LOS ANGELES — KING 5 is in Los Angeles for the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and soon, some of the most important members from the Seattle Mariners will be as well.
This isn't just a trip for Julio Rodriguez and his team.
It's a trip for much of the organization.
President of Business Operations Catie Griggs has arrived in southern California, and she said she's looking at the next few days as a learning experience.
She's hoping to fine-tune ideas for when the All-Star Game comes to Seattle in 2023.
"We're not looking to recreate LA," Griggs said. "What we're really looking to do is take learnings from what seems engaging and how can we make that authentic to the Pacific Northwest next year."
Griggs said her team has already been hard at work, and this weekend will represent a turning-the-corner type moment, as the spotlight will soon shift from southern California to Seattle.
"There's no better place to be than Seattle in July, we know that," Griggs said. "So how do we take advantage of where we are, the beautiful backdrop that we have, the scenery, all the different events, culture, cultures that we have?"
The Mariners have committed $55 million to upgrade their culture at T-Mobile Park in preparation for next year's game.
The upgrades include a new Diamond Club and new press box, on top of renovations at the old Pyramid Brewing building.
It'll create a much different look compared to when the game was last in Seattle 22 years ago.
"No different than the way we're not looking to recreate what's happening in LA, we're not looking to recreate what happened in 2001. We're looking to take advantage of the best of both, learn from it, and make it work here now," Griggs said.
Consider it a different approach for a different time.
"It's big," Griggs said regarding the difference between 2001 and 2023. "I mean an All-Star event is no longer about just the game itself on Tuesday night or even just the game on Tuesday and the Home Run Derby on Monday. This is a weeklong celebration of baseball, it's a weeklong celebration of the region. It's no longer local or even national, it really is an international event."
While a lot indeed has and will continue to change, the appeal of the All-Star Game remains the same.
"It's always worth it. If you have an opportunity to bring people together and share our love of baseball. That is our mission is to bring our community together by sharing our love of baseball. There is no better opportunity to do that than by hosting the All Star event," Griggs said.