- Salt Lake Bees will play as Utah Dirty Sodas every Wednesday starting Apr. 1.
- Swig sponsors the new identity, offering $3 drinks and free items for runs.
- The Bees' alternate name reflects Utah's soda culture and entrepreneurial spirit, Bees general manager says.
SOUTH JORDAN — Utah's soda obsession is coming to a ballpark near you, as the Salt Lake Bees enter the quirky world of minor league baseball team names.
The Bees unveiled their first-ever locally themed alternate identity on Tuesday, becoming the Utah Dirty Sodas every Wednesday this season, beginning on April 1. Swig will serve as the official sponsor of the secondary moniker, offering $3 drinks on those games, as well as a free Swig item when the team scores four or more runs during a game.
Introducing the Utah Dirty Sodas, the Salt Lake Bees new alternate identity. This season, Wednesdays at The Ballpark at America First Square will celebrate the perfect blend of baseball and Utah's iconic dirty soda culture. pic.twitter.com/piLt6FMTrR
— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) February 24, 2026
Unique Swig and Utah Dirty Sodas merchandise items will be included in special ticket packages, which also went on sale Wednesday, according to the team.
"We're excited to partner with Swig and unveil an alternate identity that reflects Utah's creativity, energy and entrepreneurial spirit," said Ty Wardle, general manager of the Salt Lake Bees, in a statement. "Dirty sodas are a vibrant part of Utah's culture, and we can't wait to combine that obsession with the state's love for baseball."
While the Bees have played under several historical Utah baseball team names, and as the Abejas for Minor League Baseball's Copa de la Diversión program, they have yet to develop one based on regional significance, as many other teams have in recent years.
Some honor local foods, like the Bees are doing. That started when the Fresno Grizzlies, a former foe in the Pacific Coast League, became the Tacos to celebrate the city's food truck taco legacy in 2015.
Others have picked random pieces of hometown history to pay homage to, like the Eugene Emeralds playing as the Exploding Whales for an unforgettable incident in Oregon's past. Some simply honor the natural wonders in their backyard. The Hartford Yard Goats played as the Leaf Peepers to honor New England's fall splendor.
Team officials told KSL in 2024 they were considering alternate names when they unveiled new logos and uniforms for the 2025 season, but it can take time for a concept to be approved for on-field use. Dirty Sodas make sense, from both a cultural sense and a business one.
Swig launched in Utah in 2010, slinging out dirty sodas that quickly became a state phenomenon. The fascination sparked several similar brands, as well as the infamous "soda wars" over the term "dirty soda," which led to a lawsuit between Swig and another brand, Sodalicious, that was settled in 2017.
Both the Bees and Swig fall under the Larry H. Miller Company umbrella of businesses, too. The company acquired the majority stake of Swig in 2022, and began expanding the brand out to many more states across the country.
RARE Design, based in Mississippi, was hired to create a design for the alternate identity.
Tuesday's announcement adds to the growing list of new alternate monikers coming to a minor league ballpark this year. The Rome Emperors announced on Monday that they'll play as the Georgia Summer Legends for most of the summer, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The Lake County Captains also announced plans to be the Lake County Fish Fry's for a few games to celebrate Ohio's love of fish fry dinners, especially during Lent. The Bees also join Pacific Coast League rivals Round Rock, which plans to take the field as the Train Bandits in commemoration of Texas's outlaw days.
This story will be updated.
