During the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith revealed to Kevin Harvick that putting a roof over Bristol Motor Speedway is “the dream” and hinted at major events he would like to host if the track were domed.
During his interview with the former NASCAR Cup Series champion, Harvick pressed the 52-year-old CEO about his next “pipe dream.” In a shocking admission, Smith said, “The dream, I think the thing that would be awesome to do, and we could do it, is to put a roof on a Bristol one day.”
This is not entirely out of left field (we’ll get to that in a minute), as the Smith family, helmed by Marcus’ late father Bruton, is known for its wacky promotional tactics. Bristol, the closest venue NASCAR has to a football stadium, has been at the center of these tactics throughout its life.
One of the first non-racing events held at Bristol prior to SMI’s ownership was an NFL preseason game in 1961, with the Philadelphia Eagles facing the then-Washington Redskins. Since then, the track has hosted the Battle at Bristol college football game, the NASCAR Cup Series return to dirt, and now an MLB game on Aug. 2.
In Smith’s eyes, adding a roof to Bristol would only expand Bristol’s opportunities to host outlandish and once-unthinkable events at the 0.533-mile short track. “We could do WrestleMania, you could have who knows what, the biggest UFC fight in the world.”
Using Smith’s mention of WrestleMania, WWE’s marquee event, for example, this past year, WrestleMania 41 was held in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium. According to KSNV News, 124,693 fans attended the event over its two nights. Bristol currently has a rough race day capacity of 146,000 and could hold more for an event like WrestleMania.
As Smith told Harvick, “Anything you do at Bristol is gonna be the biggest at any stadium, because it’s the biggest stadium… in terms of a place where you could have a field and be able to see it.”
While the CEO did not clarify whether there are any clear plans to host the event or even put a roof on Bristol, the second-generation track promoter made it clear he thinks the roof is possible. “[If] we can hang the biggest TV in the world over the top of Bristol, we can put a roof on it,” Smith said.
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