MEXICO CITY -- Sixteen years ago, when Culiacán last hosted the Caribbean Series, the coastal Mexican city was a very different venue from what fans, players and organizers will experience in 2017.

Back then, the weeklong tournament was held at the Estadio General Ángel Flores, a 16,000-seat venue that was more than 50 years old at the time of the tournament and that had undergone two remodeling jobs in seven years just to keep it operational. This time around, the event will be played at the new Estadio Tomateros, a state-of-the-art venue boasting a baseball museum, more than 160 VIP suites, a full-service restaurant and Latin America's biggest HD video monitor.

In October 2015, Mexican officials invited MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on a tour of the stadium. Manfred was reportedly so wowed that he pledged the league would play games in the near future within the venue. “I could not be more impressed with the quality of the facility [in Culiacan],” Manfred said then.

“I'm excited to bring exhibition games here just absolutely as soon as we can possibly work out the business arrangements,” Manfred said.

Long considered a major hub for baseball in the country, the city has had a team, the Tomateros -- roughly translated as the Tomato Growers -- in Mexico's top winter league, the Liga del Pacifico, since 1945. It is also the birthplace of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias, named by many as the country's most exciting pitching prospect since Fernando Valenzuela. And because of Manfred's stopover, the attention received from baseball's top brass validated its status as one of Latin America's top baseball towns. The visit -- as well as the positive feedback -- reinforced views that Culiacán could use the sport to rehabilitate its image and sustain a new type of international tourism for the city.

The city isn’t without its flip side. Culiacan's association with the country's long-standing drug war, in the past, has been a reality. Organizers and government officials have already pledged to keep fans in a designated area close to the city's downtown. Sealed off to better concentrate the festivities surrounding the event, the commitment to host has even caused city officials to suspend school activities in the affected zone.

However, experts agree that a successful -- and safe -- tournament will go a long way. The series is from Feb. 1-7.

"Other countries do a great job of hosting as well, but the event isn't as international as it would be in Mexico. In other countries, the stadium will be packed for the home team, but the rest of the games often aren't." Pedro Gutierrez, a former press officer in Mexico's Liga del Pacifico and current play-by-play voice for the Aguilas de Mexicali

“... I know that organizers and the local government will provide fans with the best experience possible,” says Pedro Gutierrez, a former press officer in Mexico's Liga del Pacifico and current play-by-play voice for the Aguilas de Mexicali, Mexico's representative at this year's tournament. In 2013, Gutierrez helped put the tournament together in Hermosillo, another Mexican town widely known for its passion for baseball.

“We worked hand in hand with authorities, and the whole thing was a big success," he said.

There are already major signs that the upcoming tournament will be a triumph.

“Tickets for all of our games are already sold out, and the city's hotels, I've been told, are at full capacity,” says Omar Canizales, the Liga del Pacífico president. “Mexico has shown to be a great organizer for these tournaments because we're a big country that can show many different sides. Culiacán can give us one of the best Caribbean Series in history,” he adds.

Noting that the Caribbean Series generated an economic benefit for past hosts in Mexico, Canizales is hoping Culiacán reaps the same benefits as its predecessors, and is hoping the city can entertain the competition again, sooner rather than later.

The construction of several new baseball-only stadiums for the league's top teams has prompted Canizales to lobby the organizers of the Caribbean Series for more hosting opportunities in the future. It has also provoked a domino effect of sorts, as the country's summer circuit, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, has been motivated to develop stadium deals for its top franchises as well.

For the Caribbean World Series, Mexico currently receives one assured hosting bid every four years, as the competition rotates between the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The amended rules would allow fans in cities like Culiacán have the competition back more often than usual.

“Other countries do a great job of hosting as well, but the event isn't as international as it would be in Mexico,” explains Gutierrez. “In other countries, the stadium will be packed for the home team, but the rest of the games often aren't."

Canizales concurs: “It's more of an international event when [Mexico] hosts the tournament.”

If all goes well, the 2017 Caribbean Series will not only heighten the city's status as a viable spot for baseball within the Latin American community, but with MLB as well. As Manfred himself remarked while standing on the field in Culiacán, a franchise based in Mexico is a possibility. “The prospects of having a Major League team here in Mexico are realistic. The difficult issue is the time frame,” he said.

Though other cities like Monterrey or even Mexico City are probably ahead of Culiacan at this point, the Caribbean Series is a good start. Next, the city would likely have to hold MLB to its promise of bringing exhibition or even regular season games to the stadium, a situation that would likely force the Estadio Tomateros ownership group to expand attendance capacity.

Those hurdles, while not insignificant, can possibly be cleared. Even if they weren't, the state of baseball in the city is about as healthy as ever, a fact noted by Canizales.

“We know our fans in Culiacán are great. They're so passionate about the game.”