MLB, Trump administration mulling baseball game in National Park: Report

Major League Baseball has raised the idea of hosting a game in a U.S. national park, according to a report in The Washington Post. The outlet wrote that league representatives brought the concept to White House officials, and that two sources familiar with the discussions said administration personnel had scouted areas within Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming for possible construction of a baseball venue.

The Post obtained a statement from the White House saying MLB asked whether holding a game at a national park would be possible, likening the proposal to the league's ‘‘Field of Dreams’’ event in Iowa. The White House added that the plan was not a presidential directive, was not being driven by the Department of the Interior, and was not an administration priority.

The Hill contacted both the White House and MLB for comment on the reported plan. The potential park-site game comes amid other instances where the Trump administration has examined private uses of national park land: the report notes a recent administration interest in a land swap that would transfer a portion of Yosemite National Park to a private company, based on a document submitted to Congress.

That document, from the National Park Service, said a private landowner sought to connect their property to a park service road to enable commercial development, and that the agency was ‘‘working with the landowner on a land exchange that will … enable NPS to convey an interest in land.’’ The combination of the MLB inquiry and the agency filing highlights ongoing debates over how national park lands can be used and whether exchanges or temporary developments are appropriate for commercial events.