‘It’s first class’: It’s time to play ball at Utah baseball’s new ballpark

The University of Utah baseball team finally has its own home on campus, and on Friday the Utes will welcome fans and supporters alike for the inaugural game at Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark.

It’s been a long time coming, even further back than that day construction began on their current home in summer 2024.

There’s been a topping out ceremony in May 2025 as the final steel beam for the new structure was put in place — on the same weekend the Utes played their final series at Smith’s Ballpark — and in late January, the team moved in after the $39 million state-of-the-art baseball facility officially opened.

The Utes have even been practicing on the FieldTurf playing surface since August — that was one of the first things finished at the site, giving Utah baseball players a chance to get acclimated to their new digs.

It’s about time to play some ball, though. Have your scorebook ready.

Utah’s first game at its on-campus home is Friday against Grand Canyon, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. MST.

The Utes will play the Lopes in a four-game series, and Utah will host its first Big 12 series a week later, when Arizona comes to town March 13-15.

“It’s very safe to say that not only is the team excited, but the (athletic) department’s excited, the fan base is excited, and we’re really looking forward to a good weekend of baseball at the new ballpark,” Utah baseball coach Gary Henderson told the Deseret News this week.

What it means for Utah baseball

Having Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark on the southern end of campus, next to other athletic facilities, means that the Utah baseball team finally has everything it needs under one roof.

“To have everything in one centralized location’s been outstanding,” Henderson said. “We’ve got things that sometimes the fan base doesn’t think about, but we’ve got the weight room here at the site, we’ve got the training room, we’ve got the equipment room, we’ve got the laundry room.

“We’ve got everything you need to run the program in one site, and they did a tremendous job when they built the place.”

The university announced the plans for a new on-campus ballpark on Guardsman Way in April 2023, just months after the Salt Lake Bees announced they were moving to a new stadium in Daybreak.

Since 1996, Utah baseball had played its games at Smith’s Ballpark, the former home of the Bees. The Utes also split time on-campus between a practice field and various athletic areas like weight rooms and dining halls.

At Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark, though, that’s all in one building — batting cages, pitching lab, clubhouse, lounge, film room, weight room, sports medicine facilities, even donor spaces, coaches offices, a recruiting area and an expansive press box.

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Utah alumni in the pros are even encouraged to come back and train during the offseason in the new facility.

Henderson glowed about the improved efficiency behind the new facility.

“We were very grateful to be able to use Smith’s throughout the years, but you’re constantly a visitor in somebody else’s house and in constant negotiations to practice when weather was either here or looming,” Henderson said.

“To be able to have an artificial turf and a hitting facility that we can access at any point in time has really been a tremendous improvement for the program.”

He added, “It’s just been a much better practice situation for our kids.”

“I would suggest to the fans, come on out and see it, you’re going to love it.”

—  Utah baseball coach Gary Henderson

America First Ballpark has a seating capacity of 3,000, with 1,200 chairback seats and 1,800 capacity on the berm in the outfield, and fans will fill those seats for the first time this weekend — a historic moment for the program.

It’s the culmination of hard work behind the scenes by the school, spearheaded by Utah director of athletics Mark Harlan, and work funded largely by major donations from Colorado Rockies owner Charlie Monfort, a Utah alum and stadium namesake, and America First Credit Union.

“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is, in terms of the fans, that if you haven’t been to the ballpark, you got to get out and you got to see the thing. They did a tremendous job building it. We didn’t cut any corners. It’s first class,” Henderson said.

“Mark Harlan did a tremendous job of coming through on his vision of what he wanted the ballpark to be. A lot of people supported the vision and worked hard, too.

“I would suggest to the fans, come on out and see it, you’re going to love it.”

Building for the future

The 2026 season began for Utah on Feb. 13, and over the past three weeks, the Utes have started the year 5-5.

That has included a series win over Fresno State, victories over San Diego State, Creighton and Loyola Marymount and a three-game series against No. 24 UC Santa Barbara.

It’s given Henderson a chance to learn a bit more about his group that includes All-Big 12 starting pitcher Colter McAnelly, reliever Dillon Fine, batting average and RBI leader Cameron Gurney and veteran infielder Matt Flaharty.

“We’ve played four games against regional teams from last year, so it’s been a good challenge. We’re five and five, which is, you know, five and five,” Henderson said, matter of factly. “I feel like we’ve got some growth that needs to take place defensively. We’ve got a really good group of kids that like to play.

“Our bullpen has pitched extremely well, and we’ve learned a lot about the club in the first two, three weeks. It’s time to take another step forward this weekend with four versus Grand Canyon.”

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The on-campus ballpark comes during a new era for Utah baseball, as it prepares for its second year playing in the Big 12 after more than a decade in the Pac-12.

Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark will be that new home where not only current and future Utes play out their careers, but it will serve as an introduction to what Salt Lake Valley baseball can offer for visiting teams and their fans.

“Baseball’s important in the Big 12 and that was not a surprise. We knew going in and we experienced it, it’s a passionate league, baseball’s important to the schools in our conference,” Henderson said.

“The travel was obviously different, a little bit different style of baseball, certainly windier weather than we encountered than in the Pac. But it’s a really good challenge, and some great venues, and some well-coached teams.”