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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 Pacific Coast League and the collegiate Utah Utes of the Pac-12 Conference.

Smith's Ballpark

April 2009
Former names	Spring Mobile Ballpark (2009–2014) Franklin Covey Field (1997–2009) Franklin Quest Field (1994–1997)
Location	1365 South West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah United States
Coordinates	40.741°N 111.893°W / 40.741; -111.893
Owner	City of Salt Lake City
Operator	Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment Group
Capacity	14,511[1]
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[2]
Opened	April 11, 1994[3][4] 28 years ago
Construction cost	$23 million[4] ($42 million in 2021[5])
Architect	Populous and Valentiner, Crane, Brunjes & Onyon
Structural engineer	H/T Engineers, Inc.[6]
Services engineer	Bredson & Associates, Inc.[7]
General contractor	Sahara Construction[4]
Tenants
Salt Lake Bees (PCL/AAAW) 1994–present Utah Utes (Pac-12) 1994–present

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.[4]

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]

On August 4, 2022 Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced that a substation for the SLCPD would operate from the ballpark, citing that the success of the future of the Ballpark neighborhood depends on addressing policing and public safety.

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

• List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
• List of Pacific Coast League stadiums

References

External links

• Smith's Ballpark

Events and tenants
Preceded by first stadium	Home of the Salt Lake Bees 1994 – present	Succeeded by current

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