Sydney Cricket Ground to Host $13 Million US Baseball Curtain-raiser

Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers / Pic: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images/AFP Source: The Daily Telegraph

US Major League Baseball is coming to Sydney, with the opening series of next season - between the LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks - to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground next March.

In a $13 million coup for the state government, the opening series of the MLB will be held at the SCG on Saturday March 22 and Sunday March 23 - the first time a competitive US baseball fixture will be held in Australia and only the sixth time one has been staged outside America.

The games have been described as the biggest internationally recognised event in this country since the 2003 Rugby World Cup final and come exactly 100 years after the Chicago White Sox played against NSW at the SCG.

"Sydney will host the first two games for the opening series of 2014 Major League Baseball at the Sydney Cricket Ground," Premier Barry O'Farrell said.

"The opening series will feature the LA Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks playing the first two games of the season.

"This is a significant win for Sydney and again delivers on my election commitment to bring major events to NSW. It's estimated the matches will deliver a $13 million benefit for the local economy, as well as attract visitors from interstate and overseas."

NSW will be showcased to an estimated global TV household audience of up to 168 million, including 75 million in the US.

Ironically - or perhaps fortuitously for sports fans who like to see a bit of biff - the Dodgers and Diamondbacks had a huge brawl in their game yesterday, with the entire squads of both teams running across the field to fight each other.

A similar spectacle can't be predicted next year but the Dodgers and Diamondbacks will be in Sydney for six days, when they will play the two games and open the doors to their training sessions.

Sports Minister Graham Annesley said the event would "generate more than 10,000 international and interstate visitor nights to Sydney, which will help us reach our goal to double overnight tourism expenditure in NSW by 2020".

"Sydney has a history of hosting significant baseball games at the SCG, with the Chicago White Sox playing against a combined NSW team in 1914," he said.

"The SCG will be transformed into an MLB field, with the construction of an infield clay area, pitcher's mound, dugouts and additional grandstand."