BMS as a domed stadium? 'Anything is possible'

BRISTOL — Speedway Motorsports Chairman Marcus Smith floated the idea of a roof over Bristol Motor Speedway during Kevin Harvick's "Happy Hour Podcast" last week.Smith said he learned from his father, the late Bruton Smith, that taking risks is how you achieve things. Since he's been in charge at SMI, Bristol Motor Speedway has hosted the "Battle at Bristol" football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech and was transformed to host the first NASCAR Cup Series dirt races in over 50 years.Now, BMS is a week away from being the first NASCAR track to host a Major League Baseball game. Still, a roof over the half-mile track would be the biggest undertaking to date."I have a high-risk tolerance level that I'm willing to do things," Smith said on the podcast. "The dream, the thing that would be awesome to do, and we could do it, is to put a roof on Bristol one day."It's something that is being seriously researched as BMS President Jerry Caldwell didn't shy away from the subject Friday when asked about it at a Speedway Classic media gathering."When you work for the Smiths, anything is possible," Caldwell said. "Look at this thing hanging over the top (pointing to Colossus TV), the largest center-hung outdoor screen in the world. We have a baseball field in the middle of a race track, had a football field in the middle of a race track, a dome is not impossible."Those were some of the same sentiments by Smith when Harvick pressed for more of his thoughts on the subject. Harvick used the baseball analogy that the SMI group swings for the fences when it comes to big events."A roof on Bristol, that's a big dream, but it's doable," Smith said. "If we can hang the largest TV in the world over Bristol, we can put a roof on it."Smith talked about the possibility of huge events that Bristol could host if weather wasn't an issue. He didn't even mention concerts, as the track is scheduled to host Tim McGraw and Pitbull before next Saturday's game."We could do Wrestlemania. You could have the biggest UFC fight in the world," Smith said. "Anything you do at Bristol is going to be the biggest at any stadium in terms of having a field and being able to see it. You put a football field at Charlotte, it would be a postage stamp, but at Bristol, everybody can see it." One question is if it could be a retractable roof. As for concerns of the sound and fumes of an indoor race, the Tulsa Expo Center hosts the world's largest open wheel race in the world with nearly 400 entries at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. There are dozens of races around the short dirt oval over a multi-day event.The Dome at America's Center, former home of the NFL's St. Louis Rams, is home to the Gateway Dirt Nationals for dirt late model cars every December. Other motorsports events held indoors include Supercross and Monster Trucks.While that's a future dream, Caldwell praised his team for transforming the "World's Fastest Half-Mile" into a Major League stadium. Caldwell is quick to point out that racing remains the core business, but these other events help all involved."We're blessed with Speedway Motorsports and Bristol Motor Speedway having the best operations team in the business," Caldwell said. "This partnership with Major League Baseball and Bristol Motor Speedway just continues to build more and more momentum and get the eyeballs of the entertainment and sports world."