Not exactly what the MLB had in mind for their first ever game at a NASCAR track.
The Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves are facing off today at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first ever MLB Speedway Classic, a baseball game held in the infield of the iconic racetrack in Tennessee.
To build the playing surface, garages in the infield of the speedway had to be torn down to make room for what would eventually become the outfield, and several tons of gravel were brought in to serve as the base of the field, which was then covered by Astroturf in addition to the traditional dirt infield.
Honestly, the whole thing looks pretty insane, seeing a baseball field being built inside of Bristol, which has 146,000 seats.
Excitement was high leading up to the game, with appearances from NASCAR drivers like Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott to throw out the first pitch, a NASCAR pit crew doing player intros, and even a pre-race concert from Jake Owen and Tim McGraw, who was for some reason joined by Pitbull for half a song.
But that excitement quickly faded when the skies opened up over Bristol and delayed the start of the game, leaving 90,000 fans running for cover in the concourses and grounds crew scrambling to try to salvage the playing surface.
Ultimately the game was able to get started in the rain, with the Reds taking a 1-0 lead before the rest of the event was postponed to this afternoon.
But it doesn’t sound like the fans who were there are exactly fired up to come back for day two.
During the rain delay, fans began reporting long lines at the limited concession stands, and eventually it appears that the vendors began to run out of food. Several fans shared pictures after being served hot dogs without buns and nachos without cheese (otherwise just known as chips), before it was reported that the concession stands finally ran out of those too.
And it sounds like the logistical nightmare started long before the rains even came, with many fans complaining of the difficulty getting to the track and long lines all around the venue, including at the Fan Zone. Some were comparing the event to the ill-fated “Fyre Fest” and one SI contributor even begged the MLB not to try to hold this event again:
It’s disappointing that what should have been an exciting event turned into such a disaster. And it’s also a little surprising: They knew how many fans were going to be there, and both Bristol and the MLB are used to hosting events with large crowds. The speedway regularly hosts 90,000 fans for NASCAR events. How do you go into something like this not prepared?
The speedway also hosted a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies, and that seemed to go well, so it seems like this was an MLB issue and not an issue with Bristol.
The game is set to resume at 1:00 PM eastern today, so we’ll see how many fans are brave enough to make their way back to the track this afternoon.
