For the second straight year, a plan to bring LIDOM games to a Major League ballpark in New York City has fallen apart.
The Serie del Cibao, which was to pit the Aguilas Cibaenas against the Gigantes del Cibao at Citi Field from Nov. 7-9 has been cancelled due to low ticket sales and the necessity of rescheduling games around the league after the threat of Hurricane Melissa washed out a week’s worth of action.
The cancellation was first reported by Juan Arturo Recio of ESPN Dominican Republic on Thursday, with Dominican newspaper Diario Libre confirming the cancellation with sources from both the Aguilas’ and Gigantes’ organizationsin an article published on Thursday, and Latin Events, the promoter organizing the three-game set at Citi Field, officially announced the cancellation Friday afternoon.
“As you know, everything related to that series is in charge of a LIDOM committee that will be meeting shortly to analyze the status of the Serie del Cibao,” the president of LIDOM, Dr. Vitelio Mejía, told Diario Libre on Thursday.
A search by World Baseball Network on Friday morning of available tickets for all three games on the New York Mets’ website revealed that four tickets together for any of the three games are available in the vast majority of Citi Field’s sections.
In a statement, Latin Events said that circumstances beyond their control, including the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on Dominican and Latino communities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, were the reason for the cancellation. The promoters said that immigration actions have created fear and anxiety, keeping people from going to places where raids could occur, and directly affecting the ticket sales for the series.
Latin Events also noted that the Nov. 15 LIDOM/LBPRC All-Star Game, which will also be played at Citi Field, likely cut into potential attendance.
“The reasons cited by Latin Events for canceling the series cannot be considered unforeseen circumstances, as they were known to the company before the contract was signed and were duly considered at the time,” LIDOM said in a statement issued to the media on Saturday morning.
The “Águilas Cibaeñas and Gigantes del Cibao made a significant financial investment in marketing, ticketing, and international broadcasting rights, all with the aim of guaranteeing Dominican fans in the United States, especially in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, a highly anticipated event,” the statement continued. “This same objective led us to make certain contractual concessions at the time to ensure the event’s success. As repeatedly communicated to the representatives of Latin Events, LIDOM and the participating teams have been, and continue to be, prepared to fulfill their commitments to the Cibao Cup Series.”
Following the 2023 Titanes del Caribe event that brought the Aguilas Cibaenas and Tigres del Licey to Citi Field for three exhibition games in November, Latin Events planned to bring two games to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx as well as another to Citi Field in November 2024. The games at Yankee Stadium were cancelled, ostensibly due to the cost of leasing the venue, and a single exhibition game was played at New York’s Citi Field drawing 30,302 fans on Sunday, Nov. 10.
The early portion of the LIDOM regular season saw 18 games cancelled between Oct. 21-27 as Hurricane Melissa strengthened in the southern Caribbean and threatened Jamaica, Cuba, and Hispanola, the island on which the Dominican Republic and Haiti sit. The storm strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane and struck Jamaica and eastern Cuba before turning northeast towards the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas.
The games cancelled in advance of Hurricane Melissa are expected to be rescheduled, as are the three games that were scheduled to be played at Citi Field in New York.
Photo: A general view outside Citi Field on June 25, 2016 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
