host site every year since 2009, Miami not only was the 2023 title game host but it is where Japan rallied past Mexico to win in the semifinal round. Once a part-time home to the Montreal Expos, Hiram Bithorn Stadium’s WBC history includes Shairon Martis’ no-hitter against Panama in 2006 ­­—the only no-hitter in WBC history.

During Japan’s run to its third WBC title in 2023, Tokyo Dome broke records for the most fans of any round in the history of the tournament with 361,976, while also setting the highest average attendance (36,198) of any first or second round pool in tournament history. The first ever World Baseball Classic games were played at Tokyo Dome when South Korea defeated Chinese Taipei, 2-0, and Japan defeated China, 18-2, on March 3, 2006.

Sixteen teams have qualified for the tournament — the top four teams from each of the pools from the 2023 tournament — while the final four teams will be determined in 2025.