Field construction underway for upcoming MLB Speedway Classic
(BRISTOL, Tenn) - Executives involved in building a baseball field inside Bristol Motor Speedway for the upcoming MLB Speedway Classic met with reporters recently to discuss the ongoing construction and progress.
For the next month, crews will continue to prepare the field for the historic game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m. EDT on FOX. The game marks the first Major League Baseball American or National League game to be played in Tennessee and the first held at a motorsports facility.
Construction has been underway for several weeks, beginning with the demolition of walls and light poles by Bristol Motor Speedway crews. Most of the gravel base for the field has been laid, and workers are now focusing on building the walls, grandstands, dugouts, press box and other structures around the diamond. Crews will also construct a stage for a pregame concert featuring Tim McGraw, Pitbull, and Jake Owen, with Owen's addition to the lineup announced today by MLB.
“This has been years in the making, and years’ worth of conversations,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “It’s exciting to see it all come together. It's kind of like planning for Christmas Day, and we're starting to make the food now, and Christmas day is approaching, so we're thrilled to be able to welcome folks and start to show this off. I think people will be really surprised when they come back in a couple of weeks when the turf is down and the place really starts to look even more different.”
Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB vice president of global events, expressed enthusiasm for the activity at the Speedway. MLB also announced an interactive Fan Zone with additional musical acts, offering fans an area to explore before the concert and game.
“I think it's great to see movement on the site,” Yolkut said. “It's great to see the gravel put down. It's great to see some of the different configurations. This is all exciting.”
While not providing specific attendance figures, Yolkut anticipates a sellout crowd.
“It's going to be the largest regular season game of the 2025 season,” Yolkut said. “So that'll be something that Tennessee can take pride in this year, because it will be the most attended game in our regular season. It's really hard to predict how many (fans) exactly. We think that it will be a big crowd, big spectacle. Tickets are continuing to fly off the shelves. We don't have as many left as when we started, so we're excited.”
Yolkut emphasized MLB's commitment to providing extensive entertainment for fans.
“We wanted to make sure that once we had the baseball game set, we could build a field here, and we could overlay this unique concept,” Yolkut said. “And we don't do this really anywhere else. We're going to play a concert exactly right before the actual game starts in the same venue, not on the baseball field itself. It's something you can't do at most major league ballparks, because you have to get ready for the game. But here we can have a large stage concert before the game. Then as we announced earlier today, you're going to have these other acts that will be outside, within the Fan Zone, so fans will really have seven to eight hours of programming at the venue in addition to the baseball game. That'll just give them this amazing experience.”
Caldwell noted that the event aligns with Bristol Motor Speedway's long-standing traditions.
“When you look at the history of this place, the home to the Appalachian League, the history of baseball in this region, the history of NASCAR within this region, music is deep in our DNA and in our roots, being able to bring all those things together is really what it's all about,” Caldwell said. “I think that's why people will love this event, and not only create history from numbers and an attendance standpoint, but just from the magnitude and the experience.”
Tickets for the MLB Speedway Classic are available on the MLB Speedway Classic website.
