Baseball at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2000 Summer Olympics was the third time an Olympic baseball tournament had been held as a full medal sport, and the ninth time it had been part of the Summer Olympic Games in any capacity. It was held in Sydney, Australia from 17 September through to the bronze and gold medal games on 27 September. Two venues were used for the Games: the Sydney Baseball Stadium and Blacktown Olympic Park. For the first time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available.
Venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics
For site selection, of Homebush Bay was selected for use though the area was not planned upon completion until 2010. Sydney's selection to host the 2000 Summer Olympics changed this. The States Sports Centre opened in 1984 and Bicentennial Park opened four years later. The Sydney International Aquatic Centre and Sydney International Athletic Centre were completed in 1994, but by 1995, it was determined by the Sydney Olympic Organizing Committee that venue construction needed to be accelerated. In 1995, Bob Carr was elected as New South Wales Premier with one of his first task was to develop a masterplan for venue construction. A plan was approved in February 1996 along with lessons learned from 1996 Summer Olympics led to modification of the plan in February 1997. Environmental consideration was taken during site selection and construction, including the planting of 16,000 trees around completed venues once construction was completed. Soil and water testing at Homebush Bay in the early 1990s determined that of domestic, commercial, and industrial waste was located on of the land, resulting in remediation. Other items involved at the venues were the removal of electrical transmission lines, the development of rail lines near the venues, the construction of a new ferry wharf, and construction of vehicular parking sites.