This article was written by Matt Foley and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.* * * * *
A viral Washington Post graphic claims that “Trump officials are considering building a baseball stadium in Grand Teton National Park.”
That’s an admittedly shocking headline. It also misrepresents the real story.
The idea of playing a Major League Baseball game in a national park originated with MLB, not President Trump or the administration, according to both MLB and White House officials who spoke with Sport & State. And despite the Post’s framing, the White House says the proposal is not a presidential directive, is not being driven by the administration, and has not resulted in a single National Park Service permit.
That context appears in the Washington Post’s own reporting. The problem is that the millions of people who have now seen this graphic on social media would never know it.
Exclusive: MLB approached the Trump administration about hosting a game at a national park, officials said, and Grand Teton was scouted.
The Tetons are about “wildlife, opportunity for solitude, not for more amusement,” said the county commissioner. https://t.co/69m4qo8LJj pic.twitter.com/iellOVxHgR
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 27, 2026
The Post published a report Saturday under the headline, “Trump administration considers building baseball park in Grand Teton National Park.” The social media graphic amplifies the headline.
The actual sequence of events described by MLB and the White House begins with Major League Baseball.
“After the success of MLB’s previous special event games like Field of Dreams, Bristol [Motor Speedway], Rickwood [Field], and many others, we approached the administration to assess the viability of playing a game in a national park as one of many other ideas we are exploring,” an MLB official told Sport & State.
The Post story itself confirms this chain of events. That’s a much different starting point than “Trump wants to build a stadium” inside Grand Teton.
Inaccurate Promotion of Story
The Washington Post’s decision to inaccurately promote this story to millions of people — the vast majority of whom will never read the actual reporting — is a problematic editorial choice designed to feed off political divisiveness.
Exclusive: MLB approached the Trump administration about hosting a game at a national park, officials said, and Grand Teton was scouted.
The Tetons are about “wildlife, opportunity for solitude, not for more amusement,” said the county commissioner. https://t.co/69m4qo8LJj pic.twitter.com/iellOVxHgR
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 27, 2026
MLB declined to comment when Sport & State asked whether it considered the Post’s social media characterization accurate. A Washington Post spokesperson stood by the reporting, but did not respond when pressed on whether the headline and social graphic accurately represents that reporting.
On WaPo’s Instagram post, which has over 37,000 likes, a community note was added to the post promoting the story, clarifying that the graphic may not represent the facts.
Of course, that didn’t stop thousands of commenters like ... checks notes … model and actress Christie Brinkley from yelling at the clouds.
The White House called the Post’s framing “quite misleading” and lacking important context.
“The MLB came to the Administration asking if it was possible to host a game at a national park, similar to the Field of Dreams game,” a White House source told Sport & State.
“This is not a Presidential directive, nor is it being directed by the White House. It’s also not being driven by the Department of Interior. Therefore, this is not a White House or Administration priority.”
The White House added that MLB is free to explore potential locations, but “no decisions have been made by the MLB, and no permits have been granted by NPS.”
Those denials are similar to the White House statements in WaPo’s own report.
There is, however, a factual dispute over what happened at Grand Teton.
The Post cited two anonymous sources who said NPS Deputy Director Frank Lands visited the park and looked at three possible locations for a baseball field. The White House disputed that characterization, telling the Post that Lands was already visiting several national parks and “has not been actively scouting sites.”
According to the White House, MLB independently scheduled its Grand Teton visit for the same time. “It is incorrect to say that Frank is actively scouting sites,” the White House told the Post. “It is also incorrect to say that the administration is sending officials to scout sites.”
MLB officials investigating special-event locations and inquiring about whether such an event could happen is decidedly different than a White House administration actively seeking to build a baseball stadium inside one of the country’s prized jewels.
The Bottom Line
None of this means that a Grand Teton baseball game is impossible. MLB clearly has interest, and a source in the Post story says that at least one of the Grand Teton sites is “disturbed land that is not pristine park property,” such as a storage yard. MLB continues to experiment with spectacle-driven games outside traditional ballparks, and the earliest another specialty game could occur is 2028, according to the Post.
Nor does it resolve legitimate questions about whether a sporting event belongs inside a national park. But that’s a totally different debate.
For now, the real story looks much narrower than what’s trending on social media: Major League Baseball wants to explore playing a game in a national park. It approached the federal government about whether that could happen. Grand Teton has emerged as a possible location. No game has been approved, no permit has been issued, and the White House says the project is neither a presidential directive nor an administration priority.
That story may not draw as many new subscribers, but it’s the version supported by both sides, and by WaPo’s actual reporting.
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