The Copa America de Beisbol, which was abruptly cancelled less than a week before it was scheduled to begin in Panama, is to be rescheduled and played sometime before May 2026.
Aracelis Leon, the president of the WBSC Americas, the regional governing body for baseball and softball in North and South America, told assembled media at a press conference in Llano Bonito, Panama, that the event will be rescheduled for early next year to avoid conflicting with the Caribbean Series and the World Baseball Classic, La Prensa, a Panamanian news outlet, reported.
“We want to maintain the same number of qualifying slots and the same format,” she explained at the news conference in Panama shortly after the event was cancelled. “This event is a priority for WBSC Americas. Panama will continue to host.”
Leon and the director of Pandeportes, Miguel Ordóñez, said that the event was cancelled after the promoters contracted by the WBSC Americas and Pandeportes to operate the tournament breached the contract, forcing the event to be postponed.
Two separate promoters, New York-based Loarte Consulting and Oaktree International Sports & Entertainment Ventures, were known to be involved in the 2025 Copa America. Messages sent to Loarte Consulting via the professional social media network LinkedIn seeking comment have yet to be returned, as have emails sent to Oaktree requesting comment.
According to Ordóñez, Panama had done its part and was ready for the event.
“We were ready to receive the teams, with the stadiums ready, access planned, and security guaranteed,” he said to La Prensa Panama, noting that more than $500,000 had been spent on preparations for the tournament, with $280,000 going to pay for the participation of the Panama national team, and the rest for preparation and logistics.
“Of those funds, only between $30,000 and $40,000 were spent on getting the facilities ready,” Ordóñez said in Spanish at the press conference. “The most significant losses will be suffered by the companies already contracted for logistics, security, ticketing, and maintenance services. We deeply regret this situation. We know that many people were going to work during the Copa América, from hotel and transport workers to security personnel.”
According to Ordóñez, improvements had been made to Estadio Juan Demóstenes Arosemena in Panama City to prevent flooding, and traffic plans had been established for the area around Estadio Mariano Rivera in La Chorrera. Workers had been engaged to provide security, ticketing, stadium operational personnel, and cleaning.
“We understand their frustration, but we are confident that the rescheduling will allow us to fulfill that commitment,” Ordóñez said. “We are learning from this experience to establish stricter controls in future contracts.”
Photo: Estadio Mariano Rivera was scheduled to host Group B play and the super round and medal round games at the 2025 Copa America de Beisbol, which was postponed days before it was scheduled to start. (Courtesy of the WBSC)
