MLB is tapping into NASCAR to help grow baseball
On Saturday, MLB will play its first-ever game in Tennessee as part of the MLB Speedway Classic, where the Atlanta Braves will face off against the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It will mark the first time a professional baseball game has ever been played at a professional race car track, and MLB will incorporate NASCAR-themed elements throughout the event.
The event is MLB's latest effort to help grow the game and attract a younger, more diverse fan base.
"It represents an opportunity for us to really focus in on having as many fans as possible at an event and to create a natural tie-in with another sport that is very much geared towards the same things that we've been driving towards the last few years — around speed, and being fast and bold," Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB's senior vice president of global events, told CNBC.
Bristol Motor Speedway said the game is set to break the MLB's all-time regular season single-game attendance record with more than 85,000 tickets sold. The previous record of 84,587 was set in 1954. The MLB said the venue can hold about 90,000 fans in total.
MLB said younger fans like the opportunity to see the game in unique settings. Previously, the league has seen success with its Field of Dreams games in Iowa.
Yolkut said the league also thinks there's crossover between NASCAR and baseball fan bases.
Saturday's game is four years in the making, with the first conversation dating back to 2021, Yolkut added.
Since then, MLB has conducted feasibility studies; partnered with architects, a professional turf company, their broadcaster Fox and the concessions provider Levy; and signed multiple sponsors, including title sponsor BuildSubmarines.com.
"There was even a building that had to be knocked down in order for us to actually put the baseball field on the track," Yolkut said.
Beyond the main event, MLB is also planning a full fan experience, including a fan zone and musical performances from Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen.
"Fans at home are also going to get some incredible visuals with the aerial shots of the stadium and the guys hitting home runs landing on a NASCAR track," Yolkut said. "It's going to be pretty special."
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