Salt Lake City narrows down 3 options for future of Smith’s Ballpark

SALT LAKE CITY — The old home of the Salt Lake Bees could remain a future community venue, or its days might be numbered — or pieces of its history will remain while other parts are demolished.

Either way, Salt Lake City has big ideas for the former minor league stadium.

Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City planners officially narrowed down three long-term conceptual plans for Smith’s Ballpark with three different outcomes for its future:

• One plan would preserve the 30-year-old ballpark for future community sports — beyond just baseball — and entertainment options while adding more businesses to the area.
• Another would partially demolish the stadium but include open space on top of a cultural center.
• The final option would completely tear down the building and turn the area into more of a green space beyond a ballpark.

Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City planners are scheduled to present the options to city leaders on Tuesday but offered a sneak peek to residents and business owners within the Ballpark, Central Ninth and Midtown neighborhoods and business areas close to Smith’s Ballpark Monday evening.

“I do think each scenario has kind of its pros and cons,” said Lauren Parisi, a senior project manager with the redevelopment agency.

But a clear favorite emerged by the end, as a vast majority of those who attended would like to see at least some elements of its baseball past incorporated into the future of the Ballpark neighborhood.

What’s next for the ballpark

Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City planners said in September they would come up with project designs under scenarios that either reuse the ballpark in a new way, use pieces of it or demolish it altogether.

All three options presented this week include more mixed-use development in the area, as well as park space, a “community anchor,” and a “people-first” 1300 South, said McKenna Hawley, a project manager for the redevelopment agency.

These include a “festival street” or plaza by the corner of 1300 South and West Temple. A community center or library would be built beyond the old left field wall, while a learning center would exist by the old parking lot across 1300 South of the ballpark.

The Salt Lake fire station would also be relocated onto Main Street to address concerns brought up by firefighters about its current structure along 1300 South in the area.

However, there are some big differences between the three options.

Option 1

The first option, preservation, would keep the field and open it up to more community sports rather than professional sports. Baseball could still be played, but it could be home to other sporting options, entertainment events or markets, Hawley said.

It would have a seating capacity of about 4,000 for concerts with additional space on the field, while the space would be a community park when not being used for sports or entertainment. The stadium facade would be turned into spaces for local businesses — a small business incubator.

Option 2

The second scenario would keep portions of the stadium but also drastically change it. Parisi said this is possible because the stadium is essentially four structures in one, so some parts could be torn down without affecting the entire building.

The plan includes an “arrival gateway” plus a cultural center that would exist by the corner of 1300 South and West Temple. An open space field would exist by the old baseball diamond, while a portion of seating would exist on the west corner of the lot.

Option 3

The final option would completely reimagine the block by tearing the stadium down and creating a nature-focused area. There would be an open space by the old field next to a new “anchor” for the area, while parts of the parking lot would be turned into a “creek park.”

A cultural center would be built between a community center/library and the field. Parisi said a creek that runs underground could be daylit under this option, bringing it back to the surface.

An early favorite

There was a clear favorite by the end of the evening. All but a handful of the dozens of residents and business owners walked up to a poster of the adaptive reuse option when asked to head to the option they preferred. It also received the highest favorability percentage among sticky notes left on the design explaining what residents did and didn’t like about the option.

Doug Flagler, chairman of the Central Ninth Community Council, was among the group who supported the scenario. He told KSL.com that he liked that it opens up options to bring more small businesses and green space to the area, while preserving a piece of what gave the neighborhood its name.

Smith’s Ballpark opened in 1994 to support the Bees, but its future was suddenly cast into doubt when the Larry H. Miller Company announced last year that it would build a new stadium for the Bees on land it owns in South Jordan’s Daybreak community. It was the site of Derks Field for many decades before that.

“It still preserves some of the history, some of the building of the stadium, while also having a public space that could be used by the community at any time,” Flagler said.

Erika Carlsen, co-chairwoman of the community nonprofit Ballpark Action Team, agrees. She views it as a way to honor the block’s past while giving residents something new to enjoy.

“It’s an opportunity to acknowledge all that has taken place at that site,” she said.

What happens next

Smith’s Ballpark will remain the home of the University of Utah baseball team in 2025 before the Utes’ new ballpark opens in 2026. Salt Lake City leaders said they’re also working on an interim use plan, which will contain various ways the stadium will remain open for alternate uses before construction begins on the long-term final plan.

Long-term plans should be cleared by the end of the team’s season. Parisi said planners will gather feedback over the next few weeks as they craft a preferred option for the site. That option, which could include parts of all three scenarios, will likely be presented by around March 2025 before city leaders adopt any changes.

More concrete renderings and cost estimates could be clearer by then, too.

Those who attended Monday’s meeting appeared to leave generally optimistic about the options, but they also want to make sure the city delivers on the project.

Flagler and Carlsen said they want to see the area remain a “community asset,” bringing the neighborhood together and drawing in visitors from across the region even if it’s not for the Bees. They believe they need to keep putting pressure on the city so it doesn’t end up being forgotten.

“My hope is it continues to move forward at a steady pace,” Carlsen said. “We don’t want to see this site sit vacant for any period of time.”