Record crowd expected at Bristol for MLB Speedway Classic

Workers still have some finishing touches to put on the field inside the racetrack at Bristol Motor Speedway, and officials are expecting a record crowd this week to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Speedway Classic on Saturday. The game has already sold more than 85,000 tickets. The first American or National League game ever played in Tennessee will eclipse the previous paid attendance record of 84,587, set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. The Speedway Classic will feature pregame pageantry from the U.S. Navy and a ceremonial first pitch between two Hall of Famers: Chipper Jones (Braves) to Johnny Bench (Reds). "We can't wait for Saturday night... when that first pitch is thrown out and the stands are full," Jerry Caldwell, Bristol's president and general manager, said. "We'll be setting records, we'll be having attendance records. We'll announcing all those details later on, but we'll be there, I know we will." The largest crowd ever to see a baseball game was 115,300 for a March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum. Bristol packed in 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol college football game in 2016. Officials showed off the work Friday with a baseball field now sitting on top of the infield inside the half-mile bullring where cars and a building once sat for NASCAR races. Murray Cook, a MLB field and stadium consultant with BrightView, said he's excited to be at this point in the process of building a ballpark. Final touches still remain for the clay along with all the padding and branding, which should be in place by Wednesday at the latest. Crews also had a light check to make sure the Musco lights meet MLB standards. "We've had a blast building this," Cook said. Even though the Braves play the Reds in Cincinnati on Friday, the day before the Bristol game, fans are being encouraged to settle in for the big party planned both outside and then inside the racetrack for game day. Caldwell said fans should show up by noon on game day to enjoy the attractions outside the track, including music, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a food truck row, pitching tunnels and batting cages and team mascots. Once fans head inside, Tim McGraw and Pitbull are scheduled to perform. Demolition started in early June with heavy construction now in high gear to transform Bristol Motor Speedway into a ballpark for the first MLB game in Tennessee. This game features grandstand seating for fans along both baselines. Both teams will be wearing NASCAR-inspired uniforms with details like flames on the brim of the Braves' caps and a finish-line checkerboard for the Reds' caps. The MLB Speedway Classic also will be included in the "MLB The Show 25" video game after an update scheduled for Tuesday. Caldwell said the project has been long in the works. "We're... thrilled to be able to welcome everyone to Bristol and partner with Major League Baseball, the state of Tennessee and so many others to be able to pull this off," he said.