“Let’s play ball,” was the literal and figurative theme to come from the groundbreaking ceremony held on Oct. 19. for the new Salt Lake Bees stadium which will be situated east of Mountain View Corridor and west of Grandville Avenue, and south of South Jordan Parkway and north of Lake Avenue. The new stadium is set to open in spring of 2025 in time for Pacific Coast League play. The move from Smith’s stadium was announced in January of this year. 

Community leaders including Mayor Dawn Ramsey and the South Jordan City Council were dressed in their Bees jerseys, as well Representative Mike Schultz from the state legislature, Steve Starks, Amanda Covington, Brad Holmes and Gail Miller, from The Larry H. Miller Company, representatives from America’s First Credit Union and representatives from Downtown Daybreak. Executives from the Los Angeles Angels major league baseball team were also invited to participate in the groundbreaking as the major league affiliate.

“We are very excited to be the new home of the Bees,” said Ramsey.

Bees General Manager Marc Amicone, who became the general manager in 2004 and was named president in 2017 has high hopes for what the new ball park will do for the south end of the valley.

“A new ball park always energizes the community,” said Amicone. “It also energizes our players.”

In addition to the new stadium, which is expected to hold 7,500 people, according to the Downtown Daybreak website, “A mix of office, retail and residential centered around sports and entertainment, linked to the Valley by light rail and interwoven with a string of outdoor urban spaces we call the Park Line.”

Also, according to the website, construction phase 1 will include, the Bees ballpark, approximately 75,000 square feet or retail/ food and beverage space, more than 300 residential units, an outdoor amphitheater and stage, a third light rail station, green spaces including parks, and more than 100,000 square feet of office space.

Mayor Dawn Ramsey addressed all those who attended the groundbreaking, and offered gratitude toward their collective vision for not only the minor league baseball team but for South Jordan City as it continues to expand and grow all while meeting the needs of the residents.

“As we continue on this journey we are mindful of the constant need for comprehensive planning,” said Ramsey.

Mayor Ramsey cited that a “critical aspect” of the partnership that the city has with The Larry H. Miller group is what is known as the housing and transit reinvestment zone (HTRZ) which according to the Wasatch Front Regional Council website, “enables a portion of incremental tax revenue growth in an area around a transit station to be captured over a period of time to support costs of development in the area.”  For more information on HRTZs visit wfrc.org/programs/htrz.

In 2021, The Larry H. Miller group bought the approximate 1,300 acres of land in South Jordan where the new stadium and other amenities will be built.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox shared his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony, and said that he was in a room full of architects, who see the vision and want to build. The governor also shared his sentiment about baseball as a slower sport, one that takes time and patience, which he reasoned is good for the community, to be able to slow down and exercise more patience.

“I believe that baseball can save our country,” said Cox. “When we gather together at a baseball game, we’re no longer republicans or democrats, we’re not MAGA or woke or anything else, we’re Bees fans. We are Americans because this is America’s game.”

For more information about the Bees visit their homepage www.milb.com/salt-lake.

For more news and updates about Downtown Daybreak visit downtowndaybreak.com. λ