Photo © Les Cunliffe | Dreamstime.com
Gentlemen, start your … batting practice?
The Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee will look a lot different when the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds meet there for the inaugural MLB Speedway Classic on Aug. 2. The venue will be transformed to host the first American League or National League game ever played in the state.
It’s all proof that Major League Baseball is continuing to look outside the diamond in its quest to attract new fans.
“I think it’s a huge pillar in terms of our growth strategy,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in April, speaking at the Sports Business Journal World Congress of Sports in Nashville — located about 300 miles west of Bristol. “We believe we’re a little different than some other sports, that our live product puts our best foot forward. If you believe that, you have to take that live product to places where people may not have a chance to see it every day.”
According to MLB.com, the diamond “will be built across the track and infield of the legendary speedway, putting baseball inside one of the largest standalone sports venues in the country. It will be primarily situated between Turns 3 and 4 of the track. The dimensions will be 330 feet down the lines, 400 to center field, 375 to the right-field alley and 384 feet to the left-field alley.”
By some estimates, that job requires almost 18,000 tons of gravel to level off the infield and 340 tons of clay to serve as the base for the synthetic turf. Additional lighting also will be in place, as well as fencing, padding, foul poles and temporary structures for locker and weight rooms, trainers’ offices and batting cages. By late June, according to MLB officials, pit walls were gone, gas pumps were removed and “even part of a building had to be taken out.”
The speedway can hold 160,000 to 165,000 spectators. Many of those seats likely will be considered obstructed views for baseball, and it is expected that not all of them will be filled. “Because of the oval shape and massive infield at the facility, the league has sought to balance between having as many fans attend as possible while still ensuring proper views of the game,” according to FrontOfficeSports.com.
Still, some reports suggest that the crowd size could challenge the MLB record of 115,300 set during a 2008 exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers at L.A.’s Memorial Coliseum.
The Speedway Classic will be televised on FOX, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. (EST).
“Anytime we have a big event, it’s great for a local economy,” Kelly Bourgeois, Bristol’s city manager, told WCYB.com last year when the Speedway Classic was announced. “But when you bring in a first-of-its-kind like this, we just can’t wait to see what it does for our downtown and all of our businesses.”
Another Bristol — this one just over Tennessee’s northern border, in Virginia — also is expecting an economic windfall. “We have a lot of hotels, a lot of downtown businesses and just for the shopping experience and the visitors coming to town — it’s going to be a huge economic impact for Bristol, Virginia as well,” added Becky Nave, mayor of that Bristol.
“It’s great for Bristol, great for the Tri-Cities economy, having new people have eyes on our towns,” Andrew Carrier, owner of All-American Campground, which is located near the speedway, told the Kingsport Times News. “Maybe you want to move here, start businesses here. I think our area is really a hidden gem that’s getting out now.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee expects the Speedway Classic will generate an economic impact of more than $100 million for the region.
Visitors will have plenty of entertainment beyond the game itself. The Speedway Classic Fan Zone will be a 220,000 square-foot baseball fan festival filled with interactive games, live music, regional food, batting cages, pitching tunnels, photo opportunities, a 110-foot Ferris wheel and more. Country artist Jake Owen will headline the day’s performances and will later join Tim McGraw and Pitbull for a special pregame concert. Performances from other country artists such as Timothy Wayne, Reyna Roberts and Adam Doleac also are planned.
The MLB Speedway Classic is the second event to be awarded funding from Tennessee’s Special Event Fund. In 2022, Lee partnered with the Legislature to appropriate $25 million in the state budget for a fund intended to attract and retain high-profile events that deliver significant economic impact, create jobs and showcase the state to a global audience. The Special Event Fund is a competitive, incentive-based grant program tied to measurable performance outcomes.
Tennessee is home to four current Minor League teams: the Triple-A Nashville Sounds (Brewers) and Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals), and the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds) and Knoxville Smokies (Cubs).
Bristol Motor Speedway, known as “the world’s fastest half-mile” and the host of two NASCAR Cup Series events each year, hosted the most-attended college football game in history in 2016, bringing nearly 157,000 people to watch Tennessee and Virginia Tech in the “Battle at Bristol.”
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