MLB is tapping into NASCAR to help grow baseball
On Saturday, MLB will play its first-ever game in Tennessee as part of the MLB Speedway Classic, where the Atlanta Braves will face off against the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It will mark the first time a professional baseball game has ever been played at a professional race car track, and MLB will incorporate NASCAR-themed elements throughout the event.
The event is MLB's latest effort to help grow the game and attract a younger, more diverse fan base.
"It represents an opportunity for us to really focus in on having as many fans as possible at an event and to create a natural tie-in with another sport that is very much geared towards the same things that we've been driving towards the last few years — around speed, and being fast and bold," Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB's senior vice president of global events, told CNBC.
Bristol Motor Speedway said the game is set to break the MLB's all-time regular season single-game attendance record with more than 85,000 tickets sold. The previous record of 84,587 was set in 1954. The MLB said the venue can hold about 90,000 fans in total.
MLB said younger fans like the opportunity to see the game in unique settings. Previously, the league has seen success with its Field of Dreams games in Iowa.
Yolkut said the league also thinks there's crossover between NASCAR and baseball fan bases.
Saturday's game is four years in the making, with the first conversation dating back to 2021, Yolkut added.
Since then, MLB has conducted feasibility studies; partnered with architects, a professional turf company, their broadcaster Fox and the concessions provider Levy; and signed multiple sponsors, including title sponsor BuildSubmarines.com.
"There was even a building that had to be knocked down in order for us to actually put the baseball field on the track," Yolkut said.
Beyond the main event, MLB is also planning a full fan experience, including a fan zone and musical performances from Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen.
"Fans at home are also going to get some incredible visuals with the aerial shots of the stadium and the guys hitting home runs landing on a NASCAR track," Yolkut said. "It's going to be pretty special."
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Play ball, take 2: The MLB Speedway Classic resumes at Bristol after rain suspension
BRISTOL, Tenn. — A record crowd for a regular-season Major League Baseball game got to see all the pomp and pageantry with the MLB Speedway Classic before the rain washed out the game itself in the bottom of the first inning. Fans returning Sunday only wanted to watch the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds play ball. They enjoyed enough of star Tim McGraw and Pitbull in the rain that suspended the first MLB regular-season game in the state of Tennessee. 'We got to see all of that (Saturday), so as long as we see game today I think we'll be good,' Cindy Lowe of Mount Airy, North Carolina, said. Craig Morton agreed. He and his family, with three children, were ready to see baseball even if Morton is the Reds' fan surrounded by relatives rooting for the Braves. They had a good time seeing McGraw and country singer Jake Owen. Sunday was dry at Bristol Motor Speedway even with overcast skies. 'We're really glad that they played the game today instead of last night because we sat here a couple hours in the rain and everybody was saturated even with rain gear,' Morton said. 'The kids are happy so we're happy.' This MLB Speedway Classic was first announced nearly a year ago as part of Commissioner Rob Manfred's push to take MLB to places where baseball isn't played every day live. MLB played a game at the 'Field of Dreams' movie site in Iowa in both 2021 and 2022. Alabama and North Carolina, too. MLB didn't try to sell every ticket inside the speedway that drew 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol college football game in 2016. The track with a racing capacity of 146,000 meant the final attendance number could reach 90,000 or more even with sections blocked off. The previous paid attendance of 84,587 was set Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. Simply canceling this game wasn't an option. The Reds are in the chase for a wild-card spot, and this is the last time these teams meet this season. Teams had police escorts to make sure they got back to Bristol on Sunday. For fans, the commute back to Bristol Motor Speedway, billed as 'The Last Great Colosseum' with its history as a half-mile bullring of a racetrack, was easier for some than others. Steven Long of Atlanta, Georgia, was on a party bus to his hotel in Knoxville with a bunch of distributors. He drove the 110 miles back to Bristol on Sunday by himself even though he had hoped to be driving home. He couldn't miss the first MLB game at a racetrack. 'I had to come back,' said Long, who wore his Braves jersey hoping for a win. MLB will be announcing an attendance figure later Sunday. Officials already knew this event would draw a record crowd with 85,000 tickets sold as of Monday. The big question Sunday was how many people would return for baseball itself after the big party that MLB and Bristol threw for fans Saturday. For Lowe and Jason Lawson, this is a moment they couldn't miss after buying tickets in May. 'The history, the nostalgia of Bristol Motor Speedway combined with Major League Baseball all in one I think,' Lowe said. Long was being joined by a couple of friends. He saw one benefit of returning even if others chose not to. 'We'll have more space around us, so we won't be on top of each other,' Long said. Indeed. Fans had plenty of room to spread out, dance and enjoy the capping event of the MLB Speedway Classic. ___ AP MLB: and AP auto racing:
