Toronto, Mexico City, San Juan and Tokyo will all host first round games for the 2009 Classic, with the later rounds being held at cities to be determined at a later time.

Gene Orza, general counsel for the players’ association, announced the sites, as well as the participating countries and the groups that they will be split into:

- China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan will play in Group A in Tokyo from March 5-9

- Australia, Cuba, Mexico and South Africa will play in Group B in Mexico City from March 8-12

- Canada, Italy, the United States and Venezuela will play in Group C in Toronto from March 8-12

- Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico will play in Group D in San Juan from March 7-11

A major change in the qualifying rounds will also be instituted: going forward, teams will be playing in a double elimination pool instead of the round robin that previously had difficult tie breakers that upset some teams.

The Dominican Baseball Federation threatened to not participate in the Tournament if they were not granted the right to host a round during the event, however, it appears they will play despite not being awarded the opportunity.

The elimination round locations have not been determined as of yet, however, it appears that Los Angeles, CA will be the likely host for the semi-finals and finals, which San Diego, CA hosted during the 2006 event.