Historic Majestic Park in Hot Springs will play host to the 2025 Babe Ruth World Series, the city announced this week.
The event will bring 18 youth baseball teams comprised of 14-year-olds from across the United States — including international teams — to the Spa City. A Hot Springs host team is guaranteed to compete. The competition will run Aug. 7-16, 2025. The event is the Babe Ruth equivalent of the Little League World Series held each year in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The event will bring hundreds of players to Hot Springs as well as family members and fans from across the globe.
“Our city will host 18 teams from around the United States and some international teams,” Majestic Park General Manager Derek Phillips said. “These young athletes and their support personnel — and lots of their fans — will be in Hot Springs for 10 days of top-level baseball competition. A Hot Springs host team will be included in the Series, made up of players from our Babe Ruth League teams, so the local fans will have a home team to root for.”
Phillips said the spotlight will be on Hot Springs and its top-level baseball facilities. Considered the birthplace of Major League Baseball’s spring training, Hot Springs is considered an important part of the history of baseball in America. The city was the spring training home of hall-of-fame players such as Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and even Jackie Robinson.
“Having the young athletes play at Majestic Park will be especially meaningful for them since this is the very spot where Babe Ruth trained and played in the early years of the 20th century,” Phillips said. “They’ll enjoy playing on Babe Ruth Field and our larger-than-life bronze statue of The Babe, one of only three like it in the world.”
Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said the newly renovated Majestic Park is responsible for bringing a steady flow of visitors to the city.
“Their hard work and dedication to maintaining the excellent facilities at Majestic Park pay off all the time in bringing sports opportunities to Hot Springs residents,” he said. “It’s been nine years since an Arkansas city hosted a Babe Ruth League World Series, and we hope this will be the first of many such events for Hot Springs.”
Arkansas cities have been the host for Babe Ruth League World Series play in the past. The 16-year-old series was played in Springdale, Russellville, Monticello and Bentonville in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The 13-to-15-year-old series was played in Pine Bluff, Van Buren and Monticello in the ‘70s and in 2012, and the 14-year-old series was hosted by Pine Bluff in 2015. Springdale hosted the 13-year-old series in 1993.
“Having hundreds of these young athletes and their support staffs — and their fans — in town will be an economic boost also,” Phillips said. “I’ve been told from other cities where the World Series is held that almost all the teams have lots of fans who travel to the site of the series. These folks will really enjoy our great dining and other attractions while they’re here.”
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