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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city is close to finalizing the terms of a long-term lease with the University of Utah that will allow it to build a new baseball stadium at Sunnyside Park at a discount rate in exchange for funds that will help improve the park.
Salt Lake City would lease almost 1.18 acres of its land to the university, at a rate of $1 per year over the next 99 years, under the proposal. In exchange, the university would send Salt Lake City $4.2 million that will be used for upgrades to the park and remove plans for a 35-foot wall in its left field between the ballpark and the city park.
The deal has the support of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who briefed members of the Salt Lake City Council on where negotiations are at during an informational meeting Tuesday. The city is currently reviewing a public benefits analysis on the deal, which is required to be completed any time a "below market" lease rate is proposed.
"I think that the $4.2 million that they are willing to make (toward) public benefits and remediation of the land that would be impacted are very much worthwhile," she said. "Those terms have not been executed yet."
The need for a new ballpark — and lease
The Utes will continue to play home games at Smith's Ballpark this season; however, the need for a new stadium became apparent after the Larry H. Miller Company announced last year it would move the Salt Lake Bees out to a new stadium in South Jordan's Daybreak community. The Bees' move kicked off a city project that will ultimately reimagine the ballpark, leaving the Utes without a stadium to play at.
Members of the University of Utah's board of trustees approved a new 1,200-seat ballpark a few months after all of this unfolded. The university has since secured a multiyear naming rights deal with America First Credit Union for what will be called America First Ballpark. It's slated to open in 2025.
But plans for America First Ballpark include cutting into the city's 27½-acre Sunnyside Park, which neighbors the university's existing ballpark. According to the city, the stadium could still be built without a lease agreement, but an agreement would allow the university to build it without a massive 35-foot wall in its left field. The wall would be required without an agreement.
The loss of land would have some impacts, though. It would mostly impact a softball field and parts of a multipurpose field adjacent to the U.'s existing baseball field, Salt Lake City Public Lands director Kristin Riker said. One of the concept ideas removes a second softball field, but that is just an "idea" under consideration.
Salt Lake City Councilman Dan Dugan explained that the $4.2 million figure came from negotiations as the two sides agreed on what a fair deal would look like. The money that would be directed to the park would be on top of $750,000 slated to go the park through a parks bond residents voted to approve in 2022.
Neighborhood council 'vehemently' opposes
However, not everyone is happy with the plan.
Jan Hemming, chairwoman of the Yalecrest Neighborhood Council, blasted the university for saying it didn't do enough to alert residents about the plans before last year's vote. She added in a statement at the time that the neighborhood already has parking concerns during football games.
She authored a letter to the city on Jan. 24, informing leaders that the neighborhood council hasn't changed its stance even with the proposed concessions. She wrote that the council is "vehemently" opposed to the proposed terms, adding that it contradicts the city's East Bench Master Plan and "ignores community and public opinion," among other things.
Hemming also called on the two entities to slow down because the Bees could remain at Smith's Ballpark through 2027 under the possibility that the Oakland Athletics could play games in Daybreak before the team's new Las Vegas stadium opens in 2028.
"It seems prudent to pump the brakes on any imminent transaction," she wrote. "(The A's) could lead to the Salt Lake Bees and University of Utah having use of Smith's Ballpark for three more years — and give the U. additional time to find a more suitable location. In other words, a win-win."
But since the stadium can move forward without a lease agreement, Mendenhall warned Tuesday that failing to come up with an agreement may have "detrimental" consequences for the city. She added that she believes discussions have been headed in the "right direction."
Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez, telling her colleagues she's a frequent park visitor, added that she believes the park "needs a lot of funding" and residents would "greatly benefit" from any improvements.
What happens next?
The deal could still go through some revisions since it's yet to be completed. The City Council is tentatively slated to hold a public hearing on the public benefits analysis during its Feb. 20 meeting before it votes on a resolution to accept it. It's required for the city to approve any deal that's considered a discount.
The council could vote on the measure after the public hearing wraps up. If the deal is finalized, further discussions will be held on how to spend the money and improve Sunnyside Park.
"It's still going to go through the engagement process with the community on what to do with that $4.2 million," Dugan said.
The timeline for those discussions is yet to be determined.
