If you’re a baseball fan, then get ready to head to Petco Park in March 2017! The World Baseball Classic is returning to the Padres’ downtown home for the third time. After hosting the semifinals and finals in the inaugural event in 2006 and second round games in 2009, Petco Park will host second-round games from March 14-19 next year.

The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament that features professional players from the major leagues around the world including Major League Baseball.

The WBC’s first- and second-round format will be round-robin pool play, with each team playing the others in their pool once. The top two teams in each of the four first-round pools will advance to the second round.

The semifinals and finals will be at Dodger Stadium on March 20-22, 2017. It will be the second time the facility has hosted the concluding games.

The U.S. will be in Pool C at Marlins Park in Miami along with the defending champion Dominican Republic, Canada and Colombia.

Other host cities for early round games are Miami; Guadalajara, Mexico; Seoul, South Korea; and Tokyo, Japan.

For tickets, schedules and other information visit www.worldbaseballclassic.com.