Las Vegas Selected To Host Inaugural Triple-A Championship Weekend

Image credit: Las Vegas Ballpark (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Minor League Baseball announced Tuesday that the inaugural Triple-A championship weekend will be held in Las Vegas from Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

The two division winners from the Pacific Coast League will play each other on Sept. 30 and the two division winners from the International League will play on Oct. 1. The winner of each of the first two games will be declared league champion and will play each other on Oct. 2 in the Triple-A championship game.

All games will take place at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the A’s Triple-A affiliate.

“This new playoff system to determine an overall champion will create an exciting finish to the Triple-A season,” Major League Baseball executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword said in a statement. “We appreciate the Las Vegas Aviators hosting this inaugural event and we look forward to an exciting weekend of championship-caliber baseball at one of MiLB’s premier ballparks.”

The winner of the Triple-A national championship game will receive a cash prize to be split among the players.

A Triple-A national championship game was played under a different format from 2006-19, with the winners of the PCL and IL postseasons facing each other in one winner-take-all game. The Sacramento River Cats won the most recent Triple-A championship game, 4-0, over the Columbus Clippers in 2019. The 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and no Triple-A postseason was played in 2021.

Las Vegas was originally scheduled to host the 2020 Triple-A national championship game under the old format before the season was canceled.