The annual Little League World Series (LLWS) kicks off each year as the MLB playoff race heats up, and 2025 is no exception. Twenty of the top junior teams from all across the globe meet in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on a national broadcast. It's an electrifying 12-day tournament that's loaded with extracurricular activities, and the best part is it's free to attend, albeit with a catch.
Entry to the LLWS' two venues, Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium, is supposedly free, at least according to the organization's official website. However, they may have stretched the truth after looking more closely at the details. It's one of the many reminders that nothing is given to you in this world.
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Not all Little League World Series are free, let alone for the public
You can enjoy a good portion of the LLWS at no cost until championship weekend ... you know, the games everyone wants to see most. Once it's down to the final four clubs, fans without a ticket are relegated to watching from the renowned hill overlooking Lamade Stadium. But even before then, certain areas in the two ballparks require authorization or aren't offered to the public.
Admission to Lamade and Volunteer Stadiums from Aug. 13 to Aug. 16 and Aug. 18 to Aug. 21 is available on a first-come, first-served basis. No vouchers necessary, excluding Section 1, which you need a stadium pass to access. Seating behind the dugouts is designated strictly for family and friends, who also need a permit to get in.
Zero dollars can get you a lot further at the LLWS than most places, but not the whole enchilada. Parents, friends and baseball enthusiasts alike can be part of the festivities without charge, to a certain degree. Alas, many of the most exciting elements of the double-elimination brackets are closed off to the average individual.
A "limited number of tickets" for Games 17 and 19 in Lamade Stadium will be released at "will call" on Sunday, August 17. All folks can do is wait in line once the box office opens at 7 a.m. ET and hope there will be enough stubs for them. Moreover, you're limited to one ticket per person, can only sit in sections 2, 3, 4 or 5 at Lamade Stadium and no exchanges are allowed. What is this, the 1970s (pre-internet)?