The Diamond Series AstroTurf from the 2025 Major League Baseball Speedway Classic game was repurposed for good use. The 124,000 square feet of turf was donated to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in Johnson City.
The school is approximately 19 miles away from the Speedway Classic’s location, Bristol Motor Speedway.
The AstroTurf is the same field surface that the Toronto Blue Jays play on at the Rogers Centre.
The Speedway Classic’s 124,000 square feet of Diamond Series AstroTurf has been donated and repurposed into East Tennessee State University’s ballpark
This is the same AstroTurf that the Blue Jays play on at the Rogers Centre in Toronto pic.twitter.com/BvdMSzbApe
— MLB (@MLB) December 1, 2025
East Tennessee State head baseball coach Joe Pennucci discussed acquiring the new turf from Major League Baseball in a press release from ETSU Athletics.
“It’s going to be a fantastic addition to Thomas Stadium,” Pennucci said. “Having a game at BMS [Bristol Motor Speedway] is going to be a wild experience. To have a small part in it is a cool opportunity for everyone involved.”
Thomas Stadium in Johnson City opened in 2013. It has a capacity of 1,000 and has many cool features. The Blue Ridge Railroad runs right past right field, and there are apartment balconies that overlook left field.
Due to poor weather and field conditions, the 2025 Speedway Classic in Bristol moved from August 2 to August 3.
On August 3, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 in the first regular season MLB game in the state of Tennessee.
Atlanta pitcher Hurston Waldrep won his first career MLB game on the mound with a four-strikeout performance over the course of 5 2/3 innings.
Offensively, Eli White led the way for the Braves with two home runs and four RBI.
East Tennessee State is coming off a historic season in 2025. They went 41-17 overall and were 14-7 in Southern Conference (SOCON) play.
The Buccaneers went on to win the SOCON regular season and tournament titles.
East Tennessee State went on to make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2013. They were the three-seed in the Nashville regional.
NCAA News: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Fans wait for the start during a rain delay at the MLB Speedway Classic baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
