{{Short description|Minor League Baseball Stadium in Salt Lake City}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox venue | name = Smith's Ballpark | former_names = Spring Mobile Ballpark<br>(2009–2014)<br>Franklin Covey Field<br>(July 1998–2009)<br>Franklin Quest Field (1994–July 1998<ref>{{cite news |title=Buzz Ballpark Gets New Name |url=https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/search?facet_type=%22page%22&gallery=1&rows=200&parent_i=27746946#g30 |access-date=February 23, 2026 |work=The Salt Lake Tribune |via=Utah Digital Newspapers |date=July 18, 1998 |page=D5 |id={{ProQuest|288789692}}}}</ref>) | logo_image = Smith's Ballpark.PNG | image = Spring Mobile Park Apr09.jpg | image_size = 280 | caption = April 2009 | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 13 | pushpin_map = Utah # USA | pushpin_relief = yes | address = 1365 South West Temple | city = Salt Lake City, Utah | country = United States | coordinates = {{coord|40.741|N|111.893|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | broke_ground = May 19, 1993<ref>{{cite news |title=Dignitaries Dig in, Break Ground for New Stadium |first=Jay |last=Evensen |url=https://www.deseret.com/1993/5/20/19047933/dignitaries-dig-in-break-ground-for-new-stadium/ |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City |date=May 20, 1993 |access-date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> | built = | opened = {{Start date|1994|04|11}}<!--April 11, 1994--><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IoQwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iuwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4440%2C5825217 |work=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City |last=Jorgensen |first=Loren |title=A new era |date=April 12, 1994 |page=D1}}</ref><ref name="media guide">{{cite web |title=2011 Salt Lake Bees Media Guide |url=http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/documents/2011/04/08/17509782/1/2011BeesMediaGuide.pdf |website=Minor League Baseball |date=April 8, 2011 |access-date=September 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112023748/http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/documents/2011/04/08/17509782/1/2011BeesMediaGuide.pdf |archive-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref><br>{{Years or months ago|1994|04}} | owner = City of Salt Lake City | operator = Miller Sports + Entertainment (Salt Lake Bees) | surface = Natural grass | elevation = {{convert|4230|ft|-1}} AMSL | construction_cost = $23 million<ref name="media guide" /><br>(${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|23000000|1994}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}<!-- dollars-->{{inflation-fn|US}}) | architect = Populous and Valentiner, Crane, Brunjes & Onyon | structural_engineer = H/T Engineers<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.htengineers.com/about.htm |website=H/T Engineers, Inc. |access-date=September 22, 2011}}</ref> | services_engineer = Bredson & Associates<ref>{{cite web |title=Pro Baseball Sports Facilities |url=http://www.bredson.com/page19.html |website=Bredson & Associates |access-date=August 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020410063926/http://www.bredson.com/page19.html|archive-date=April 10, 2002}}</ref> | general_contractor = Sahara Construction<ref name="media guide" /> | tenants = Salt Lake Bees (PCL) 1994–2024<br>Utah Utes (Big 12) 1994–2025 | public_transit = Ballpark station | seating_capacity = 14,511<ref>{{cite book |section=Salt Lake Bees |title=2017 Pacific Coast League Sketch & Record Book |publisher=Minor League Baseball |year=2017 |page=65}}</ref> | record_attendance = 16,531 (July 22, 2000,<br>vs. Albuquerque) | dimensions = '''Left field:''' {{convert|345|ft|abbr=on}}<br>'''Left-center field:''' {{convert|385|ft|abbr=on}}<br>'''Center field:''' {{convert|420|ft|0|abbr=on}}<br>{{nowrap|'''Right-center field:''' {{convert|375|ft|abbr=on}}}}<br>'''Right field:''' {{convert|315|ft|abbr=on}} }} 220px|thumb|Smith's Ballpark at sunset in 2009 thumbnail|An entrance gate in 2013 '''Smith's Ballpark''' (formerly known as '''Franklin Quest Field''', later '''Franklin Covey Field''',<ref>{{cite news |title=Changing Names of Ballparks is a Tradition |first=Lee |last=Benson |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705296351/Changing-names-of-ballparks-is-a-tradition.html |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City |date=April 9, 2009 |access-date=March 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020035549/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705296351/Changing-names-of-ballparks-is-a-tradition.html |archive-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref> and more recently '''Spring Mobile Ballpark''') is a baseball park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the home field of the minor league Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League and the collegiate Utah Utes of the Big 12 Conference.
==History== Smith's Ballpark opened in 1994 with a seating capacity of 15,400, the largest in the Pacific Coast League. It is located on the site of its predecessor, Derks Field, with a similar unorthodox southeast alignment,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2016/official_baseball_rules.pdf |website=MLB.com |publisher=Major League Baseball |title=Official Baseball Rules – 2016 Edition – Rule 2.01: Layout of the field |page=2 |access-date=April 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621165031/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2016/official_baseball_rules.pdf#page=14 |archive-date=June 21, 2017}}</ref> toward the Wasatch Range. Derks Field was originally known as Community Field.<ref name="Larsen">{{cite news |last1=Larsen |first1=Andy |title=Andy Larsen: What are we losing with the Salt Lake Bees' move out of Smith's Ballpark? |url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2024/09/20/larry-h-miller-companys-money-grab/ |access-date=October 7, 2024 |work=Salt Lake Tribune |date=September 20, 2024}}</ref> The approximate elevation at street level is {{convert|4230|ft|-1}} above sea level.
In its first season in 1994, the Buzz set a PCL attendance record with 713,224 fans.<ref>{{cite news |title=Buzz Attendance Falls but Still Tops PCL |first=Dirk |last=Facer |url=https://www.deseret.com/1997/8/29/19331058/buzz-attendance-falls-but-still-tops-pcl/ |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City |date=August 29, 1997 |access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref name="media guide" />
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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ballpark Has Seen Plenty of Action in Its 16 Years |first=Dirk |last=Facer |url=https://www.deseret.com/2009/6/29/20326178/ballpark-has-seen-plenty-of-action-in-its-16-years/ |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City |date=June 28, 2009 |access-date=March 13, 2010}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.triple-abaseball.com/ASGSummaries2.jsp |title=Triple-A All-Star Game Results (1993–1997) |website=Triple-A Baseball |access-date=July 7, 2017 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419183308/http://www.triple-abaseball.com/ASGSummaries2.jsp |archive-date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> The game returned to the park in 2011 with the International League All-Stars beating the PCL team, 3–0.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.triple-abaseball.com/ASGSummaries5.jsp |title=Triple-A All-Star Game Results (2008–2012) |website=Triple-A Baseball |access-date=July 7, 2017 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709221656/http://www.triple-abaseball.com/ASGSummaries5.jsp |archive-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref>
In January 2023, the Larry H. Miller Company, owner of the Salt Lake Bees, announced that they would be building a privately financed stadium in the Daybreak section of suburban South Jordan, Utah, with a planned opening in the spring of 2025, ending a 31-year run at Smith's Ballpark.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bees leaving Utah's capital for South Jordan's Daybreak. What this may mean for SLC's Ballpark area. |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/2023/01/17/salt-lake-bees-leaving-utahs/ |first=Blake |last=Apgar |newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=January 13, 2023 |access-date=January 26, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In April 2023, the University of Utah announced plans to explore a fundraising drive for the construction of a new ballpark for the Utah Utes baseball program on the site of their current practice facility. The move—which could be completed as early as 2025—would relocate the Utes program from Smith's Ballpark to the new facility.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reichard |first=Kevin |date=April 11, 2023 |title=New University of Utah ballpark proposed |work=Ballpark Digest |publisher=August Publications |url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2023/04/11/new-university-of-utah-ballpark-proposed/ |access-date=April 23, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>
On June 21, 2023, Bees outfielder Jo Adell hit a 514-foot home run at the ballpark, the longest home run ever hit – in either minor or major league baseball – since Statcast tracking started in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=Alex |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Jo Adell smashes longest homer in history of MLB's Statcast |work=MSN |agency=United Press International |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/jo-adell-smashes-longest-homer-in-history-of-mlb-s-statcast/ar-AA1cQqKa?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=78bea6650fbd457b8cee9768e986df27&ei=31 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622100007/https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/jo-adell-smashes-longest-homer-in-history-of-mlb-s-statcast/ar-AA1cQqKa?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=78bea6650fbd457b8cee9768e986df27&ei=31 |archive-date=June 22, 2023}}</ref>
The Bees left Smith's Ballpark for The Ballpark at America First Square, a new stadium in South Jordan, Utah, after the 2024 season.<ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Carter |title=Bees plan move to Daybreak; Salt Lake City seeks to 'reimagine' Smith's Ballpark |url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50559255/bees-plan-move-to-daybreak-salt-lake-city-seeks-to-reimagine-smiths-ballpark |website=KSL-TV |date=January 17, 2023 |access-date=August 1, 2024}}</ref>
==Naming rights== thumb|Franklin Covey Field
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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stadium's New Name Completes Salt Lake's Demolition of Derks |first=Lee |last=Benson |url=https://www.deseret.com/1993/7/21/19057199/stadium-s-new-name-completes-salt-lake-s-demolition-of-derks/ |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City |date=July 23, 1993 |access-date=April 30, 2012}}</ref>
On April 7, 2009, the Bees announced 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.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Home of the Bees Renamed: Spring Mobile Ballpark |url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-551694 |website=Pacific Coast League |publisher=Minor League Baseball |date=April 7, 2009 |access-date=April 13, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714094253/http://pacificcoast.league.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090407&content_id=551694&vkey=news_t561&fext=.jsp&sid=t561 |archive-date=July 14, 2011}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Smith's Ballpark Unveiled as New Stadium Name for Bees |url=https://ballparkbiz.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/smiths-ballpark-unveiled-as-new-stadium-name-for-bees/ |website=Ballpark Business |publisher=Minor League Baseball |date=March 5, 2014 |access-date=March 5, 2014}}</ref>
==Features== Smith's Ballpark is noted for its views of the Wasatch Mountains over the left and center field walls.<ref>{{cite web |title=Franklin Covey Field |first=Gary |last=Jarvis |url=http://www.minorleagueballparks.com/fran_ut.html |work=Minor League Ballparks |access-date=February 20, 2014 |date=July 4, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020722052730/http://www.minorleagueballparks.com/fran_ut.html |archive-date=July 22, 2002}}</ref>
==Redevelopment== In early 2024, the Miller family foundation announced a $22 million donation to Salt Lake City's Ballpark NEXT fund. This fund, managed by Salt Lake City, is conducting a $100-million program to improve the neighborhood, including and surrounding Smith's Ballpark.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tullis |first1=Mark |title=Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation Pledges $22 Million to Salt Lake City's Ballpark NEXT Fund |url=https://www.techbuzz.news/larry-h-gail-miller-family-foundation-pledges-22-million-to-salt-lake-city-s-ballpark-next-fund |access-date=February 5, 2024 |work=Tech Buzz |date=February 2, 2024}}</ref>
In late 2025, Salt Lake City approved detailed redevelopment plans for Smith's Ballpark and the surrounding neighborhood.<ref name="Adaptive">{{cite news |last1=Reichard |first1=Kevin |title=Salt Lake City approves Smith's Ballpark adaptive reuse plan |url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2025/12/11/salt-lake-city-approves-smiths-ballpark-adaptive-reuse-plan/ |access-date=January 13, 2026 |work=Ballpark Digest |date=December 11, 2025}}</ref>
On May 30, 2026, Smith's Ballpark will be the site of the Salt Lake Music Festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=Salt Lake Music Festival - SLCMF |url=https://www.saltlakemusicfestival.com/ |website=Salt Lake Music Festival |access-date=May 23, 2026}}</ref>
==See also== * List of NCAA Division I baseball venues * List of Pacific Coast League stadiums
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{cite web |title=Smith's Ballpark Facts |url=https://www.milb.com/salt-lake/ballpark/smiths-ballpark-facts |website=Minor League Baseball |access-date=August 3, 2024 |language=en}}
{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}} {{succession box | title = Home of the<br>Salt Lake Bees | years = 1994 – present | before = first stadium | after = current }} {{end}} {{Big 12 Conference baseball venue navbox}} {{Utah NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox}}
Category:College baseball venues in Utah Category:Utah Utes baseball Category:Minor league baseball venues Category:Utah Utes sports venues Category:Sports venues completed in 1994 Category:1994 establishments in Utah Category:Populous Holdings buildings Category:Pacific Coast League ballparks