‘It’s pretty special’: Utah celebrates beginning of construction of new on-campus baseball stadium

The actual groundbreaking for Utah’s new on-campus baseball stadium happened back in July, but on Wednesday, the Utes held a “construction celebration” to commemorate a project that has been many years in the making.

The Utes’ baseball program has never had a true home, instead sharing Smith’s Ballpark with the Salt Lake Bees since 1996. There were some good things about it — the view of the mountains on the corner of 1300 South and West Temple is pretty unbeatable, and playing in a Triple-A ballpark was fun for some of the players.

But there’s something about having your own home and a locker room that is just for your team.

In 2026, the university will open Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark, finally providing Utah with an on-campus home.

“I’ve met with baseball players since 2018. I’ve met a lot of alums and it’s been a dream for a long time, so the fact that we’re here today, it’s pretty special,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said.

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The ballpark will have permanent seating for 1,200 fans with additional berm seating in the stadium’s outfield. It will have everything the baseball program wanted — locker rooms, an indoor batting cage and pitching cage, coaches’ offices, equipment storage, and medical space.

By 2026, there will be no more 11 a.m. games because the Bees had a game that night and no more shuttling laundry and equipment between the Utes’ practice field on Guardsman Way and Smith’s Ballpark.

The season will get off to a better start, too, due to the turf field that will drastically improve the Utes’ ability to practice in January and February.

“I think the first thing that comes to mind is just the facilities, just the ability to be in one spot at one time,” junior outfielder Kaden Carpenter said when asked how the new stadium will improve his experience.

“Right now and in previous years we’ve had to bounce around because of just the lack of facilities in one spot, and so the development piece and the ability to get better every day is going to change dramatically.”

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Having an on-campus baseball stadium was always a goal of Harlan’s, but it got kicked into overdrive when the Bees announced in January of 2023 that they’d be leaving Smith’s Ballpark for Daybreak at the conclusion of the 2024 season.

That meant in less than two years, the Utes would be without a home.

“There was a moment of panic,” Harlan said. “I said, ‘We don’t have a choice anymore. We got to move,’ and it really caused things to move in the right direction and that kind of aligned everything, so in a strange way, that kind of pressure allowed us to move forward in a really proactive way.”

In terms of big university projects, this one came together relatively quickly. Utah privately raised the vast majority of the estimated $35 million needed for the ballpark, with a major gift from U. alum and Colorado Rockies owner Charlie Monfort.

“This, I believe, as President (Taylor) Randall said, is the next Field of Dreams — right here at the University of Utah,” Monfort said.

Though it is primarily the home of the Utes, Harlan also wanted the stadium to be a community asset when Utah isn’t using it, from Little League baseball games to potentially hosting the UHSAA baseball championships.

“With the turf field and where it’s located, others can use it and we really want that to happen,” Harlan said.

In addition, the university is investing in Sunnyside Park, which a small part of the ballpark sits on. The U. is leasing the land from the Salt Lake City government, and in exchange, is providing the city with “$4.2 million to improve and enhance the amenities and green spaces at Sunnyside Park,” according to the university.

The ballpark is set to open for the 2026 baseball season, and the plan is for the Utes to start practicing there in 2025.

In the meantime, the Utes need a temporary home with Smith’s Ballpark closing. Harlan said that he’s “zeroing” in on a place for the Utes to play for the 2025 season but isn’t ready to announce it yet.

“The good news is we have some really good options, but we got to close it,” he said. “We hope to get that done in the next month.”