Smith's Ballpark
Former names | Spring Mobile Ballpark (2009–2014) Franklin Covey Field (1997–2009) Franklin Quest Field (1994–1997) |
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Location | 1365 South West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah United States |
Coordinates | 40°44′28″N 111°53′35″W / 40.741°N 111.893°WCoordinates: 40°44′28″N 111°53′35″W / 40.741°N 111.893°W |
Owner | City of Salt Lake City |
Operator | Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment Group |
Capacity | 14,511[7] |
Record attendance | 16,531 (July 22, 2000, vs. Albuquerque) |
Field size | Left field: 345 ft (105 m) Left-center field: 385 ft (117 m) Center field: 420 ft (128 m) Right-center field: 375 ft (114 m) Right field: 315 ft (96 m) |
Surface | Natural grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | May 19, 1993[1] |
Opened | April 11, 1994[2][3] 28 years ago |
Construction cost | $23 million[3] ($40.2 million in 2020[4]) |
Architect | Populous and Valentiner, Crane, Brunjes & Onyon |
Structural engineer | H/T Engineers, Inc.[5] |
Services engineer | Bredson & Associates, Inc.[6] |
General contractor | Sahara Construction[3] |
Tenants | |
Salt Lake Bees (PCL/AAAW) 1994–present Utah Utes (Pac-12) 1994–present |
Smith's Ballpark (formerly known as Franklin Quest Field, later Franklin Covey Field,[8] and more recently Spring Mobile Ballpark) is a minor league baseball park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Salt Lake Bees of the Triple-A West and the collegiate Utah Utes of the Pac-12 Conference.
History[]
Smith's Ballpark opened 28 years ago in 1994 with a seating capacity of 15,400, the largest in the PCL. It is located on the site of its predecessor, Derks Field, with a similar unorthodox southeast alignment,[9] toward the Wasatch Range. The elevation at street level is 4,230 feet (1,290 m) above sea level.
In its inaugural season in 1994, the Buzz set a PCL attendance record with 713,224 fans.[10] The team led the PCL in attendance in each of its first six seasons in Salt Lake. The largest crowd at the ballpark is 16,531 in 2000; the Saturday night opponent was the Albuquerque Dukes on July 22.[3]
Besides hosting the Salt Lake Bees, Smith's Ballpark has played host to two exhibition games featuring the Minnesota Twins, a spring training game featuring the Seattle Mariners and the Colorado Rockies, concerts, soccer matches, and high school and college baseball games, including a Mountain West Conference tournament.[11]
The ballpark has hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game twice. In 1996, a team of National League-affiliated All-Stars defeated their American League opponents, 2–1. Salt Lake's Todd Walker was selected as the PCL MVP.[12] The game returned to the park in 2011 with the International League All-Stars beating the PCL team, 3–0.[13]
After Franklin Covey's 15-year naming rights agreements expired in 2009, an agreement with Spring Mobile, an AT&T Mobility authorized retailer, made the ballpark's name Spring Mobile Ballpark for five seasons.[14]
Leading up to and during the Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games in 2002, the ballpark served as a ticketing and service center.
In March 2014, it was announced that Salt Lake City-based Smith's Food and Drug had signed a six-year naming rights deal, giving the park its current name.[15]
Features[]
Smith's Ballpark is noted for its views of the Wasatch Mountains over the left and center field walls.[16]
The stadium is located one block east of Ballpark station on the TRAX light rail system.[17]
Naming rights[]
When the ballpark opened in 1994, it was called Franklin Quest Field, for which the Franklin Quest Company paid $1.4 million in the summer of 1993 for 15 years of naming rights.[18] It changed its name to Franklin Covey Field in 1997 after Franklin Quest merged with the Covey Leadership Center, becoming Franklin Covey.
In 2009, the Bees announced on April 7 that they had reached a multi-year naming-rights deal with Spring Mobile (a Salt Lake City-based AT&T authorized retailer) to provide the ballpark's new name of Spring Mobile Ballpark which ran for five seasons.[19] In 2014, Smith's Food and Drug signed a six-year agreement to rename it Smith's Ballpark.[15]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Evensen, Jay (May 20, 1993). "Dignitaries Dig in, Break Ground for New Stadium". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ Jorgensen, Loren (April 12, 1994). "A new era". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
- ^ a b c d "2011 Salt Lake Bees Media Guide" (PDF). Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ "About". H/T Engineers, Inc. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- ^ "Pro Baseball Sports Facilities". Bredson & Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on April 10, 2002. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ "Salt Lake Bees". 2017 Pacific Coast League Sketch & Record Book. Minor League Baseball. 2017. p. 65.
- ^ Benson, Lee (April 9, 2009). "Changing Names of Ballparks is a Tradition". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ "Official Baseball Rules - Rule 2.01: Layout of the field" (PDF). Major League Baseball. p. 2. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ Facer, Dirk (August 29, 1997). "Buzz Attendance Falls but Still Tops PCL". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ Facer, Dirk (June 28, 2009). "Ballpark Has Seen Plenty of Action in Its 16 Years". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ "Triple-A All-Star Game Results (1993–1997)". Triple-A Baseball. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ "Triple-A All-Star Game Results (2008–20111)". Triple-A Baseball. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Jorgensen, Loren (April 8, 2009). "Salt Lake Bees' Ballpark Renamed". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ a b "Smith's Ballpark Unveiled as New Stadium Name for Bees". Minor League Baseball. March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- ^ Jarvis, Gary. "Spring Mobile Ballpark". Minor League Ballparks. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Utah Transit Authority. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ Benson, Lee (July 23, 1993). "Stadium's New Name Completes Salt Lake's Demolition of Derks". Deseret News. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ^ "Home of the Bees Renamed: Spring Mobile Ballpark" (Press release). Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Smith's Ballpark. |
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by first stadium
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Home of the Salt Lake Bees 1994 – present |
Succeeded by current
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- Triple-A West ballparks
- College baseball venues in the United States
- Utah Utes baseball
- Minor league baseball venues
- Sports venues in Salt Lake City
- Baseball venues in Utah
- Sports venues completed in 1994
- 1994 establishments in Utah
- Populous (company) buildings