How MLB ended up with Reds vs Braves at NASCAR's Bristol Motor Speedway
Paul Skrbina- Bristol Motor Speedway will host the MLB Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds on August 2nd.
- The speedway's large capacity and the region's strong baseball culture influenced the decision to host the game in Bristol.
- Country music star Tim McGraw will perform a pre-game concert.
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your heavy-duty machinery engines."
That's the latest command at Bristol Motor Speedway.
With its spring race in the books, the 0.533-mile oval track will turn its attention to Major League Baseball, which will play its first game in the state of Tennessee there on Aug. 2, when the Atlanta Braves face the Cincinnati Reds in the MLB Speedway Classic.
The transformation from 146.000-capacity race track to MLB stadium is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks and is the latest in a line of games at non-traditional sites. Last year, the league played a game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. MLB also has played games at Fort Bragg, North, Carolina.; Williamsport, Pennsylvania., home of Little League Baseball; Dyersville, Iowa, where the movie "Field of Dreams" was set; and Omaha, Nebraska.
"We see it as a continuation of an effort to take baseball where it's not played every day," Manfred said April 22 during World Congress of Sports conference at The Grand Hyatt. "Tennessee was a great choice for us. Great baseball culture here.
"Tennessee Volunteers, the national champions in college baseball. Vanderbilt also has a great program. We think there's a great alignment between the fanbase of NASCAR and our fanbase."
Why bring MLB to Bristol Motor Speedway?
The track plays host to two NASCAR Cup Series races each year. But MLB won't be the first sport other than auto racing to play a game there. "The Battle at Bristol," a college football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech, was played there in 2016.
Manfred said the first thought to cross his mind when Bristol was presented to him as an option was simple.
"Big crowd," he said, adding that around 55,000 tickets have been sold for the game already. "It's an opportunity to have a really large audience for a major league game. The setting, in a really legendary speedway, is going to be awesome for a baseball game."
Being in the middle of Braves and Reds country made those teams easy choices for the game.
Manfred said he has yet to catch a race at Bristol, but has gone there for a site visit. He added that the NASCAR overlay was important, too.
"Every single time our events people have produced an end product that was way better than anything I imagined when I first saw the site. I'm absolutely confident that Bristol is going to be exactly the same in that regard."
Tim McGraw will be there too
Baseball won't be the only reason for fans to go to Bristol on Aug. 2.
Country music star Tim McGraw, a three-time Grammy Award winner and son of former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw, will perform a concert before the game.
"Tim has great baseball roots, kind of a perfect fit of us in terms of doing something in addition to the game," Manfred said.
Jerry Caldwell, president of Bristol Motor Speedway, said the idea of Major League Baseball at the track "is becoming very real" as construction is about to begin.
Being that Bristol is considered "The birthplace of country music" doesn't hurt.
"Being able to tie all of these cultural things in baseball, NASCAR in the heart of America, if you will, then throwing music into the mix is just a perfect fit for everyone."
How do I get tickets the game, concert?
A ticket to the game also will get fans into the Tim McGraw concert, which is scheduled for one hour before first pitch.
Those who want to go for the concert and not the game can buy special tickets for that beginning April 23.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina. Follow his work here.