PHILADELPHIA — Wildfire smoke billowing down from Canada and northern Minnesota created hazardous air quality conditions across a wide stretch of the United States Thursday, forcing changes to several professional sporting events including an MLB game in Philadelphia and a Major League Soccer match in Chicago.
The thick, foul-smelling smoke cast a dark haze over skies stretching from the Great Lakes region to portions of the East Coast, cutting down visibility and triggering warnings that outdoor air had become dangerous to breathe for everyone, regardless of health status.
Authorities in numerous cities called on residents to remain indoors or wear masks if venturing outside, as air quality readings climbed into the unhealthy and hazardous ranges. The National Weather Service attributed the ground-level smoke buildup to a persistent high pressure system holding the smoke down near the surface.
In Philadelphia, where hazy and smoky skies settled over the region, the only MLB game on the schedule coming out of the All-Star break — a matchup between the New York Mets and the Phillies — had its start time pushed up an hour to 6:10 p.m. EDT, moved from the originally scheduled 7:10 p.m.
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper spoke about the unusual conditions while being broadcast on ESPN during the game. “It’s definitely different,” Harper said. “Not the greatest idea, I guess, to come out here and play in this type of weather, but we’re doing it.”
The Mets went on to win the game 4-1. Afterward, Mets interim manager Andy Green was asked whether the smoky conditions had any real impact on play. “I don’t think they really did,” Green said. “I think it felt like they could have at any moment, especially as visibility got tougher. But, guys managed to see baseballs that I couldn’t when they went up in the air as popups. So, good thing we’ve got good athletes on the field that can see things.”
Phillies manager Don Mattingly noted that tracking fly balls became more of a challenge as the game wore on. “It didn’t seem to be a huge problem,” Mattingly said. “The vision, later on, was a little bit like foggy conditions more than the air quality. As far as the guys were concerned (visibility) seemed to be the problem.”
This marks the second time Philadelphia has seen a baseball game disrupted by wildfire smoke. Back in June 2023, a game between Detroit and Philadelphia was called off entirely because of poor air quality tied to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
In Chicago, the MLS game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Fire at Soldier Field was postponed due to the poor air quality, along with a postgame concert that had been planned for the same evening. The contest, which had been expected to draw around 40,000 fans, has been rescheduled for October 6.
The Canadian Premier League also called off Thursday’s scheduled match between Forge FC and Pacific FC in Hamilton, Ontario, citing “worsening air quality issues.” The league noted on its website that conditions “deteriorated in the final hours leading up to kickoff.”
U.S. women’s national team member Trinity Rodman spoke out about the difficult conditions she experienced during Wednesday night’s NWSL game between the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC at Citi Field in New York. Rodman expressed frustration with mandatory hydration breaks every 15 minutes as temperatures climbed into the 90s.
“Air quality was rough,” Rodman told The Athletic. “Not to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like, ‘another break, another break, another break.’”
More than 42,000 fans attended that contest — a rematch of last season’s NWSL championship teams — setting a record for a women’s sporting event in New York City.
Rodman was direct about her feelings on whether the game should have been played at all. “If we have to have a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn’t be playing the game, and that’s my opinion,” she said. “But at the end of the day, there’s 40,000 people. It’s a whole event, so it’s really tough. It’s just a really hard situation for everyone to work around.”
