Progress in the field build and stadium construction for the MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway is moving forward as executives said Tuesday during a series of media availabilities, as the turf for the playing field is starting to be installed.
The historic MLB Speedway Classic, featuring the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds, will be the first MLB game to be played in the state of Tennessee. The teams will take to the turf on Saturday, August 2nd at 7 p.m. inside the oval of one of NASCAR’s legendary venues, Bristol Motor Speedway.
For track president Jerry Caldwell, seeing that turf going down makes him anxious like a child on Christmas Eve.
“It’s looking great out there, it’s coming together,” Caldwell said. “You can kind of see this baseball field growing up out of the center of the racetrack…History will be made in August and we are thrilled to be able to pull all that together.”
While fans have had this game circled on their calendars for a year, Caldwell has been busy working behind the scenes for several years prior to last August’s announcement to make this game a reality. He is proud to see it all finally becoming a reality.
“This has been years in the making,” Caldwell said. “We've been talking about this for really, three or four years now, and being able to see all of this come together. The buzz in the infield and around the facility and in the community is something for us all to get excited about. And what's been the biggest challenge in the last few weeks, it's just staying on schedule. You know, there's tons and tons of planning, but putting on these big events are challenging, and it's a lot of work. We've got an amazing team here at Bristol and Speedway Motorsports and with Major League Baseball and all of their vendors, it's really just staying on schedule.”
While the work to be done has a lot of different areas to cover, the main ingredient for all of it is the turf.
“It's always great to see the green side up, and that's where we are today,” said Murray Cook, the MLB field specialist from Brightview in Roanoke, Virginia. “You know, yesterday we put down some, and today we're going to finish up quite a bit, and hopefully by the end of the week, it'll all be green.”
Cook said this turf is called the Diamond Series and is used by only one MLB team.
“This is Asher Turf Products and it is a turf that's used by the Toronto Blue Jays,” Cook said. “Currently, there's only five major league ballparks that have synthetic turf, the other four use another vendor. But Asher Turf is an official sponsor of MLB, and they want to be a big part of this. And they brought out the big team, and they're out there putting it all out.”
Murray said he is looking for some rain in the near future to give a little needed help to finish the field process to get the turf and clay areas around the infield and pitcher’s mound in synch.
“Once the turf goes down, hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate with us, so we can get our clays in where they to be placed properly,” Cook said. “Build the mounds, bullpens, home plates, and the netting part is important, and then tying everything together, from the seating bowl structure to the dugouts.”
Steve Swift, Speedway Motorsports senior vice president of operations says you can really see the field coming into form from high atop the speedway.
“When you go to the suite level up on the roof and look down at the track, you can see what was once a racetrack has now become a baseball field,” Swift said. “You can kind of see that process with the field starting with the stone, and then naturally, the walls going up and things of that nature. The turf is like the shiny Penny, it's the last piece of the puzzle.”
Swift says despite a recent heat wave in the area the program has moved along on schedule. He says the people making it happen make all the difference.
“We've got contractors that have that can do attitude,” Swift said. “No matter what you ask, they always know there's a deadline. They always try to achieve that and be ahead of it, or to really under promise and over deliver and exceed on those expectations. And, you know, (BMS and Speedway Motorsports team members) all wear wristbands that say ‘Exceed Expectations.’ That's really a company motto, and that's our contractors, the BAM team, the Bright View team, and the MLB team, who was able to capture a lot of those contractors and work with them directly as well. And they're seeing that attitude. They're seeing that we will take whatever we need to do to make it happen.”
Swift says that can do attitude goes all the way to the top of Speedway Motorsports.
“It’s always really awesome to see how our company does a lot of firsts, so, you know, with the Smith family, definitely Marcus now and Bruton back in the day, we always try to do things that are new and innovative,” Swift said. “This is definitely new and innovative. There's never been an official MLB game played in the state of Tennessee, so having that capability of playing a baseball game in the Last Great Colosseum, in turning a racetrack into a baseball field, just speaks volumes for the vision our company leaders have.”
With national media outlets like NBC News, ESPN, FOX the Associated Press and many others making their way to Bristol this month and next for scheduled interviews and to capture content on the field construction, Caldwell is ready to shine the spotlight back on this region and says there are many contingents in both Tennessee and Virginia who helped make this game happen.
“I think any time we can showcase our region, it's a good thing for us,” Caldwell said. “It's a good thing to put us on a national and international spotlight. I think this region shows really well. The people here are so welcoming and accommodating to not only the sanctioning body in Major League Baseball, they've been great to work with. This is only possible because of the cooperation of the local municipalities in the state of Tennessee and Commonwealth of Virginia, but it also allows people to come check this area out.”
In addition to the game between longtime MLB rivals the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves, fans will attend the MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway also get to enjoy an amazing 220,000-square foot Fan Zone with live music, food trucks, a photo booth with the MLB Commissioner’s Trophy, pitching tunnels, batting cages, the Legacy Walk highlighting legendary players from both the Braves and Reds, a Ferris Wheel, the Budweiser Clydesdales, appearances by team mascots and branded MLB stock cars for photo opportunities.
After fans have explored the Fan Zone, they will get to take their seats inside the stadium and enjoy the pregame concert with headliner Tim McGraw and his special guests, Pitbull and Jake Owen. The pregame concert will entertain fans right up to game time.
Then, following the ceremonial first pitch those famous words “Play Ball!” will be spoken inside the Last Great Colosseum and more wow moments and amazing memories are sure to unfold when speedsters like Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds take on Ronald Acuna and the Atlanta Braves on a field built between the walls of one of NASCAR’s most tradition-rich racetracks, where so much stock car racing history has been made.
For more info and to purchase tickets, please visit MLB Speedway Classic.
