For One Day Only, Mlb Is Turning A Nascar Track Into A Record-breaking Stadium

More fans than person ever watched a Major League Baseball crippled are group to show up Saturday to a section that didn’t beryllium 32 days ago, successful a authorities that has ne'er antecedently hosted an MLB game.

The shot itself will beryllium nan only point acquainted astir Saturday’s matchup astatine Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway betwixt nan Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds — and that is connected purpose.

MLB has staged games successful unconventional places for nan past decade. Yet while a 2016 crippled astatine North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, games successful 2021 and 2022 astatine nan aforesaid Iowa cornfield made celebrated by nan movie “Field of Dreams” and past year’s Negro Leagues tribute astatine Rickwood Field successful Birmingham, Alabama, were held successful friendly settings, MLB’s sojourn to a venue amended known for motorsports was designed arsenic a spectacle of sheer size.

More than 85,000 tickets person been sold for a matchup dubbed nan “Speedway Classic,” a number that will break nan league’s attendance grounds of 84,587 group successful 1954 erstwhile nan New York Yankees visited Cleveland.

“This 1 really ranks up location large conscionable because of nan enormity of what we’re building,” Murray Cook, nan president of Brightview Sports, who consults MLB connected fields and ballparks, told "TODAY."

That building task began June 4, erstwhile nan speedway started demolishing parts of its infield, including half of a building, successful bid to situate a shot section betwixt nan half-mile track’s 3rd and 4th turns. Once that shape ended, it near a model of astir 32 days to build nan section and everything surrounding it.

More than 18,000 tons of gravel were brought successful to create a level playing field, topped by a shock-absorbing pad that rests underneath nan 124,000 quadrate feet of artificial turf playing surface. The turf was infilled pinch soil to supply a amended bounce for a batted ball. More than 300 tons of clay were required to build nan basepaths and mounds. Bristol Motor Speedway’s existing lighting did not meet MLB standards for broadcasts, which required nan impermanent installation of 415 other lighting fixtures, arsenic well.

“Batting tunnels, dugouts, backstop net, batter’s eye, bullpens, foul poles; nary of this is here, right?” Cook said. “So each that has to beryllium brought in.”

Field building astatine Bristol Motor Speedway anterior to nan MLB Speedway Classic unfastened location connected June 24 successful Bristol, Tenn.Andrew Ferguson / MLB Photos via Getty Images

Saturday’s crippled will people nan first MLB crippled successful Tennessee for nan aforesaid logic past season’s crippled successful Birmingham was its first successful Alabama, and why MLB has staged different games successful caller years successful Korea and Olympic Stadium successful London. Planting unrecorded games successful markets that different would not person big-league shot is “a immense pillar successful position of our maturation strategy,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in April erstwhile visiting Nashville.

“It’s nan commissioner’s agency scheme to turn nan crippled astir nan world and to return it to places where, you know, you don’t person a awesome convention team,” Cook said.

When MLB visited London for bid successful 2023 and 2024, wherever a section was placed atop nan location transportation of West Ham of nan Premier League, attendance topped retired conscionable awkward of 60,000. Bristol provided a overmuch bigger logistical challenge.

Bristol Motor Speedway is nan country’s second-largest venue successful nan U.S. arsenic judged by imperishable seating, said Jerry Caldwell, nan Bristol Motor Speedway president, and nan venue has utilized that capacity earlier to big record-smashing attendance figures. A 2016 assemblage shot crippled betwixt Tennessee and Virginia Tech group nan NCAA’s single-game record.

Pre-game ceremonies for nan Battle astatine Bristol crippled successful 2016.Speedway Motorsports

MLB’s situation progressive creating a shot venue wrong a NASCAR installation that is astir doubly nan size of a shot field. The building progressive limitations. Though a four-sided videoboard called nan “Colossus” hangs 180 feet complete nan speedway’s infield, strung up via cables that agelong to nan stadium’s corners, nan ballpark creation sought to support it retired of play arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. During nan game, it will beryllium successful foul territory, and netting was installed to support foul balls from damaging nan screen.

“I emotion seeing this shot section emergence up retired of nan mediate of nan racetrack and benignant of beryllium born, almost,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell said he hopes nan memories of nan crippled endure. But nan venue’s translator will beryllium brief. Cook expects nan tear-down pursuing nan crippled to past astir 15 days. Once removed, nan full section will beryllium donated to Eastern Tennessee State University.

“We want it to beryllium thing that they’ll ever remember, they’ll talk about, person fond memories of creating awesome memories pinch their family, and I cognize that’s what will happen,” Caldwell said. “And past we’ll region each this, and six weeks later, we’ll do nan aforesaid point for nan playoffs successful NASCAR.”