Smith's Ballpark

Smith's Ballpark

Former names	Franklin Quest Field (1994–1997) Franklin Covey Field (1997–2009) Spring Mobile Ballpark (2009–2014)
Location	1365 South West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Coordinates	40°44′26″N 111°53′34″W / 40.74056°N 111.89278°WCoordinates: 40°44′26″N 111°53′34″W / 40.74056°N 111.89278°W
Owner	City of Salt Lake City
Operator	Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment Group
Capacity	15,411
Record attendance	16,531 (July 22, 2000 vs. Albuquerque)
Field size	Left Field - 345 feet Center Field - 420 feet Right Field - 315 feet
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	May 19, 1993[1]
Opened	April 9, 1994[2]
Construction cost	$23 million[2] ($36.7 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect	Populous Valentiner, Crane, Brunjes & Onyon
Structural engineer	H/T Engineers, Inc.[4]
Services engineer	Bredson & Associates, Inc.[5]
General contractor	Sahara Construction[2]
Tenants
Salt Lake Bees (PCL) (1994–present) Utah Utes baseball (Pac-12) 2007 Winter Deaflympics closing ceremony

Smith's Ballpark (formerly known as Franklin Quest Field, later Franklin Covey Field,^[6] and most recently Spring Mobile Ballpark) is a baseball park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Salt Lake Bees minor league baseball team and hosts several University of Utah baseball games each year. The stadium is located on the site of old Derks Field, Salt Lake City's former minor league ballpark. Smith's Ballpark was built in 1994 with a capacity of 15,411 people, which is the largest seating capacity in the Pacific Coast League.

History

In its inaugural season, the Buzz set a PCL attendance record with 713,224 fans.^[7] The team led the PCL in attendance in each of its first six seasons in Salt Lake. The largest crowd at the ballpark occurred on July 22, 2000 against the Albuquerque Dukes with a crowd of 16,531 spectators.^[2]

Besides hosting the Salt Lake Bees, Smith's Ballpark has played host to two exhibition games featuring the Minnesota Twins, the 1996 and 2011 Triple-A All Star Game, 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

On March 5, 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.^[10]

Features

Smith's Ballpark has one of the biggest upper decks in Minor League Baseball, which is very uncommon in Minor League Baseball. The ballpark also contains 24 luxury suites on the third level along with two private party patios.

Smith's Ballpark is noted for its stunning views of the Wasatch Mountains over the left and center field walls.^[11]

Smith's Ballpark at sunset.

An entrance gate to Smith's Ballpark with its former name Spring Mobile Ballpark

Naming rights

When the ballpark first opened in 1994, it was called Franklin Quest Field, which the Franklin Quest Company paid $1.4 million for 15 years for the naming rights in the summer of 1993.^[12] It changed its name to Franklin Covey Field in 1997 after Franklin Quest merged with the Covey Leadership Center, becoming Franklin Covey.

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.^[13] In 2014, Smith's Food and Drug signed a six-year agreement to rename it Smith's Ballpark.^[10]

See also

• List of NCAA Division I baseball venues

References

1. 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.
2. "2011 Salt Lake Bees Media Guide" (PDF). Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
3. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
4. "About". H/T Engineers, Inc. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
5. "Pro Baseball Sports Facilities". Bredson & Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on April 10, 2002. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
6. Benson, Lee (April 9, 2009). "Changing Names of Ballparks is a Tradition". Deseret News (Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media). Retrieved March 13, 2010.
7. Facer, Dirk (August 29, 1997). "Buzz Attendance Falls but Still Tops PCL". Deseret News (Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media). Retrieved February 20, 2014.
8. 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.
9. Jorgensen, Loren (April 8, 2009). "Salt Lake Bees' Ballpark Renamed". Deseret News (Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media). Retrieved February 20, 2014.
10. "Smith's Ballpark Unveiled as New Stadium Name for Bees". Minor League Baseball. March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
11. Jarvis, Gary. "Spring Mobile Ballpark". Minor League Ballparks. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
12. 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.
13. "Home of the Bees Renamed: Spring Mobile Ballpark" (Press release). Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2010.

External links

• Smith's Ballpark