Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, usually hosts the high-octane sport of NASCAR racing, but it has also hosted football games and concerts in the past. Last weekend was the first time it hosted a Major League Baseball game — the first time one has been held in the state of Tennessee, too — and it saw a record-breaking crowd of 91,032 attendees. But the event wasn’t without some serious growing pains. The game was delayed two hours on Saturday and eventually postponed to Sunday due to rain, the concession stands reportedly ran out of food, and the view from some seats was almost entirely obstructed.
For most fans, it seems that the most egregious faux pas was running out of food, with some attendees claiming they had to pay full price for a bunless hot dog, which turned out to be a wiener in a paper boat. They also reportedly ran out of cheese for the nachos, so fans ended up with a paper boat filled with dry tortilla chips. Ultimately the game was rained out on Saturday, and when the game was rescheduled for Sunday, Bristol Motor Speedway allowed fans to bring food and drinks into the stadium with them because of Saturday’s snack snafu. Ultimately the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds faced off, with the Braves beating out the Reds 4-2.
A perfect storm
It was pouring rain during the pregame ceremonies, the first pitch was delayed two hours until 9:41 p.m., and the Reds struck out the Braves’ first hitter before the game got paused again due to the weather. That delay turned into a decision to postpone the game until Sunday, but a lot of damage was already done in the eyes of the attendees. After concessions reportedly ran out of food and the crowd got soaked, significantly fewer fans returned for Sunday’s rematch, according to Yahoo Sports.
Things could have gone better for the first game at the Speedway, but there was one unique aspect of hosting a baseball game at a racetrack: there was a Home Run Car that raced around Bristol Motor Speedway when a player hit a home run. It was a C8 Corvette with a flag reading “HOME RUN” flying out the window, and it got two separate laps in thanks to Eli White and his two home runs for the Braves.
The baseball field was set on the Bristol Motor Speedway infield between turns three and four of the racetrack. The setting didn’t allow for a perfectly symmetrical field, with 330 feet down the right and left fields, and 400 feet to center, but the left-center field gap was 9 feet longer than the right-center gap. To match the Speedway vibe, players also wore special caps and uniforms with racecar-style numbers. Ultimately the first MLB game at Bristol Motor Speedway wasn’t perfect, but it was a great learning experience for the venue, should it host more MLB games in the future.
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