Columbus to host 2024 MLS All-Star Game at Lower.com Field

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus will be the home of the Major League Soccer All-Star Game next year.

Lower.com Field and the Columbus Crew is set to host next year's All-Star Game, marking the first time in 19 years the city is hosting MLS' best. The game will take place on July 17, 2024.

MLS commissioner Don Garber was joined by Gov. Mike DeWine and Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther, and more at Lower.com Field to make the announcement. You can watch the announcement in the player above.

In anticipation for the game, MLS announced there will be a week-long celebration that will feature community events. Lower.com Field will also host the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Columbus has hosted the MLS All-Star Game on two previous occasions at Historic Crew Stadium. The first one in 2000 was a goal-scoring fest with the East beating the West 9-4 in front of 23,000 fans at the first soccer-specific stadium in MLS. That match is still the highest-scoring all-star game of all time.

In 2005, the city and Historic Crew Stadium was the site of a historic all-star game where, for the first time ever, the league's best players were on a single all-star team and played a team from Europe. The MLS all-stars beat English Premier League club Fulham 4-1.

The 2024 edition could also feature the league's best players against a European club, a format MLS kept from 2005 to 2019 and have back this year as the MLS all-stars will face Arsenal in Washington D.C. Other European teams MLS has played in the game include Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Juventus.

In 2021 and 2022, the MLS all-stars played an all-star team of players from the Mexican first-division league, Liga MX. The 2024 format has yet to be announced.

Next year's game at Lower.com Field could be the first to feature Lionel Messi, who is set to join Inter Miami in July on a multi-year contract. The city last hosted a major all-star game in 2015 when Nationwide Arena welcomed the best of the NHL.