Latest news with #NCAA-record
Fox Sports
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Baseball at a racetrack? Braves, Reds in for 'unique experience' at Bristol
When players for the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds take to the field Aug. 2 for the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway, they will venture into a stadium where they have never played. Sure, Major League Baseball knows how to construct a field. But who knows how it will play and if there will be any quirky elements putting a baseball field in the "infield" area of the historic NASCAR racetrack. As the promotions for the race continue, some former drivers had advice for the players as they compete in a new venue, which will serve as the site of the first-ever MLB regular-season game in Tennessee. "Have fun and enjoy it," said former Braves star Andruw Jones. "Because those things don't happen that much. "I know you're going to be playing on a constructed surface that you're not used to all the time, but I'm sure MLB will do a good job to put a good surface so those guys can go out there and show their talent." Former Reds star Sean Casey said it will be important for players to do the same thing they do before every game at a park they don't normally play at. "You want to see how the wall works — how does the wall play in the corner," Casey said. "When I'm taking ground balls, I want to see how the infield plays. Where's the lip … on the grass to the dirt." Casey likened it to playing a game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (which he has done), or playing in Japan. "I look back at those things and I'm like, 'I'm grateful that I took a second to really lean in and be like, wow, this is a unique experience,'" Casey said. "So I hope that the Braves players and the Reds players really lean into that — you're two teams that are getting to experience Bristol and this historic track and play a baseball game there that the none of the other 28 teams will get to appreciate." Former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip, a NASCAR analyst for FOX, said with a large crowd, the players are in for an experience. Track officials are hoping for a record-setting night. That game that Casey played in at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 2008 drew 115,300, the biggest attendance for an MLB event (that was an exhibition game). Bristol officials have not released the facility's current capacity or what the capacity will be for the game, which also includes a concert lineup of Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen. In 2016, a football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech at the track attracted an NCAA-record attendance of 156,990. The track has removed some seats since that event but certainly has enough to potentially break the Coliseum record. "Bristol is a unique venue for NASCAR," Waltrip said. "It's one of the tracks you circle as a place where you want to be successful at and win at because it's so electric." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
San Francisco Chronicle
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
From racetrack to ballpark: Bristol's MLB transformation shifts into high gear
Turning a racetrack into a baseball field worthy of hosting Major League Baseball takes time and a plan. Demolition started in early June with heavy construction now in high gear to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into a ballpark — if only for the Aug. 2 Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds in the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee. As of Tuesday, Bristol no longer is a racetrack. 'It's not going to be good to have a 2-foot wall ... in the outfield for a player to run into, so naturally those had to go,' Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations development for Speedway Motorsports, said. Turning this track into a ballpark requires about 17,500 tons of gravel to level the infield. Murray Cook, president of BrightView Sports Turf Division, said trucks will start bringing in 340 tons of Pennsylvania clay for the playing surface later this week. The grass will be synthetic with 124,000 square feet set to be laid down with this field using the same surface as the Blue Jays in Toronto. There will be fencing, padding and foul poles. Musco Sports Lighting is adding 215 lights to the top of the track so no ball should be lost in a shadow. 'The field obviously is a big part of this event, and we're making it as major league level as it needs to be for this game,' Cook said. Hosting an MLB game requires much more than just a field. BaAM is helping MLB and Bristol so that the teams have locker rooms complete with showers, strength and conditioning rooms, coach and trainers' offices, batting cages and even a full weight room. 'Everything that we're going to do is temporary in nature, and it's been precisely planned layers and layers," BaAM president Annemarie Roe said. "We have about 33 days from today until we hand over to baseball operations.' There will be grandstands down both the first- and third-base lines with broadcast booths, camera platforms, media positions and video replay included along with audio and video components. Concessions and merchandise will be available for fans on game day. For any players wanting to go over the wall, they'll have to carry 400 feet to clear center field, 375 in the alleys and 330 down each base line. True renovations always reveal something owners don't expect. Same goes for Bristol officials who found out they won't have to replace everything after Aug. 2. Swift said they won't have to replace the Sunoco pumps and tanks with NASCAR now bringing those to each race. The Sunoco signs also are gone to avoid sitting in center field. Half an infield building was removed to clear space for the outfield wall. Bristol has loads of experience with extreme track makeovers from bringing in dump trucks of dirt for races. This track hosted a college football game in the Battle of Bristol, drawing an NCAA-record 156,990 fans in 2016. Interest has been big, and MLB is planning a lot of events before the first pitch with Pitbull and Tim McGraw already set for a pregame concert from a stage in the infield. Country star Jake Owen will highlight more performances outside the track announced Tuesday. The fan zone also will feature the Commissioner's Trophy, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages, team mascots and being Bristol — branded MLB stock cars for photos. Bristol will have a chance at the record for the largest crowd to see a baseball game. A March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum drew 115,300. Once the Reds and Braves wrap up and all the fans leave, the next challenge begins. Bristol will race against the clock to turn the field back into a track for a night race in the NASCAR playoffs Sept. 13.
Hamilton Spectator
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
From racetrack to ballpark: Bristol's MLB transformation shifts into high gear
Turning a racetrack into a baseball field worthy of hosting Major League Baseball takes time and a plan. Demolition started in early June with heavy construction now in high gear to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into a ballpark — if only for the Aug. 2 Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds in the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee . As of Tuesday, Bristol no longer is a racetrack. 'It's not going to be good to have a 2-foot wall ... in the outfield for a player to run into, so naturally those had to go,' Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations development for Speedway Motorsports, said. Turning this track into a ballpark requires about 17,500 tons of gravel to level the infield. Murray Cook, president of BrightView Sports Turf Division, said trucks will start bringing in 340 tons of Pennsylvania clay for the playing surface later this week. The grass will be synthetic with 124,000 square feet set to be laid down with this field using the same surface as the Blue Jays in Toronto. There will be fencing, padding and foul poles. Musco Sports Lighting is adding 215 lights to the top of the track so no ball should be lost in a shadow. 'The field obviously is a big part of this event, and we're making it as major league level as it needs to be for this game,' Cook said. Hosting an MLB game requires much more than just a field. BaAM is helping MLB and Bristol so that the teams have locker rooms complete with showers, strength and conditioning rooms, coach and trainers' offices, batting cages and even a full weight room. 'Everything that we're going to do is temporary in nature, and it's been precisely planned layers and layers,' BaAM president Annemarie Roe said. 'We have about 33 days from today until we hand over to baseball operations.' There will be grandstands down both the first- and third-base lines with broadcast booths, camera platforms, media positions and video replay included along with audio and video components. Concessions and merchandise will be available for fans on game day. For any players wanting to go over the wall, they'll have to carry 400 feet to clear center field, 375 in the alleys and 330 down each base line. True renovations always reveal something owners don't expect. Same goes for Bristol officials who found out they won't have to replace everything after Aug. 2. Swift said they won't have to replace the Sunoco pumps and tanks with NASCAR now bringing those to each race. The Sunoco signs also are gone to avoid sitting in center field. Half an infield building was removed to clear space for the outfield wall. Bristol has loads of experience with extreme track makeovers from bringing in dump trucks of dirt for races . This track hosted a college football game in the Battle of Bristol, drawing an NCAA-record 156,990 fans in 2016. Interest has been big, and MLB is planning a lot of events before the first pitch with Pitbull and Tim McGraw already set for a pregame concert from a stage in the infield. Country star Jake Owen will highlight more performances outside the track announced Tuesday. The fan zone also will feature the Commissioner's Trophy, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages, team mascots and being Bristol — branded MLB stock cars for photos. Bristol will have a chance at the record for the largest crowd to see a baseball game. A March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum drew 115,300. Once the Reds and Braves wrap up and all the fans leave, the next challenge begins. Bristol will race against the clock to turn the field back into a track for a night race in the NASCAR playoffs Sept. 13. 'There's the right way, the wrong way, and the speedway,' Swift said. ___ AP MLB: and AP auto racing:
Fox Sports
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
From racetrack to ballpark: Bristol's MLB transformation shifts into high gear
Associated Press Turning a racetrack into a baseball field worthy of hosting Major League Baseball takes time and a plan. Demolition started in early June with heavy construction now in high gear to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into a ballpark — if only for the Aug. 2 Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds in the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee. As of Tuesday, Bristol no longer is a racetrack. 'It's not going to be good to have a 2-foot wall ... in the outfield for a player to run into, so naturally those had to go,' Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations development for Speedway Motorsports, said. Turning this track into a ballpark requires about 17,500 tons of gravel to level the infield. Murray Cook, president of BrightView Sports Turf Division, said trucks will start bringing in 340 tons of Pennsylvania clay for the playing surface later this week. The grass will be synthetic with 124,000 square feet set to be laid down with this field using the same surface as the Blue Jays in Toronto. There will be fencing, padding and foul poles. Musco Sports Lighting is adding 215 lights to the top of the track so no ball should be lost in a shadow. 'The field obviously is a big part of this event, and we're making it as major league level as it needs to be for this game,' Cook said. Hosting an MLB game requires much more than just a field. BaAM is helping MLB and Bristol so that the teams have locker rooms complete with showers, strength and conditioning rooms, coach and trainers' offices, batting cages and even a full weight room. 'Everything that we're going to do is temporary in nature, and it's been precisely planned layers and layers," BaAM president Annemarie Roe said. "We have about 33 days from today until we hand over to baseball operations.' There will be grandstands down both the first- and third-base lines with broadcast booths, camera platforms, media positions and video replay included along with audio and video components. Concessions and merchandise will be available for fans on game day. For any players wanting to go over the wall, they'll have to carry 400 feet to clear center field, 375 in the alleys and 330 down each base line. True renovations always reveal something owners don't expect. Same goes for Bristol officials who found out they won't have to replace everything after Aug. 2. Swift said they won't have to replace the Sunoco pumps and tanks with NASCAR now bringing those to each race. The Sunoco signs also are gone to avoid sitting in center field. Half an infield building was removed to clear space for the outfield wall. Bristol has loads of experience with extreme track makeovers from bringing in dump trucks of dirt for races. This track hosted a college football game in the Battle of Bristol, drawing an NCAA-record 156,990 fans in 2016. Interest has been big, and MLB is planning a lot of events before the first pitch with Pitbull and Tim McGraw already set for a pregame concert from a stage in the infield. Country star Jake Owen will highlight more performances outside the track announced Tuesday. The fan zone also will feature the Commissioner's Trophy, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages, team mascots and being Bristol — branded MLB stock cars for photos. Bristol will have a chance at the record for the largest crowd to see a baseball game. A March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum drew 115,300. Once the Reds and Braves wrap up and all the fans leave, the next challenge begins. Bristol will race against the clock to turn the field back into a track for a night race in the NASCAR playoffs Sept. 13. 'There's the right way, the wrong way, and the speedway,' Swift said. ___ AP MLB: and AP auto racing: recommended
Chicago Tribune
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
From race track to MLB field: Bristol's transformation shifts into high gear for Reds-Braves
Turning a race track into a baseball field worthy of hosting Major League Baseball takes time and a plan. Demolition started in early June with heavy construction now in high gear to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into a ballpark — if only for the Aug. 2 Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds in the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee. As of Tuesday, Bristol no longer is a racetrack. 'It's not going to be good to have a 2-foot wall … in the outfield for a player to run into, so naturally those had to go,' Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations development for Speedway Motorsports, said. Turning this track into a ballpark requires about 17,500 tons of gravel to level the infield. Murray Cook, president of BrightView Sports Turf Division, said trucks will start bringing in 340 tons of Pennsylvania clay for the playing surface later this week. The grass will be synthetic with 124,000 square feet set to be laid down with this field using the same surface as the Blue Jays in Toronto. There will be fencing, padding and foul poles. Musco Sports Lighting is adding 215 lights to the top of the track so no ball should be lost in a shadow. 'The field obviously is a big part of this event, and we're making it as Major League level as it needs to be for this game,' Cook said. Hosting an MLB game requires much more than just a field. BaAM is helping MLB and Bristol so that the teams have locker rooms complete with showers, strength and conditioning rooms, coach and trainers' offices, batting cages and even a full weight room. 'Everything that we're going to do is temporary in nature, and it's been precisely planned layers and layers,' BaAM president Annemarie Roe said. 'We have about 33 days from today until we hand over to baseball operations.' There will be grandstands down both the first- and third-base lines with broadcast booths, camera platforms, media positions and video replay included along with audio and video components. Concessions and merchandise will be available for fans on game day. For any players wanting to go over the wall, they'll have to carry 400 feet to clear centerfield, 375 in the alleys and 330 down each base line. True renovations always reveal something owners don't expect. Same goes for Bristol officials who found out they won't have to replace everything after Aug. 2. Swift said they won't have to replace the Sunoco pumps and tanks with NASCAR now bringing those to each race. The Sunoco signs also are gone to avoid sitting in centerfield. Half an infield building was removed to clear space for the outfield wall. Bristol has loads of experience with extreme track makeovers from bringing in dump trucks of dirt for races. This track hosted a college football game in the Battle of Bristol, drawing an NCAA-record 156,990 fans in 2016. Interest has been big, and MLB is planning a lot of events before the first pitch with Pitbull and Tim McGraw already set for a pregame concert from a stage in the infield. Country star Jake Owen will highlight more performances outside the track announced Tuesday. The fan zone also will feature the Commissioner's Trophy, a 110-foot Ferris Wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages, team mascots and being Bristol — branded MLB stock cars for photos. Bristol will have a chance at the record for the largest crowd to see a baseball game. A March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum drew 115,300. Once the Reds and Braves wrap up and all the fans leave, the next challenge begins. Bristol will race against the clock to turn the field back into a track for a night race in the NASCAR playoffs Sept. 13. 'There's the right way, the wrong way, and the speedway,' Swift said.
