Utah Baseball will play its 2025 season home games at Smith's Ballpark. The arrangement will bring Big 12 Conference baseball to downtown Salt Lake City, as well as provide the program one more season in the venue that has served as its primary home since 1996. As part of the agreement, the Salt Lake Bees will maintain and provide game-day operations to facilitate University of Utah games. A full 2025 season schedule, as well as ticket information, will be shared once finalized.

How will trucks be routed to and from the construction site?

Trucks will use Sunnyside and 500 S. to enter and exit the site off of Guardsman. They will not need to drive through neighborhoods.

How is the construction team minimizing dust and noise from the site?

The team will have a dedicated water truck keeping the site damp. They’ll also be installing screening on the construction fence to help low-hanging dust from propagating beyond the site. Construction of the new fire lane and play field will be prioritized in the schedule, which will also minimize dust when complete. The contractor will also be installing and maintaining cobble track-out areas to help remove dirt and mud from truck tires as they exit the site.  Typical working hours at the site will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

What is the stormwater pollution and runoff mitigation plan?

The project will implement and maintain a storm water pollution prevention plan which will include standard BMPs (best management practices) like silt snakes, waddles, storm drain filter bags, etc. The plan will be filed with the state, maintained by the contractor, and monitored by the university.

How are established trees being protected during the construction project?

The construction team has coordinated extensively with U grounds team and the Salt Lake City Parks Department. Tree protection is in place for trees inside the construction area. Watering is being maintained per a schedule established with the grounds team with the trees are being watered several times a week. In addition, the contractor is coordinating fence placement with SLC to make sure construction doesn’t interfere with irrigation at Sunnyside Park. The contractor is also relocating several of their irrigation lines and a time clock.

Are any adjustments being made to the construction process to accommodate the start of school at the U and nearby schools?

The university and construction team has been coordinating with representatives from Rowland Hall regarding drop-off and pickup times for their students and will minimize construction traffic as much as possible during those windows.

Where will the construction workers park?

The contractor is working with Salt Lake City to temporarily use parking spaces at the Sports Complex. This will keep construction parking off of Guardsman Way and minimize construction pedestrians needing to walk from university parking lots near the Golf Academy.

Where can I ask questions or report issues about the construction process?

At the August 28 open house, the U will share final ballpark designs and will have representatives from the architectural firm, construction company, university planning department, and Athletics present to answer questions. In the meantime, if you need to report issues as construction begins, please call the University of Utah Facilities 24-hour line at 801-581-7221, or call Associate Director Stacia Worndle at 385-460-6654 Mon-Fri, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

If you’d like to receive future community updates from the U, please email community@utah.edu. 

The field surface at the America First Ballpark is expected to be available for team practice only beginning in Spring 2025. The facility is anticipated to be completed for competition in the 2026 season. Timelines are contingent upon construction schedules.

Competition and practice venue options for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 are being evaluated and will be announced by Utah Athletics once finalized.

While the university owned enough land to build the ballpark where the practice field was located on Guardsman Way, a 35 ft. wall would have been required to meet NCAA standards and the ballpark would have been set very close to the sidewalk. To avoid having to build the wall in left field and to make space for a 20 ft. offset, the U negotiated a lease agreement for 1.175 acres of Sunnyside Park.

In exchange for the land lease, the U provided the city with $4.2 million to improve and enhance the amenities and green spaces at Sunnyside Park. The city’s Department of Public Lands is inviting the community to engage in its Reimagine Sunnyside Park efforts in a variety of ways. Please visit slcparks.com/sunnyside for more info.

In October 2023, the university sent more than 6,400 postcards to surrounding neighbors inviting them to take an online survey and/or attend an open house. Neighbors were asked to share input on the design of the ballpark, express any concerns, and provide feedback on how the ballpark could complement Sunnyside Park and the surrounding community.

At the open house, architects and representatives from Athletics and the U's planning department were present to answer questions and discuss ideas. Architectural renderings of the ballpark designs were shown with various ways for people to provide input. Feedback received during that meeting, the survey, and via email is being incorporated into the architectural designs. One example that came out of those efforts is new designs with enhanced landscaping around the ballpark.

The university has been evaluating possible locations for a new ballpark on campus for nearly a decade and has looked at eight potential sites. A study in 2019 narrowed the sites down to five, including locations on central campus, south campus, the university’s West Village and two locations on Guardsman Way.

While the first choice was the central campus location, that site was selected as the home for the U’s new Impact & Prosperity Epicenter living-learning facility which will open in 2024. Ultimately, the location of the team’s current practice facility on Guardsman Way was determined to be the next best site.

Factors that the planning team considered included:

• Compatibility with ongoing campus planning and growth
• Meeting student housing needs
• Preserving an exceptional student experience
• Site buildability (not requiring extensive relocation of existing facilities)
• Proximity to parking in campus lots immediately north of the stadium
• Access to other Utah Athletics facilities
• Visibility
• Access to public transit

The University planning team wants to create a vibrant stadium with minimal neighborhood impacts. Here's how we'll address the needs of the community.

Safety – Netting will be installed to contain foul balls, just as it is currently in place along the right field line of the team’s practice field on Guardsman Way.

Noise — New berms at the outfield will help contain noise. A modern, distributed audio system will focus sound into the stadium.

Field Lighting — Lighting will be designed in a way that reduces spill beyond the stadium.

Traffic and Parking — Games will generally occur at low-traffic times on evenings and weekends. Parking will be available at two adjacent campus lots immediately north of the stadium site: Guardsman Way (869 Stalls) and Rice-Eccles Stadium (1,196 Stalls)

This idea was considered and certainly has merits. However, after careful consideration, the merits of having the team on campus outweighed the advantages of sharing space at a location nearly 30 miles from the university. In its proposed location, the baseball team will be close to other shared athletics’ training and education facilities.

There wasn’t an option to buy the facility. While sharing the facility with a minor league baseball team was an effective use of Smith’s Ballpark, ultimately the space was larger than the university would have needed on its own. Smith’s Ballpark has 14,511 seats. On average, University of Utah baseball games currently draw 350 spectators.