Happy Hour Podcast,<\/a> Marcus Smith revealed his bold vision for Bristol\u2019s future. \u201cI learned from my dad. You know that taking risks is how you can achieve things and so I have a high risk tolerance level that I\u2019m willing to to do things and that that they could make a difference. I\u2019m not afraid to fail. I think that\u2019s important for anybody to not be afraid to fail on whatever you\u2019re doing, but the dream. I think the thing that would be awesome to do and we could do it is to put a roof on Bristol one day. I would love that. And I mean then the things you could do there it would be. Yeah we\u2019ve got a baseball game coming up next month in Bristol we\u2019ve got. We\u2019ve done a football game. You know we could do WrestleMania you could have you know who knows what the biggest UFC fight in the world.\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\nMarcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports and owner of several major NASCAR tracks, credits his entrepreneurial mindset to lessons learned from his father, the late Bruton Smith. In interviews, Marcus has often cited Bruton\u2019s bold approach to motorsports business\u00a0 emphasizing on maintaining a high risk tolerance, something essential in modern NASCAR operations, especially as the sport faces evolving entertainment demands. Marcus\u2019s openness to unconventional ideas reflects Speedway Motorsports\u2019 history of bold innovations, from night racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway to building the colossal Colosseum-style setup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. His mantra of \u201cnot being afraid to fail\u201d has shaped many experimental projects, such as dirt racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, which marked NASCAR\u2019s first dirt event in over 50 years when it debuted in 2021.<\/p>\n
A standout element of Marcus Smith\u2019s future vision is the concept of putting a roof on Bristol Motor Speedway, a project he describes as a personal dream. Built in 1961 and known as \u201cThe Last Great Colosseum,\u201d Bristol\u2019s bowl-shaped design already makes it one of NASCAR\u2019s most distinctive tracks. Covering the stadium with a retractable or permanent roof would transform it into the world\u2019s largest indoor arena, potentially surpassing venues like AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The venue\u2019s unique design could support large-scale non-racing events year-round. Smith references previous examples, including the 2016 Battle at Bristol football game, which hosted a record-breaking 156,990 fans for a clash between Tennessee and Virginia Tech, the largest crowd ever recorded at a college football game.<\/p>\n
Smith continued, \u201cI think anything you do at Bristol is going to be the biggest at any stadium because it\u2019s the biggest stadium right? And in terms of a place where you could have a field and be able to see it, it\u2019s one thing to put. If you put a football field at Charlotte it would be a postage stamp but it Bristol you know everybody can see it in this baseball game. Will kind of have that same feel. But yeah, roof on Bristol would be big dream that\u2019d be pretty wild.\u201d <\/p>\n
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The venue\u2019s versatility has continued, with Bristol set to host its first professional baseball game in August 2025. Marcus Smith sees these events as stepping stones toward realizing his larger vision. With a roof in place, the possibilities could expand to hosting events like WrestleMania or even a major UFC title fight, both of which Smith believes would benefit from Bristol\u2019s immense capacity and close-up sightlines. Smith\u2019s focus isn\u2019t just on capacity but visibility; he notes that unlike at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where adding a field would render the action hard to see, Bristol\u2019s enclosed, bowl-like structure ensures every spectator gets a clear view, a critical factor for field sports and combat events.<\/p>\n
Speedway preps for Baseball<\/p>\n
As anticipation builds for tomorrow night\u2019s Major League Baseball All-Star game, players from the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves are also looking ahead to a unique event: the Speedway Classic in Bristol, Tennessee, set to take place in three weeks. This event marks several firsts for Major League Baseball, including the first MLB game in Tennessee and the first game played inside a racetrack. The novelty of the venue has players buzzing with excitement and curiosity, turning heads as they prepare for a diamond showdown in the heart of NASCAR country.<\/p>\n
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Chris Sale, a seasoned player familiar with special events, shared his approach to the upcoming game: \u201cEnjoy it, but also, to not overthink it.\u201d While the All-Star game remains the immediate focus, the Speedway Classic is quickly capturing the imagination of players and fans alike, promising an exciting and challenging experience on the diamond. With Bristol\u2019s steep banks swapped for a field, the stage is set for a historic moment that could rival the track\u2019s racing legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol Motor Speedway, often dubbed \u201cThe Last Great Colosseum,\u201d holds an iconic status in NASCAR and American motorsports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[425,99],"class_list":["post-18236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}