Baseball has been hosted at the corner of 1300 South and Main Street in Salt Lake City for over a century. But times are changing.
After the Salt Lake Bees said they will be moving to the suburbs in 2025, the future of the Ballpark neighborhood might be becoming a little clearer. Residents got a peek at a possible future with the announcement of the “Ballpark NEXT” design contest on May 31.
“This is not about what is going to happen next, necessarily,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall stressed to the gathered crowd at the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake. “The whole purpose of this was to throw the idea out there — what could happen here without baseball?”
Redevelopment of the 13.5 acres of land that houses Smith’s Ballpark is a priority for the city and there is no guarantee that the winners’ designs will make it into the final plans.
The city cast a wide net for ideas on what to do after the Bees vacate it. There were 123 entries in the student, resident and professional categories that ran the gamut from the land continuing as a sports venue to housing and open space. In May, the public voted on three finalists in each category.
After more than 4,600 votes were tallied, a submission by Utah State University’s Nicholas Tate Barney & Team topped the student category. Their entry centered around a mixed-use proposal that incorporated housing and recreational open space.
The resident category went to Oscar Arvizu, who imagined a community “sky garden” at the site that incorporates open space atop the existing stadium structure. In the professional category, Tessa Arneson & Team rose to the top with a proposal for a women-focused sports complex.
Congrats to Ballpark NEXT winners Oscar Arvizu, Nicholas Tate Barney and team from Utah State University, and Tessa Arneson and team for your creative ideas. You've expanded what we all think is possible as we reimagine the ballpark site and surrounding properties.
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) June 1, 2023
A special… pic.twitter.com/KCHt8LACqZ
The student, resident and professional winners received prizes of $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000, respectively.
“It's so exciting to kind of get this idea in front of people and actually have it be liked by so many people,” Arvizu said. “I just wanted to see some more nature being brought in. Utah is known for its nature, and I think we should be bringing that into the city.”
According to Mendenhall, the city will now embark on a community engagement phase before a more formal design process begins.
“For the ones that don't make the cut to those winning three, there really aren't any themes or ideas that have to fall off the table for the others,” she said. “We want to keep hearing from you … Don't let a good idea dissolve because they didn't make it through on the winner sheet. All the good things should stay on the table.”
City officials said they don’t have a concrete timeline for this project yet, but hope to have a formal process started by the time the Bees leave at the end of the 2024 baseball season.
The biggest fear of Salt Lake City Council Chair Darin Mano, who represents the neighborhood, is “a redevelopment that takes many, many years.”
“Don't let perfect be the enemy of good,” he said. “I think we need to redevelop. We can't let this sit for years.”
