What’s next for Smith’s Ballpark? SLC, community leaders are leaning toward preserving the stadium in some way

New communal green spaces. A concert venue. Medium-rise family house. Maybe all of the above – and keep a piece of baseball history.

As Salt Lake City focuses on what’s next for Smith’s Ballpark, community members are signaling their support for preserving portions of the soon-to-be-vacated stadium at 77 W. 1300 South as part of a transformative mixed-use development with housing, entertainment, parks and others Attractions in the neighborhood.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall praised the emerging visions Tuesday as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to breathe new life into one of Salt Lake City’s most family-friendly places while staying true to the heart of the Ballpark District.”

Salt Lake Bees owner Larry H. Miller Co. says the team’s move to a new stadium in South Jordan’s Daybreak will be completed later this year, leaving about 13.5 acres surrounding Salt’s ballpark Lake City and an adjacent parking lot are available for redevelopment.

The city’s Redevelopment Agency hired consultants led by the firm Perkins&Will in January to seek public input on how best to reuse the ballpark site.

The goal: Create a roadmap called “Ballpark NEXT” to reimagine the longtime sports venue as a new destination and health-promoting community resource, with the potential to revitalize surrounding neighborhoods as well.

The work was informed by data analysis of declining health outcomes among Ballpark neighborhood residents, with the goal of designing future building plans to best meet their needs.

“This is a robust, community-led development project that is achieving results we have never seen before in the Ballpark District,” Mendenhall said, adding that the process “could be a model for how we carry out development in other parts of the city”. ”

Keep, reuse or tear down?

Consulting firms hired by the city presented three emerging scenarios Tuesday: relocating the 15,400-seat ball field to another sports capacity with new amenities around it; adapt and reuse part of the 30-year-old stadium in a larger, culturally focused project; or tear it down entirely and build a more nature-oriented settlement.

“We view this as public land,” said Marc Asnis, an urban planner and associate at Perkins&Will. “There is a responsibility to really look at this as a place of ecological restoration, a place for open space and nature, and to connect more people to nature within the ballpark.”

All three visions would provide more density and create some form of living space. Everyone is calling for more parking space and amenities such as a food market, community meeting places and more public safety to improve the long-term health of residents.

Making this part of the city more active — and including housing options for future homeownership — are also important takeaways from public comments, Asnis said. These also appear in some form in all three options.

But retaining and redesigning portions of the stadium in the upcoming remake is already opening up other options for community support, according to two public meetings and input from city and RDA officials.

Overall, city consultants report, support for reusing the stadium appears to be part of a strong public desire for the site to remain a city landmark and attract visitors year-round.

“Any of the three could work,” said Councilman Darin Mano, whose district covers the stadium site, but added that he is interested in repurposing the stadium. “I’m really pleased that the community was also drawn to a similar option for similar reasons.”

Councilor Sarah Young added: “Ballpark is the name of this community so it is part of its identity. I’m very grateful that you all took that into consideration to really honor this story and make sure it was represented.”

More green, more living space

Some council members said the plan needs to focus more on ways to improve the ballpark community, where several key health metrics for residents lag behind the rest of the city.

“I am still waiting to hear how the redevelopment of this fantastic property will be implemented to benefit the families,” said Kristina Robb, director of the East Liberty Community Council.

Ballpark area officials called for additional green space and tree canopy to mitigate rising temperatures and heat island effects in the neighborhood amid climate change.

“Please just don’t think about the social and health disparities that exist today,” said Amy J. Hawkins, who leads the Ballpark Community Council. “This is what we want to offer future generations.”

Other residents, property owners and local council leaders have suggested a range of ideas, including developing a new entertainment venue there, converting existing ground floor space for use by small businesses, or creating new open space or additional civic uses on the site, such as a public market, a vocational school, a library or a fitness center.

A festival street, a homage to nature

Those providing public input also called for measures to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety along 1300 South and raised the possibility of turning West Temple between 1300 South and 1400 South into a new festival street, consistent with other RDA plans for Improvements in the Ballpark District correspond.

The 4.3-acre city-owned parking lot north of the field is being examined for plans to reuse the site for multi-story housing and/or an aquatic center with an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Many who commented said they wanted part of the ballpark to be preserved as a symbol of the location’s baseball heritage. Smith’s Ballpark opened in 1994, replacing Derks Field at that location for decades.

Public input also raised the option of moving city Fire Station No. 8 from 15 W. 1300 South to a new location as part of future plans, in part to improve response times.

There are also suggestions that new designs include some sort of recognition of the confluence of the Red Butte, Emigration and Parleys streams, where they meet the Jordan River several blocks west in a city park near 1300 South and 900 West.

City consultants said they would use additional public input and RDA direction to select a preferred option, refine and add details, and create a single design framework subject to further public and RDA review.

The city is then expected to seek bids from the private sector in March 2025 to implement the first phase of its vision.