The Major League Baseball All-Star Week is set to kick off in Denver on Friday, beginning a series of events leading up to the 91st annual All-Star Game.

All-Star Week will take place through Tuesday, ending with the All-Star Game to be played at Coors Field at 5:30 p.m. It will be the second time the game will be held at Coors Field, with the other time coming in 1998.

“This is a great opportunity for us to showcase that downtown is back,” said Mayor Michael Hancock. “After a long, tough year-and-a-half, our residents and our local businesses recognize that this is a phenomenal way to celebrate this special moment in our lives.”

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The festivities will start with the opening of Play Ball Park, a free indoor and outdoor event at the Colorado Convention Center, featuring meet-and-greets with players, autographs, giveaways and training drills. The park will be open daily Friday through Tuesday.

On Saturday at 9 a.m., there will be an MLB All-Star 5K race at Denver’s Civic Center Park. The race is open to all ages and will include appearances by MLB mascots, live music and free refreshments.

All-Star Sunday will have a double-header at Coors Field with the Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game. The Futures Game features the nation’s top Minor League prospects, while the Celebrity Softball Game will include Hollywood stars playing alongside MLB legends.

Also on Sunday is the first-ever MLB draft to be held during All-Star Week. The draft will be broadcasted from the Colorado Convention Center beginning at 5 p.m.

Finally, the eve of the All-Star Game will have the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day at 3 p.m. and T-Mobile Home Run Derby at 6 p.m., both at Coors Field.

“We continue to stress that baseball is available to all fans and players of all ages,” said Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB director of events and scheduling. “This All-Star Week will again continue to raise the level of engagement for our sport.”

Yolkut said this year’s All-Star Week has just as many events as previous years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and shortened planning period due to the last-minute location switch to Denver.

The game was originally meant to take place in Atlanta but was taken away from the state in April after Georgia passed new laws critics say restrict voting access. This gave Denver only 13 weeks to prepare for an event that is usually planned two years out.

Regardless of the tight deadline, city officials said they were happy to host the All-Star Game. Colorado Rockies President Greg Feasel said the city has been pushing for the game to return to Denver since 2015.

In addition, officials hope the expected boom in tourism from the All-Star Game will help revive Denver’s economy after suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is about the restaurants and small businesses,” said Richard Scharf, CEO of VISIT Denver. “We sat empty for nearly 16 months, and a lot of jobs were lost. This is really a coming out party. We’re bringing back employees and there’s a real hope that we can keep them employed from this time on.”

Scharf said many local businesses in the hospitality industry have increased hiring to prepare for more customers during All-Star Week and over 4,000 residents have signed up to help run the week’s events.

As part of the 2021 All-Star Legacy Initiative, MLB has also invested nearly $2 million in Denver organizations, Hancock said. The organizations, selected by the Rockies and MLB, include those that support children, families, military families and communities of color.

In preparation for the visitors, the Regional Transportation District will also put extra light rails and buses out throughout the week.

Hancock said he expects the tourism boom to last long beyond All-Star Week, thanks to national media attention thrusting Denver into the spotlight. He said he anticipates a long-term tourism increase, as was seen after Denver hosted the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

“We can’t wait to see everyone here,” Hancock said. “Denver is open for business.”

More information about the MLB All-Star Week events is available at mlb.com.