How MLB Turned a NASCAR Track Into a Baseball Stadium (in Just Two Months)
From demolishing old structures to installing synthetic turf, Major League Baseball had just two months to prepare Bristol Motor Speedway for Tennessee's first-ever MLB game.
In 2017, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred challenged his top officials to come up with unique venues for special games. MLB had just finished hosting a regular-season game at Fort Bragg in North Carolina the year prior — the first regular-season professional sports event ever held on an active U.S. military base — and Manfred saw these events as a way to increase interest during MLB’s long, 162-game regular season.
In the ensuing years, MLB hosted games in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, during the Little League World Series. They spent millions of dollars renovating the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville, Iowa. MLB has even held games at the site of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, and Fox saw its best viewership number in over two years when MLB played at the historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Now, MLB is taking it a step further. On Saturday night, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will play MLB’s first-ever game in Tennessee at the iconic Bristol Motor Speedway, a half-mile oval track that has held NASCAR races for 60+ years.
It will be a historic night for Major League Baseball. Over 85,000 tickets have been sold already, with fans from all 50 states and nine countries across four continents planning to attend the game. That means MLB is guaranteed to break its current regular-season attendance record of 84,587 fans set at Cleveland Stadium in 1954.
But that’s not even the most interesting part. The real story is how MLB prepared for this game, turning a 64-year-old racetrack into a baseball stadium in just two months.
Today’s newsletter will break down everything you need to know. Whether you are a baseball fanatic or just appreciate sports infrastructure, there is something for everyone. We’ll discuss how MLB built a baseball field on blacktop, the camera tech Fox will be using for the broadcast, the marketing tricks MLB used to sell tickets, the unique activities fans can expect before the game, and so much more. Let’s get to it.