drastically after they moved to Chiba in 1992. Miyagi Stadium stopped hosting Lotte games altogether after 2004. In addition to collaborating with Lotte, Tohoku Baseball Company also worked with the other Pacific League teams as well as some Central League teams to host countryside games at the stadium. An All-Star game was held in Miyagi Stadium for the first time when it hosted the third game in the 1992 All-Star Series. It was the first time the event was held in a countryside stadium. In addition to holding some NPB events, the stadium also continued to host local amateur baseball games. Dedicated Rakuten home During the 2004 NPB realignment, the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged with the Orix BlueWave, leaving the PL with five teams instead of six for the 2005 season In the wake of the loss, two Internet service companies, Rakuten and Livedoor, applied to start new teams, however NPB representatives maintained that the 2006 season would be the earliest a new team could enter the league. The players wanted any new teams ready for the next season and when no agreement was reached the players staged a two-day strike on September 18–19. With the strike set to continue the following weekend, team representatives eased the rules of entry for new teams into the professional leagues and that one would be allowed to join the following season. Both Rakuten and Livedoor's team plans included basing the team out of Miyagi Stadium in Sendai. On November 2, NPB selected Rakuten over Livedoor to create a new Pacific League team to be based in Sendai. After being chosen, Miyagi Prefecture and Rakuten agreed on lease agreement that would allow the team to play in the prefecture's stadium for a modest ¥50 million per year. Furthermore, the team was allowed to manage the facility, giving them access to all revenue collected from the sale of all advertising, goods, and concessions within Miyagi Stadium. In exchange, Rakuten agreed to pay for the costs of renovating the stadium. After moving to Sendai, Rakuten renovated Miyagi Stadium in several phases, drastically changing and modernizing the ballpark. In 2007, for the first time in fifteen years and since becoming the permanent home of an NPB team, a game in the All-Star Series was played at the stadium. Two seasons later, it hosted its first Climax Series when the Eagles qualified for the 2009 postseason for the