Betsy Buffington, Northern Rockies regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, recently expressed concern about reports suggesting that Major League Baseball is interested in constructing a baseball stadium in Grand Teton National Park. This follows the revelation that Frank Lands, Deputy Director of the National Park Service, visited the park in Wyoming to evaluate three possible sites for the stadium.
National parks typically encompass various infrastructure including lodges, roads, and visitor facilities. However, building a permanent Major League Baseball stadium on protected federal land could necessitate considerable alterations to the park’s environment. Newsweek reached out via email to the Interior Department, MLB, and NPCA for comments.
The NPCA released a strong statement on Sunday opposing the construction of a baseball park in Grand Teton. Tiernan Sittenfeld, president and CEO of NPCA, emphasized the importance of preserving the park’s heritage. Sittenfeld remarked, “A backpacking trip in Grand Teton as a teenager instilled a lifelong love of our national parks in me. Returning recently, I was delighted to witness the strong affection and vigorous defense of this iconic park by visitors and the local community.”
Buffington argued that allowing a portion of Grand Teton to be allocated for private interests would undermine bipartisan support and the legacy of national parks. She invoked the words of President George H. W. Bush, referring to national parks as “our common heritage borrowed from future generations which should be passed on as a precious inheritance.”
Despite the reports and conservationists’ concerns, the White House clarified that although MLB approached them about staging a game at a national park, the National Park Service has not issued a permit. “This is not a Presidential directive, nor is it being managed by the White House,” the statement explained. “It’s not a priority for the White House or the Administration.”
The proposed stadium in Grand Teton aligns with other significant changes observed in national parks during Donald Trump’s presidency. These included hikes in fees for international visitors, expanded hunting opportunities on selected federal lands, budget cuts, and review of historical exhibits and monuments. Trump proposed a fiscal 2026 budget featuring $2.1 billion for the National Park Service operations, markedly less than the previous fiscal 2025 proposal which allocated $3.6 billion.
In addition, a federal appeals court supported the administration’s stance allowing removal of exhibits, a decision critiqued for promoting censorship. Early 2026 saw the Interior Department remove or flag numerous items related to slavery, abolition, civil rights, labor, immigration, and women’s suffrage.
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