Salt Lake City finalizes redevelopment plan for Smith's Ballpark

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city has officially settled on what it plans to do with the former home of the Salt Lake Bees, as it formally adopted a plan that calls for a partial demolition of the stadium.

Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency's board of directors, which is composed of members of the Salt Lake City Council, voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt the Ballpark Next Community Design Plan. The plan calls for a mix of housing and business to fill in parts of the stadium that will be demolished, while adding much-needed green space and converting a portion of the ballpark that will be preserved into a new event venue.

"I am very excited for what is in the plan and for the future of that neighborhood," said Salt Lake City Councilman Darin Mano, who also serves as the board's chair, moments before the vote. "I know it's taken us a little while to get to today, and I appreciate the patience in working out some of those details."

Salt Lake officials unveiled their final vision in July, calling for high-density housing with commercial spaces, as well as a hotel and a community center to fill in spaces of the stadium that will be demolished, as well as the parking lot north of it.

Most of the buildings would be capped at 45 to 120 feet, aside from a maximum height of 150 feet at the corner of 1300 South and West Temple. They'd also be positioned in a way to preserve the view of the Wasatch Mountains to the southeast, much like the stadium offered for years, making it such a revered ballpark for baseball fans and players alike.

A section of the stadium's grandstands is to be preserved, though, creating a 3,700-seat sports and event venue with additional event space from a section of the old playing surface that will remain. In all, approximately 4.8 acres, or close to one-third of the total project area, will remain as either green or outdoor public space.

It also calls for a new fire station and library closer to Main Street and 1300 South, shared parking garages and a goal to turn West Temple into a "festival street" for neighborhood street events.

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Home run or swing and a miss? Residents react to Smith's Ballpark future

Ballpark residents have mixed feelings about how Smith's Ballpark will be transformed in the future.

Planning for the project began in early 2023, after the Larry H. Miller Company, which owns the Bees, announced it would build a new stadium for the team on land it owns in South Jordan's Daybreak community. The team held its final game at Smith's Ballpark in September 2024, and the University of Utah played host in the stadium's last organized baseball game earlier this year.

It's since been used for a handful of concerts and community events, as the final plan for its future was crafted. Board members agreed in September to delay the final vote to give the agency more time to review options that ensure the city sticks with the outlined vision as the site is redeveloped. That led to a new resolution the board passed on Tuesday, formally adopting the plan rather than endorsing it.

Mano, whose district includes Ballpark and who is set to leave the City Council next month, said he had hoped to adopt the measure before leaving office. Tuesday's vote took place in the board's last meeting of the year.

It's now up to the city to get to the next step, which is finding ways to fund elements of the plan. Reinvestment Agency officials said in July that they hoped to break ground on projects as early as mid to late 2026 or early 2027.

However, local developers cautioned residents in October that many of the plan's elements may take five to 10 years to come to fruition. Either way, Mano said he's thrilled that the plan is now part of the neighborhood's and the city's future.

"This is one of the most, I think, vibrant and exciting parts of our city, and full of potential for our future," he said.

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