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Bon Jovi to play free concert in N.Y.

Ticket distribution will begin Wednesday

By PHIL GALLO

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Bon Jovi will deliver a free concert in New York on July 12, three days before baseball’s All-Star Game is played at Yankee Stadium.

Ticket distribution will begin Wednesday at baseball parks and events throughout New York City. Tickets also will be available in Manhattan at DHL All-Star FanFest, beginning July 11at the Jacob K. Javits Center.

Both of New York’s Major League baseball stadiums, Yankee and Shea, will be razed at the end of this season because new parks open in 2009.

Bon Jovi performance, which will not be held if it is raining, will be the second tied to a New York sporting event: The band performed in Times Square in 2002 to kick off the NFL season.

In addition to the game, a red carpet parade will be held July 15 on Sixth Avenue from 40th Street to 58th Street. It will feature both All-Star teams and nearly 50 Hall of Famers, including Yogi Berra, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.