By Donald Laible
Bristol Motor Speedway, a premier NASCAR venue in the shadows of the Smoky Mountains, is ready to play ball on Saturday.
For the first time in MLB history, a regular-season game will be played in Tennessee. Two National League clubs—the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves—will meet on a makeshift field constructed on the racetrack’s infield. MLB began the transformation of the Speedway into a baseball field in late June.
In operation since 1961, and known by NASCAR standards as a “short track”—less than one mile in length—the Bristol Motor Speedway has a seating capacity for 146,000 fans.
MLB officials are confident that Saturday’s game in Bristol will set a new attendance record for a regular-season game. More than 85,000 tickets have already been sold.
The current MLB attendance record was set on Sept. 12, 1954, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, when the host Indians swept a Sunday doubleheader with the New York Yankees. Both teams were chasing the American League pennant. The Ohio-based Indians, with the two-game dominance of the Yankees, extended their first-place lead by six and a half games. That Sunday, 86,563 fans filled the Indians’ ballpark. And Cleveland went on to win the World Series over the New York Giants in October.
Saturday’s game, with the first pitch thrown at 7:15 a.m., will be broadcast live on FOX and follows in a line of games that have been presented in unique neutral sites.
In 2016, for the first time, MLB offered a regular-season game at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins were the first teams to play on an active U.S. military base. More recently, in 2021 and 2022, MLB took its game to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, the site of the 1988 hit movie “Field of Dreams.”
Another memorable MLB game that had record attendance came in 1958 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was the first season in which both National League teams relocated from New York City to the West Coast. The Coliseum, which served as the Dodgers’ temporary home until their own stadium opened in 1962, attracted 78,672 for that season’s opening day.
Capacity for Saturday’s game could potentially exceed 100,000. Fans from all 50 United States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have purchased tickets for the Speedway Classic. Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch will be Hall of Famers from both teams—former Reds’ slugging catcher Johnny Bench and 19-season Braves’ third baseman Chipper Jones.
MLB isn’t the only major sport in North America to cross-promote its game with “out of the ordinary” venues.
During the 2011 NCAA college basketball season, North Carolina and Michigan State played in the Carrier Classic. The teams played before 8,000-plus fans, including President Barack Obama, on the USS Carl Vinson, with a basketball court laid across the flight deck. This was the first game scheduled on an active aircraft carrier.
The NBA, as part of its Global Games Series, has been presenting its product outside of North America as far back as 1990. That year, the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns played two games in Tokyo, Japan. This past January, the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers played two games at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. The NBA Global Games Series has also taken place in Abu Dhabi and Melbourne, Australia, with two preseason games scheduled this October at the Venetian Arena in Macau, China.
Professional sports leagues are always looking for unique ways to expand their markets.
Besides a race track and a corn field, MLB games have been played in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Korea.
Uniforms for Saturday’s Speedway Classic have been designed with a NASCAR flair. Players’ numbers will resemble those seen on NASCAR race cars.
Home plate will be in the middle of the track’s infield, a place that on racing days is cluttered with trucks that transport the cars. The Braves and Reds will be playing on a synthetic surface, AstroTurf.
History will be made in Bristol on Saturday. The sponsorships attracted to the Speedway Classic are a demonstration of the health of the game in 2026. Budweiser and Buildsubmarines.com are the major contributors to presenting Saturday’s game.
Reds’ catcher Tyler Stephenson’s gear is designed with a “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” theme. Designed centered on the 2006 film starring Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver will be prominently displayed on Stephenson’s cleats, helmet, and chest protector.
Taking MLB’s product to unique venues and gaining new audiences in the process is strengthening baseball’s appeal.
