The Major League Baseball schedule for a late-September series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs underwent a relocation on September 25, 2026, when league officials moved a weekend matchup out of Fenway Park and away from an impending severe storm.
Facing forecasts of heavy rainfall, strong wind, and potential flooding in the Boston area tied to an approaching nor’easter, MLB and the participating clubs shifted the September 26 fixture to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The schedule disruption erased the final weekend games from the ballpark’s calendar.
The logistical overhaul began days earlier. On September 23, league officials pulled forward an originally scheduled Sunday, September 27 game to Friday, September 25, converting it into part of a split doubleheader at Fenway Park. The first game of that Friday slate also saw its start time brought forward.
By September 25, weather projections forced the next alteration. MLB relocated the Saturday encounter entirely. The game was rescheduled for Sunday, September 27, at 3:05 p.m. local time inside Tropicana Field.
Impact on Fenway Park Ticketing and Attendance
The sequence of changes affected ticket holders for the September 26 date. While MLB confirmed that admission tickets for the initially scheduled Friday games remained valid for the revised times in Boston, that policy did not apply to the relocated fixture in Florida. Because the contest moved completely outside of Boston, the Boston venue played host to no further games in the Cubs series following the Friday doubleheader.
For travelers planning an autumn visit to Boston’s home venue—which first opened its gates on April 20, 1912, when the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 7:6 in 11 innings—the alterations rendered architectural features like the 37-foot-tall Green Monster irrelevant for that weekend series. The stadium’s irregular dimensions, measuring 310 feet in the left field, 390 feet in the center field, and 302 feet in the right field, sat empty for the remainder of the scheduled weekend.
Weather-Driven Relocations in Modern Baseball
Moving a series to Florida due to a New England nor’easter occurred in this instance. Tropicana Field offered a weather-proof alternative.
The series concluded in St. Petersburg on September 27, closing out a disrupted week that altered the travel and game-day itineraries for fans on both sides of the matchup.
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