"Nearly two years after the final inning of the Salt Lake Bees' last game at Smith's Ballpark, the stadium, which seats 14,000, often has nary a soul." KUTV ran that line on July 24, the day Official Pie and Beer Day packed the concourse. In the same story, Andrew Upton, who lives a few blocks away, said the stadium is not used enough.
The city's Community Reinvestment Agency treats the stadium as a year-round community venue. Cornerstone Technologies manages it, and the CRA says most public events land between May and September. Look up October 2026 on the CRA's own Smith's Ballpark calendar and you get "No events found."
Two events are coming to the ballpark this month anyway. One is the last stop of an international climbing season. The other is a free Halloween afternoon that a neighborhood nonprofit paid for. Neither group is the city, and neither appears on the city's calendar. If you live near 1300 South and West Temple, you'll find out what's happening at the ballpark from the people booking it, not from City Hall.
The summer showed who fills the seats
October fits a pattern the summer already set. Every event that drew a crowd to the stadium this year was put on by an outside organizer:
- July 24: Official Pie and Beer Day ran from 4 to 8 p.m. with brewers and pizza, and KUTV called it an exception to the venue's usual quiet.
- August 22: The Urban Arts Festival set up a local-artist marketplace, music, performance art, and live mural painting at the ballpark.
- September 19: Spy Hop held its first Backyard Film Bash, and the organization says more than 1,000 people came for films, live music, food, and art.
The city does pay for part of this, just not through its calendar. The CRA's Pitch Grant covers up to 75% of costs, or $50,000, for public arts, culture, wellness, and community events held at the stadium during 2026. The grant money goes out, organizers run the events, and the official listing doesn't always get updated.
October 16 to 18: the climbing season ends on the infield
The World Climbing Series Boulder takes over the infield October 16 through 18. The Utah Sports Commission calls it the first time an international climbing competition has used the ballpark. It's also the last Boulder event of the 2026 season, where World Climbing will crown its Series champions. The final standings will be settled a few blocks from your house.
USA Climbing Chief of Sport John Muse told Gripped the venue was "a chance to connect sport, history, and community in a meaningful way." World Climbing pointed to the former Bees stadium and the Wasatch Range behind it as what sets this venue apart.
The published schedule closes the venue between sessions. That matters if you want to walk over for just one round:
- Friday, Oct. 16: Doors 8 a.m. Men's qualification 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Venue reopens at 3 p.m., and women's qualification runs 4 to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 17: Doors 9 a.m. Men's semifinal 10 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Venue reopens at 6 p.m., and the men's final starts at 7 p.m., followed by awards.
- Sunday, Oct. 18: Doors 9 a.m. Women's semifinal 10 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Venue reopens at 6 p.m., and the women's final starts at 7 p.m., followed by awards.
The listing says start times and admission are subject to change, so check again the week of the event.
Every round needs a ticket, including the Friday qualifiers. Gripped reported tickets starting at $15. The ticketing page showed "From $17.06" when checked, and neither source explains the gap. Every ticket type is seated. Most tickets are general admission, with preferred seats near the walls and ADA areas also available. Ticket holders get a wristband and can leave and come back. Visit Salt Lake advertised a limited 15% discount with the code VISITSL15.
The organizers didn't publish any spectator parking directions. Their information sheet sends visitors to Ballpark Station and says the TRAX Green Line gets there from the airport in about 30 minutes. If you live within walking distance, you'll want to know that before Saturday night, since the venue empties out after the semifinal and fills up again for the 7 p.m. final. FOX 13 reported on October 2 that the weekend will include partner activations, local food, and vendors.
October 30: the neighbors' own festival
Two weeks later, the Ballpark Action Team brings its Halloween festival, Field of Screams, back to the stadium on Friday, October 30, from 3 to 6 p.m. The group promises spooky displays on the concourse, treats, prizes, games, and a costume parade with prizes. It's free, and children under 12 must come with an adult.
The funding loops back to the summer. BAT lists Intermountain Health, the city's Pitch grants, and its own organization as sponsors. It also says a $20,000 donation from Brad Wheeler and Official Pie and Beer Day is what makes the event possible. So the July event KUTV called an exception to the stadium's quiet is also paying for the stadium's October.
The RSVP link on BAT's homepage enters you in a prize drawing. One caution: an older Field of Screams page elsewhere on BAT's site still shows "Fri, Oct 31" with registration closed. BAT's News page files that past festival under "Field of Screams! Halloween 2025," so the October 30 date on the homepage is the current one.
BAT runs this on volunteers. It held a community-wide yard sale on May 9 with 50 participating homes and is now hiring a part-time coordinator to handle communications, outreach, and volunteers.
The smaller stops between the two big dates
Not everything this month happens in the stadium. Ballpark Library Lab at 1406 S. West Temple, a 1,260-square-foot branch in a converted duplex that opened in May 2025, hosts Yarn Social on Wednesday, October 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. Teens and adults can bring a crochet or knitting project and meet other crafters.
For dinner after a climbing final, Engine Room Pub at 1388 S. 300 West offers a family-friendly restaurant and a separate 21-plus lounge, according to The Salt Lake Tribune's March 2026 visit. It's in the former Shades Brewing space. Shades closed its Ballpark location in August 2025. Leavity Bread & Coffee at 1000 S. Main St. has been the neighborhood's bakery and sandwich counter in recent Tribune coverage, and Policy Kings Brewery anchors the north edge at 79 W. 900 South. The most recent press for those two is from 2025, so check their hours before you go.
The vote that decides what the stadium becomes
Everything above counts as interim use. The CRA Board adopted the Ballpark NEXT Community Design Plan on December 9, 2025. When the city released the draft plans in July 2025, Building Salt Lake reported that they would keep the southwest stands as an entertainment venue, turn the playing surface into multi-use fields, put a library at the base of a housing development at 1300 South and Main Street, add a standalone fire station along Main Street, and make West Temple a festival street. The zoning to make that possible hasn't passed yet, and the height limits have already been lowered:
| Step | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 11, 2026 | Planning Commission recommended the rezone, 5 to 2 |
| July 14, 2026 | Council straw poll backed MU-8 instead of MU-11 on the main parcels, keeping MU-5 on the southern edge |
| Height effect | Generally up to 80 feet, or 95 with design review, down from a 150-foot maximum |
| August 18, 2026 | Public hearing held, with August 25 listed as a potential action date |
| Today | District 5's page says the Council "will vote on the proposal at a future meeting" |
At the September 4 Ballpark Community Council meeting, according to a published summary of the meeting video, the District 5 council member credited residents with getting the zoning moved from MU-11 to MU-8. The council member also said she was working to add protections for open space and mature trees to the ordinance and hoped to bring the rezone to a vote in October if colleagues supported those changes. Back in June, the community council said neighborhood groups were still pushing for the rezone to put open and green space, tree canopy, and parks ahead of housing and a hotel.
No developer has been named, no request for proposals has been awarded, and no demolition date has been set. KSL reported in July that construction timelines "will be sorted out sometime after" the zoning. The council could take up the zoning this month, during the same weeks a world championship and a free neighborhood Halloween festival are using the stands.
The rezone vote is the date that will shape the blocks around the stadium for years. If you're weighing what that vote could mean for a property near 1300 South, whether that's height next door, timing on a sale, or a rental you're underwriting, Swett Equity Real Estate will go through the zoning maps and the numbers with you. Let's Connect.
