How did the Salt Lake Bees fare in first season at their new ballpark?

The Salt Lake Bees finished near the bottom of the Pacific Coast League standings, but team officials hailed the first season in their new stadium a success with more than 390,000 fans passing through the gates.

Still, attendance at the Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan was down from the Triple-A baseball club’s last season at Smith’s Ballpark, its home in Salt Lake City for the previous three decades.

And according to Baseball America, attendance at minor league baseball games across the country dipped in 2025.

“The Salt Lake Bees had a successful inaugural season at our new ballpark, and we are excited to continue welcoming the community to attend events, concerts and more at The Ballpark at America First Square,” Michelle Smith, president of Miller Sports + Entertainment, said in a press release. “Sports and entertainment at their best unite a community.”

On the field, the top minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels finished with a record of 65-84, third worst in the 10-team PCL.

The Larry H. Miller Company bought the Bees in 2005. The team played at Smith’s Ballpark through the 2024 season before moving to the privately funded stadium that anchors Miller-owned Downtown Daybreak, a 200-acre mixed-use development within the 4,000-acre master-planned Daybreak community.

The new stadium hosted 75 Bees games and more than 70 community events, concerts and corporate gatherings in its inaugural season. Also, more than 1,300 youth participated in baseball clinics during the year.

The state-of-the-art park, which offers a panoramic view of the Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake Valley, received positive reviews from fans, players and Major League Baseball. The Bees team store had record sales as the community embraced the brand refresh.

How many fans did the Bees draw?

According to Baseball America, the Bees were one of the rare teams to see an attendance drop after moving into a new ballpark, though it noted that was partly unavoidable because of the new stadium’s smaller capacity.

In 2025, the team drew 395,534 fans for an average of 5,274 per game at the Ballpark at America First Square. Season ticket holders nearly doubled from 207 in 2024 to 412 in this season, accounting for 1,778 seats per game.

Salt Lake came in just under the league-wide average of 5,359 in the PCL.

Per-game Bees attendance, though, was 1,070 less this year than the last season at Smith’s Ballpark, one of the biggest in the minor leagues with a capacity of 14,500. The new ballpark has 6,500 fixed seats and open gathering spaces for a total of 8,000.

In 2024, the Bees had 13 crowds of more than 9,500, including 14,455 fans on July 4. The new park maxed out this past season out at 7,679 fans on July 4, per Baseball America.

Kids Day, where the team invites elementary schools to attend for free, brought in 11,755 fans, which also skewed the 2024 attendance figures. Because all the day games this past year were on Sundays, the Bees offered a new version of Kids Day to watch its Field of Dreams Series featuring local high school teams. Those numbers are not reflected in the yearly attendance because they were “nongame” days.

Other nongame events include MLB Home Run Derby X, a Howard Jones concert, movie nights and other community gatherings that drew a total of 34,000 people. The ballpark is hosting Beisbol en Salt Lake this weekend, with two Mexican Pacific League teams playing exhibition games, with a projected attendance of 9,000.

Minor league baseball attendance dips

Overall, attendance at minor league baseball games across the country in 2025 managed to top 30 million but fell 2.9% from last season. Minor league total attendance has not dropped below that mark this century, per Baseball America.

Combined, the 120 teams at all levels drew a total of 30,360,682 fans in 2025, for an average of 3,847 per game, compared to 3,962 in 2024.

Nineteen teams saw increases of more than 100 fans in average attendance, while 57 teams were down by 100 or more fans, including 10 that lost over 500 per game, according to Baseball America. A total of 78 clubs experienced declines in average attendance in 2025.

Some of the biggest declines came from teams facing unusual circumstances.

The Triple-A Sacramento River Cats are normally one of the biggest draws in minor league baseball. But in sharing their stadium with the Oakland Athletics’ MLB team, attendance dropped 1,498 per game.

The Tampa Tarpons were moved out of Steinbrenner Field to a back spring training field because the Tampa Bay Rays took over as temporary tenants while waiting on repairs at their stadium caused by Hurricane Milton. The result was 645 fewer fans per game.

Building a sports and entertainment destination

Meanwhile, the Miller Company continues to develop Downtown Daybreak as a sports and entertainment district.

The recently completed centerfield plaza, America First Square, connects the stadium to the rest of Downtown Daybreak, realizing the company’s vision of creating a community destination with year-round activities.

America First Square hosted concerts, community events and festivals in the summer. A Megaplex entertainment center opened over the summer that includes bowling, games, movies and dining. The district also has restaurants, retail and residential development.

A winter village with a holiday light display and ice skating is coming this winter.

Shannon Bartch, director of Sports + Recreation + Entertainment at HOK in San Francisco, said the Miller Company maximized the project’s first season by creatively programming versatile public spaces and delivering a vibrant destination for events of all sizes.

“The Ballpark at America First Square combines a best-in-class baseball experience with thoughtful district development,” she said in a press release. “It anchors the surrounding neighborhood, amplifies the fan experience and functions as a true community asset in South Jordan.”