Major League Baseball will play its first game ever in Tennessee in 2025 at a location known for drivers having the “cycle”.
Officially announced today, the game will be on Saturday, August 2, 2025, a national regular season game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves will play in what the league is calling the MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway. The game will air on FOX at 7:00 p.m. ET.
An MLB-ready ballpark will be built across the infield of the famous race track where NASCAR has seen some of its most famous races take place.
The field dimensions will be 330’ in corners, 400’ to center field, 384’ to left center and 375’ to right center.
The race, sponsored by BuildSubmarines.com, is a collaboration between the fabled track and Major League Baseball, with the possibility of NASCAR/MLB cross-promotion. The game will be treated as a Reds home game with revenues reimbursed to the club to make up for any lost revenue if the game were hosted at Great American Ballpark. The Reds 2025 schedule will now see two games on Thursday and Friday in Cincinnati ahead of the special Saturday matchup at Bristol and Sunday being held as a potential rain makeup date.
The game has the capacity to host one of the largest crowds MLB crowds in decades. Since 2021, Bristol Motor Speedway has had a seating capacity of 146,000. MLB has partnered with BaAM Productions, BrightView and Populous for the special event.