Dubbed the Battle at Bristol, Virginia Tech and Tennessee will
play a regular-season football game at Bristol Motor Speedway, a
gigantic racing facility with the ability to seat more than 160,000
people. On Sept. 10, 2016, this facility the fourth-largest in the
country and the eighth-largest in the word could be the place
where college footballs single-game attendance mark (115,109;
Michigan vs. Notre Dame; Sept., 2013; Ann Arbor, Mich.) gets broken.Dubbed the Battle at Bristol, Virginia Tech and Tennessee will
play a regular-season football game at Bristol Motor Speedway, a
gigantic racing facility with the ability to seat more than 160,000
people. On Sept. 10, 2016, this facility the fourth-largest in the
country and the eighth-largest in the word could be the place
where college footballs single-game attendance mark (115,109;
Michigan vs. Notre Dame; Sept., 2013; Ann Arbor, Mich.) gets broken.
Timeline
January 2014 October 1, 2015
Open ticket sales exclusively to Virginia Tech Hokie Club members
and current football season ticket holders with a required $25 nonrefundable
deposit per ticket.
Seats will be assigned based on the VTAF Point Priority System with
rankings based on Dec. 31, 2015.
Non-Hokie Club season ticket holders will be assigned seats after
VTAF members, based on years of purchase.
Full payment for seats will be processed in early 2016.
Battle at Bristol tickets will be shipped in early August, 2016.
Comments
Looks like Hokie Club prices range from $80 to $140
$80 - Kulwicki & Kulwicki Terrace & Lower Waltrip
$100 - Pearson Terrace
$120 - Allison Terrace & Pearson
$140 - The Allisons
I'm not a Bristol expert but those vague sections don't seem to translate to the stadium map that was also sent. Anybody know general locations of those sections?
Does this help? It's from the Battle at Bristol site itself.
Kulwicki vs Waltrip will depend if they have the field centered or closer to one side or the other. If the field is centered both sides will be pretty poor from a game watching perspective. The oval track is a half mile around, meaning that people sitting in the first row of seats in Kulwicki or Waltrip will be a minimum of 125 yards from the 50 yard line. It will be a "have to be there game," not a terrific game watching experience game.
I can't find the link at the moment, but there's an info sheet from the HokieClub showing the field position. The field is a little shaded towards the Kulwicki end in the graphic. The Waltrips are about 33% further away from the UT endzone, compared to the distance from Kulwicki to the VT endzone. The 50 is in front of Allison section H and Yarborough A.
I believe the field will have to be centered. I live in Bristol and went to my first Nascar race last spring (wasn't great). There are 3 buildings (you can see on the map that was posted) that are inside the race track itself. The football field should be able to fit within the building sites where the haulers are normally parked. What we need to figure out is what the prices are for the rooftop seats on those buildings and how famous you need to be to get a spot there.
I also wonder if they will be putting more stands in on the race track in order to get closer to the field and gain more seating. The racetrack is sloped down towards the center after all.
I believe they said they would remove the buildings for the game. They are already going to be removing the large pole and board in the middle of the infield as well. When the game was announced, they made it seem as though there would be fans in stands on the track. Doesn't seem like it will happen now though.
No wonder the tickets are so expensive.
I talked to a guy that works at the track this weekend and he confirmed that there WOULD be seats on the track. Oh, and they are trying to work out where to place two big replay screens.
step 1 for new AD to improve ticketing: Stop "assigning" seats to people. there has to be a way to allow HC members to select the seats they want from the available allotment. i know bowl games are trickier due to timing, but this game is how far out? c'mon, ticket office!
Hokie Club members do select their tickets for Lane Stadium in order of ranking in the Hokie Club.
For season ticket holders.
I can't imagine these ticket prices are going to go over well. If they want to set a record of attendance the prices should be lower. I hope they cut the cost a bit because I would love to be there with family but that and season ticket costs together would get a bit high.
I'm not disagreeing with you, just playing devil's advocate.
This game is going to be billed as essentially the game of the century. It will be an historic event. People who aren't even big fans of either team will WANT to be there (in the mind of the organizers) because it will be the largest crowd in the history of the game. I think they're banking on people being willing to fork over the cash to be part of something huge.
I wish the prices were lower too, but I can understand why they're inflated.
yeah i understand. i just know that most of those seats are going to suck and elevated prices will make it a tough ticket for a fam of four. just a bit whiney about it. I will prob go regardless but I really want this thing to set records that aren't going to be beaten soon.
Think positively. At $25 down now, you have 3 years to come up with the other $75 per seat.
Less than $3 per week for 4 seats to the event of a lifetime.
I should make a parody video with Sarah McLaughlin singing raising money for my tickets to Bristol.
So one ramen noodle night per week for 2.5 years and I've paid for my tix!
Tennessee already sold out their allotment and have asked for more tickets from the promoters...just FYI.
Are you certain that they don't think the players will be driving NASCARs?
These ticket costs are in line with current bowl game or neutral site game prices on tickets that have been offered through the Hokie ticket office. There may be lower cost tickets available through ticket brokers or other ticket sales sites.
There had better be. What needs to happen is for "season ticket holders" and "hokie club members" to make their reservations ASAP (i.e. NOW) so that VT can request extra seats.
While there will likely be some lower ticket costs, given the appeal of this game, I don't see there being very many. Also, while I understand that they are expensive, you're supporting your school by buying the tickets through them. You're hurting them when they have to front money to pay for tickets that they didn't sell because you bought off a secondary market. As much as we talked about Hokie Club and the value of giving back to the school over the last 3 weeks, it's important to remember that the school needs you to buy tickets from them. Do you really want Tennessee to sell out their tickets and for us to return some?
.
I just looked into Justin Timberlake tickets for a family member who is a fan and they were $120 for nosebleeds at a basketball arena. They aren't getting those seats.
My point is that $140 for prime seats for something this special is a very good deal. $80 to say you were a part of it (binoculars and all) is a fair deal.
I honestly believe this will be a matchup of 2 top-20 ranked teams given recruiting and program trajectory and am certain it will be a full house. If ensuring that full house is properly "maroon" doesn't justify some premium spending for the O&M faithful, I don't know what could.
Uh huh. "for a family member who is a fan"
P.S. For those who do not know. Waltrip Tower is an add-on to the stadium. It is very tall and not known to be the structural feat of the century. Makes being under the north end zone during enter the sandman feel like a bomb shelter. Just an FYI for those scared of heights or those who prefer not to be worried about structural integrity during a great game.
Did you mean Wallace Tower? Waltrip is the entire opposite end of the loop. Thanks for info, just making sure I know what your talking about.
Actually I meant what I said. It is Wallace Tower that is the new stands and can be kind of scary during high winds. I thought those were listed in the pricing, but I see that I misread and that it is the Waltrip section that is listed for the HC tickets.
Hopefully they reserved the Wallace Tower for UT fans. I think a good halftime show would be the tape of Payton Manning throwing Kam Chancellor's INT from Sunday over and over and over again.
Be honest with yourself. You are going to need binoculars from all the seats.
Ok, ok, it was my wife, but I didn't want to put that out there.
Knowing how the owner runs thing I bet he opens a whole shitload of seats that are on the track and infield itself. Even from the closest seats that are shown on that map it is still really far to the field. Even you had a sold out stadium the crowd noise on the field would be fairly low as well. This "stadium" is designed to let sound out not keep sound in as Lane was designed.
This game is so big, they should double the size of the field. Try maintaining a 175 yard drive vs. LPD. Wait, we have to score to win....never mind.
If we double the size of the field, can we do this?
You made my day!
Long time, no talk... Just wanted to say that we just got our tickets. Once in a lifetime thing, so we bought the $140 seats so that we could be in the Allison's. I'm so excited!
That's awesome girl!! I have no idea where I will be sitting but I will definitely be there!
:)
Guessing you didn't buy them through VT?
Yeah, we got them through VT. We finally got season tickets (over the phone), which is why we were able to get the Bristol tickets. I don't really know all of the logistics quite yet because I haven't talked to my dad and he is the one who got them.
Oh okay, I bought them through VT also, just haven't seen them, and was under the impression they were not going out until 2016
Yeah I believe HokieGirl means they "reserved" their tickets, not that they received the tickets in hand.
Yeah, thats what I was thinking too. Okay, cool.
Yes, that's what I meant. This was all done over the phone this morning.
Hey quick question about these tickets and Hokie Club membership after reviewing the information on hokiesports. It says:
January 2014 – October 1, 2015
Open ticket sales exclusively to Virginia Tech Hokie Club members
and current football season ticket holders with a required $25 nonrefundable
deposit per ticket.
Seats will be assigned based on the VTAF Point Priority System with rankings based on Dec. 31, 2015.
So, I'm not a member of the Hokie Club but have been contemplating joining for the last few months after my move from Philly to Roanoke. If I join right now, or really anytime before Dec. 31, 2015, does that mean I get access to be able to order a ticket (or two) or would I have had to have been a member for the previous year?
If someone could shed some light on the process, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
my understanding is that you can join today, and tomorrow you'll have access to reserve Battle at Bristol tickets.
So you can join anytime between now and Oct 31, 2015 to get access to the Hokie Club pre-sale. Then when tickets are allocated in spring/summer 2016 your Hokie Club priority points as of Dec 31, 2015 will determine how good of seats you get. You can make additional donations after reserving your B@B tickets to boost your giving level & therefore boost your priority points.
For example:
June 2015 - Join Hokie Club with minimum donation "Orange & Maroon"
July 2015 - Reserve B@B tickets
Nov 2015 - Boost Hokie Club donation to "Silver Hokie" level, leading to more Priority Points for seat allocation in 2016.
Joining in 2016 won't get you any benefit in terms of buying tickets for the 2016 season. It's always based on the prior year's donations. 2016 donations = "current" donation level for 2017 season.
Thanks. And it sounds like, alternatively, I can try to buy 2015 season tickets when they hopefully go on sale to the public in a week or so and that would do the trick too.
Wait so we can order the Battle at Bristol tickets right now if we're in Hokie club??
Hokie Club members & Season Ticket holders have been able to do so since January 2014.
http://www.hokiesports.com/football/battleatbristol/ticketinfo.pdf
So season tickets are now open to the public. $350. If you value the 4 ACC games at $40 each and the Furman game at $20, that's $180. To me that means if the OSU ticket is going to sell for less than $170 then it might not be worth it and better to go piecemeal. Thoughts anyone?
My worry is that anOSU fans are going to buy up season tickets to get that one game.
When I bought tickets a couple weeks ago (returning season ticket holder) the values were broken down as follows:
OSU: $90
Furman: $40
Pittsburgh: $55
NCSU: $55
Duke: $55
UNC: $55
OSU tickets are going for $277+ on Stubhub. Since I'm planning on going to to OSU + NCSU + 1 other ACC game TBD. That's $350 in value right there for only 3 games. Even if I have to discount the remaining tickets (like $20 for Furman) I'm fairly certain to come out ahead vs buying individual tickets to OSU, NCSU and TBD.
It was also noted that purchasing season tickets would be a $45 savings over buying tickets to each game individually.
That implies that face value for invidividual ACC game tickets will be $60, Furman $45 and OSU $110 (Note: It was announced seperately that OSU was charged $110 per ticket for their visitor seating allotment, same price they charged VT last year)
EDIT: checked current prices on StubHub.. tickets are $277+. :o
In all seriousness, if you see tickets on Stubhub in the $150-$200, would you let me know? I looked the other day and the extreme nosebleeds in the south end zone started at $277. Under $200 I'm a buyer.
Yea but I wonder if that $277 price tag will drop as tickets become more widely available? Those are just some meh ACC opponents and if we aren't having a great season I could see being able to get those games for much less than $55. Last year BC was on stubhub for $15 a week before the game (following the Miami ass whoopin).
God I hope so. Right now I'm wrestling with the thought of buying season tickets when I like everything 11 hours away just because I think after selling the other games I'd come out cheaper than going Stubhub prices.
Yup. I am still torn if I want to go or not. The view at the game is going to suck, I think the closest seats are still 100 yds plus from the field. But to be there as part of the experience...
Also I understand one Alumni - Ray Smoot is trying to arrange a special train trip from Roanoke to Bristol and back for the game with buses from Blacksburg and at Bristol. That might suck me into going as well.
Notice anything unusual in the infield at bristol motor speedway?#nascar pic.twitter.com/oAPLewx6PC— Allen Gregory (@Greg_BHCSports) April 14, 2015 " target="_blank">
Does the view concern anyone else? I think the views for the game are going to be crap.
I think this becomes a one time thing after the views of the game people will have.
damn, look at the white truck left of the the boom. it's tiny. now imagine seeing the guy that goes in the truck throwing a small ball admist 21 other guys at night.
protip: buy a seat near one of the jumbotrons.
That is why I haven't bought a ticket yet. If I actually want to watch the game, I think I am going to get a better seat on my couch. If I want to go for the atmosphere, it is going to be an expensive game to watch.
Even the cheapest tickets are too expensive to just be there with a shitty view. (IMO)
Look at how far above the fence this angle is. I think this is taken from the tunnel, which is quite a ways back from the first row. When you consider they'll be adding some seating to the track and infield, there will be plenty of good seats available. Granted, they won't all be good. There will be some horrible seats for sure, but I don't think the majority of them will be bad.
I think the opposite is true. I think the majority of the non-infield seats will offer awful views, at best, if not unacceptable. Someone above said get a seat near a jumbotron. Well, so far, they haven't figured out how to set up jumbotrons without completely obstructing any views.
I think we'll get a much clearer picture when the seating configuration is officially announced. Right now all we know is Bruton Smith has said he plans to add more seating closer to the infield and he expects the capacity for the game to be 150K, 10K less than a NASCAR race. That means off the top, he won't be selling the ten thousand worst seats from the bowl, and however many track/infield seats he adds will mean a reduction in bowl seats by the same number.
The way I look at it is, can they configure BMS so that the worst seat in the house is not considerably worse than the extreme nosebleeds at Neyland or Michigan Stadium or any of the other college megastadiums? I think they can, but we'll have to wait and see.
I thought they anounced the configuration here:
Have they ever announced how many actual seats will be in those battlefield areas though? That's what I was (poorly) referring too.
And, if I remember correctly, the Battlefield seats are not an option for HC members.
IIRC, you have to purchase Battlefield seats through the racetrack and they start at $400 a seat and go up.
Also, I'm currently working on the math to compare sight line distances to midfield in Lane, Neyland, and BMS. Took all morning but I got Lane worked out on 3 sides right now. Starting on BMS after lunch.
I'm going to compare the worst seats in both football stadiums to the best and worst seats in BMS. Should be interesting plus I get to knock the rust off my trigonometry skills.
Awesome, looking forward to the comparison. I'm pretty sure Lane stadium would almost fit in the infield of BMS.
Where did you find that graphic/ the VT ticket brochure included a rough seating chart, showing only the existing grandstands and how they'd be divved up between UT and VT.
Either way, I'm going and I'm bringing binoculars! The environment is going to be intense and I can always re-watch at home later on the DVR to see the detailed action.
Here's where I got all my info. Click the red button on the right to download the pdf.
http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/footballfaq/
http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/documents/priority_point_program_bab...
^^ direct link to BMS ticket info
Maybe put the jumbotron(s) on the back of the infield seating.
This looks considerably better than what many of us had at the Horseshoe, tucked underneath the upper bowl with a column in our faces.
Yeah, it will suck. Yes its probably better to watch it on my HDTV at home. Yes the logistics of lodging or RVing or camping will be extreme.
Will it keep me away...no.
And that's what BMS is banking on to sell out.
here's an interesting youtube video that helps show the scale of BMS vs a football field
it's a timelapse of the setup for last year's press conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCqbQWBEQ8
nice wide angle shot of the temporary field. Looks like this is taken from a few rows up into the Johnston Terrace, making it about 1/2 of the way up the UT sideline stands.
I think those red seats are the Dale Earnhardt Terrace, aren't they?
Nope, on the UT sideline the red seats are the Yarborough (to the left facing the field) and Johnston (to the right facing field) Terraces behind both of them across the top of the stands is the Earnhardt Terrace with black seats.
On the VT sideline the red seats are the Allison Terrace at the top of the stands.
Oh wow, I didn't even realize those seats were black, I thought they were in shadow. My bad. Still, that's farther than halfway up the stands. Halfway would be about at the first row of tunnels. You're approaching nosebleed area when you get into those terraces.
Another video from the press conference, this time with a nice field-level viewpoint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0qMGzqZUzc
I thought about making this its own post, but decided against it because I'm really not trying to convince people not to buy tickets. I suppose I'm just justifying why I'm not going to pay $120-140 for a shitty seat, or even $40-$100 for a REALLY shitty seat. But this is why I'm going to tailgate for 2 days and watch from the RV lot.
I made my measurements using Google Maps, Bing Maps Bird's Eye, Pictometry oblique imagery and software, and ArcGIS. All drawings are to scale, but not the SAME scale. Diagrams print at 8.5x11 to retain scales. I welcome any corrections, as I am only a geographer and not a surveyor or engineer. My math skills can be suspect, hence not an engineer. I lasted 3 semesters.
Here is what I consider the worst seat in Lane Stadium: Around 350' to midfield
If you've ever sat in the SEZ nosebleed you're sight distance to your nearest GOAL LINE was no worse than 266'
If you're at the back of the NEZ, your distance to the nearest goal line is about 190'
If you paid $140 and got the BEST seat in the Allison grandstand, your sight line distance to midfield is 310'. That's only 40' better than the top rim of the East stands.
So lets say you are at the top of the Allison grandstand. You still paid $140, or $120 to sit in the front of the Allison Terrace. Your sightline distance is 514'.
Finally, let's go cheap and pay $40 to sit in the Waltrip grandstand. You might ask why are the seats in the middle $40 and the corners $80? That's because you most likely have an obstructed view seat. There's a >12' tall building in your way of seeing the near left side of the field.
So here's a pricing guide. I'll let you interpolate the distances and decide what it's worth to you.
this is great stuff. Thank you for putting it together.
However,
I am still going to this game. I am sitting in Allison Terrace (waaaaaaay up near the moon) and I'm bringing binoculars. I knew before the seating chart even came out that this would be a terrible game to attend if all you wanted to do was watch football. I'm still willing to pay $120 for the atmosphere. This is going to be the grandest event in the history of CFB and it's going to likely be a once-in-a-lifetime type of opportunity. I don't see this happening at Bristol more than once, realistically. So yes, I'm aware that I'm spending too much for a lousy seat, but I'm spending that money to be with family and friends who will be part of the largest event in the sport's history and I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it.
GO HOKIES!
I completely understand. I'm not trying to convince anyone not to go. If no one goes, who is going to support our team? I get it. I just think in all the hype the magnitude of the size difference in the stadiums gets lost. If you've never been to a race, or even driven by it, you can't understand how large of a coliseum surrounds a tiny racetrack. A "short track", if you will. Everyone goes to games for different reasons. I prioritize watching the game over the experience or the atmosphere. I love VT and its traditions but I also like to watch football. To watch football, you have to be able to see THE football.
The biggest reason for taking the time to do this is that I was curious myself about how far away we actually are from the action at Lane Stadium versus a racetrack. I'd actually be curious to do the same calculations at Michigan's Big House. I've never been but a friend was in the Michigan band and he said the slope of the seating is so low that the higher rows are really far back from the action. I've always thought they did a great job with the SEZ expansion and made those seats have a decent view, despite being so high up.
My opinion is that they wouldn't be doing this game if they didn't have a plan in place to make it the best experience possible. I imagine there will be a kickass halftime show, similar to what you'd see at BCS/CFP bowls at the very least. I have a lot of faith in them to make it successful.
I don't doubt it one bit. The pregame and halftime events are going to be spectacular. I would love to be an MV marching a snare on that field.
There were rumors in Bristol that they were going to have Tennessee High play Virginia High at BMS the week before the Battle. That game is a big city rivalry we call the V-T game. Confusing, huh? My best friend and I agreed we would have pooped our pants if we would have been able to march on a football field at the racetrack.
I don't blame you at all. Generally, I like to go to the games and watch the football. I spend more time watching and yelling and screaming than I do socializing with folks around me. The Battle at Bristol will be different for me, but I'm still excited about it. I'm completely supportive of your decision. It makes the most sense logically and I can't fault you for that. I plan on recording the game and rewatching it later on TV (which probably won't happen if we were to lose)
The x factor here for me is that I have a baby on the way, due in October. My last hurrah is the Ohio State game. In 2016 my plan is to drop the kid off with the grandmother and great grandmother in Blountville and tailgate at my wife's grandparents' RV. And make the rounds to every other tailgate with people I know.
Put me on the list.
This...this is simply exceptional.
I almost hate to ask, really, but did you look at all into how the seating at BMS stacks up against Neyland or any other college megastadium? I've always thought we were a little spoiled by how great of a stadium Lane is to watch football in.
I actually did the measurement for right up next to the press box in Neyland so that UT fans and mainly MoD would have a point of reference. I haven't diagrammed it yet because it's a little time consuming and I actually needed to do some work. I will post it later when I get it put together. But for now, I can tell you it's 297'. Neyland only goes about 15 rows higher than that, so that's high up there. Their press box basically sits on top of and at the back edge of ours at Lane, comparatively.
I really want to do Michigan's stadium because that place looks like it is built terribly for views past row 30. I had a Michigan band member confirm that years ago to me. The biggest thing I've learned from this is that steep sloped grandstands equal better views from the nosebleeds, i.e. South End Zone. That might be obvious to some but it confirmed what I perceived while sitting up there at the Black Friday game. I think we are spoiled in Lane
Woah. Are you saying the nosebleeds in Neyland are closer to the field than the nosebleeds in Lane's east stands?
Yes, which is a product of good stadium design. Remember when I said a steeper slope results in better views in the nosebleeds? Neyland was designed with that in mind. It's built very compact and very steep, especially the upper deck of the bowl. Compare the two Bing map Pictometry (Bird's Eye) images I've linked below and you'll see why Neyland's nosebleeds are closer to the field than our single decker east stands.
Neyland
http://binged.it/1GgQQkN
Lane
http://binged.it/1GgQSsU
Neyland is pretty impressive, that for as big as it is, there really isnt a terrible seat. Yea there may be a few some consider bad, but they are very cheap to get. Ive sat all over the stadium, but my favorite seats Ive ever had were in the upper deck.
This is fantastic, thank you. Is the Hubble for rent?
You're gonna need it to see that brown pigskin at night.
Have you thought about comparing other racing venues in case this becomes a thing (like the kickoff classics)? I've been to the restaurant at Dover, and it didn't seem very big, but of course there wasn't even a race that day and I wasn't even paying attention to the infield. Also Martinsville. I might check on this later myself. (Just thought of Watkins Glen or Road America, and how they'd be better suited for golf.)
I would think that a short track like Richmond would work pretty well for a one-off football game.
Haven't gotten into other racetracks. Hadn't even thought of it actually. Thanks for the suggestion. I'd be interested to see how Martinsville and Richmond and Dover compare. Dover is a 1 miler as opposed to a half miler, so sitting in the turns would be out. They would have to build a large temporary seating structure on the ends.
Some tracks with steeper seating should at least cut down on bad views.
In have to say, I would be pretty damn surprised if this sort of thing ever happens at another racetrack. Personally I see the Battle at Bristol being way more about the location than any sort of inherent brilliance in the idea of football games being played at racetracks. Bristol is just the perfect place for a game between VT and Tennessee, and it's been Bruton Smith's dream for years. If it takes a guy that rich and powerful with this much passion for the idea this long to make it happen, I don't necessarily see history repeating itself elsewhere.
Of course, I've been wrong before..
*shows diagram of where my season tickets were my final year at Tech*
I had the same at the start of the 2008 season. Five rows from the top, one section over (towards the north) from the star on the diagram. Surprisingly great view, just quite the hike to get to.
Same thing happened to me. I was up there 6 or 7 rows from the top, on the aisle next to the visiting fans. Awful.