BRISTOL, TN — This town of 28,000 year-round residents is typically a little on the sleepy side. When NASCAR comes to Bristol Motor Speedway two weekends a year, the place explodes with visitors from every corner of the country.
This weekend, though, the explosion in visitors was due to a (maybe) once-in-a-lifetime event sponsored by a different sport.
Major League Baseball partnered with the racetrack to present the MLB Speedway Classic, as the Cincinnati Reds fell to the Atlanta Braves, 4-2, after two lengthy rain delays Saturday pushed the game to Sunday afternoon. Not only did it mark the first regular-season game played in the state of Tennessee, it set the sport’s all-time attendance record, as 91,032 fans bought tickets to the contest, many of them hundreds of feet from the action in the massive seating bowl.
Far fewer than that number were in their seats Sunday to witness this bit of history, as many were unable to return for the suspended contest, but the record remains because of the number of tickets sold.
Here are the lessons I learned by attending the soggy event:
Bringing a big event here is risky due to weather
This has to be pointed out before all other lessons. Even before Saturday night’s two rain delays and eventual suspension, it was obvious that it was risky to bring a game here at this time of year. Fans who spent the week here in Eastern Tennessee learned something valuable: It rains nearly every day. Hard.
MLB keeps upping the ante with its ‘jewel’ events
When MLB brought a regular-season game to Fort Bragg in North Carolina in 2016, there were no superstar concerts or celebrity sightings. Even the national anthem was sung by a soldier on active duty at the base. The event proved that MLB could pull off a game in truly unusual circumstances – including constructing a temporary ballpark. Since then, there have been games in London, at the Little League World Series, the Field of Dreams site and the old Negro Leagues ballpark in Birmingham. With each new event, MLB has sought to make a bigger impact. It doesn’t get any bigger than Bristol Motor Speedway.
There’s much more than just baseball
In addition to huge-name performing acts, fan zones, local food and numerous attractions, MLB always brings a charitable component to these jewel events. In addition to donating the artificial playing field from this game to nearby East Tennessee State University, MLB’s Ambassador of PlayBall James Lowe (also known as “Coach Ballgame”) led a skills workshop for over 200 youth players on Friday. “Our goal was to inject joy and plain ol’ common sense in baseball, not a win-at-all-costs attitude toward the game,” Lowe says. “The kids really enjoyed it.”
Some players liked this break from the routine more than others
Reds manager Terry Francona implied that some of his players were grumbling about interrupting their series in Cincinnati to come to Eastern Tennessee. “For one time a year, if it’s good for the game, we need to put a smile on and do it,” he explains. Others welcomed the departure from their normal routine.
Before the game, Braves first baseman Matt Olson said he was looking forward to trying to hit a ball onto the racetrack. “It’s a really cool set-up here. I just can’t believe they did this just for one game,’ Olson said.
Fans are crazy about these unique events
Look no further than all the different license e plates in the massive parking lots surrounding the track Trey Kelley of Cedartown, Georgia says the draw of coming here, “was the experience of getting to see baseball in a different place. Bristol is really a special venue.”
Bristol Motor Speedway really knows what it’s doing
A major difference between bringing the event here versus all of the other jewel-game locations is that MLB had to do all of the heavy lifting of organizing and communicating at those other sites. Here, there was already a full staff of PR and communications professionals. They handle all of the NASCAR events, and they are exceptional at their jobs.
After last year’s emotional game honoring Negro Leagues players, did it make sense for MLB to come to a NASCAR track?
A criticism often heard when this game was announced a year ago is that it is, well, an odd choice on the heels of honoring the Negro Leagues in Birmingham last June. It’s a bit much to consider it tone-deaf, because it appears that there was no connection between last year’s game and this one. Each year’s location is selected independently from all previous games.
Playing in a venue with 150,000 seats allowed MLB to answer critics
If you look back at past jewel events, by far the biggest criticism from fans was their inability to buy seats due to the very small seating capacities. This event didn’t sell out until earlier this week, giving fans ample opportunity to buy as many tickets as they wanted, answering the critics. At Bristol, “we knew we could go really big,” says Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB’s Senior Vice President of Global Events.
If this racetrack has 150,000 seats, why did MLB stop selling tickets around 90,000?
For those who attended this game, it was obvious that wide swaths of the seating bowl simply couldn’t see the playing field at all. The seats are great for racing, but not baseball, so there was no need to sell them. Those sections were covered with colorful tarps instead.
Gorgeous merch, but ridiculously priced
These events are heaven for souvenir collectors, and the creative use of racing graphics made the merchandise irresistible. The prices, to be honest, were ridiculous. I bought a shirt and a cap, and the total including tax was $169. That is no way to treat fans.
The Appalachian League matters
When MLB reduced the number of affiliated Minor League teams from 160 to 120 four years ago, it wiped out leagues like the New York-Penn League, and relegated circuits like the Pioneer League and Appalachian League to un-affiliated status. But franchises in the Appy League lived on, thanks in part to entities like Boyd Sports that agreed to acquire half of the teams in this ten-team league. The players are no longer pros, supplied by big-league teams. Instead, they are college students, much like in the Cape Cod League.
And do the communities supporting the players and the players themselves believe that this league matters? One look at the jubilation exhibited by the Bluefield Ridge Runners after the final out of the Appy League championship game Friday night tells you all you need to know. Even if there’s no room for these teams in the affiliated world, the sport needs the Appy League. “It’s a special league. I’m sorry we don’t have it for our young players anymore,” observes Braves manager Brian Snitker, whose first games as a pro were for Kingsport in this league.
Despite what most people assume, playing here is a two-way street
This is the most important lesson. MLB emphasizes the fact that it prioritizes holding these jewel games in places where MLB has rarely or never been played. However, after spending the week going to Appy League games and dining in local eateries, I came to the conclusion that it was more important for baseball fans from across the country to experience life here, than for folks living here to experience MLB.
Some may have looked at this as “fly-over country,” but locals are as genuine and welcoming as you’ll ever encounter – and their sense of community is unmatched. The big win is allowing fans from all over to experience how these folks live, not that MLB brought the sport to them.
It would be great for MLB to continue this trend of bringing jewel games to places that benefit fans to visit.
Joe Mock runs BaseballParks.com and covers sports facilities for USA TODAY publications
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