Hubbry Logo
search
logo

Salt Lake Bees

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Salt Lake Bees

The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.

Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at America First Square since 2025. The team previously played its home games at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City from its opening in 1994 until the end of the 2024 season.

Formerly known as the Salt Lake Buzz from 1994 to 2000 and the Salt Lake Stingers from 2001 to 2005, the team adopted the Bees moniker in 2006. Since their inception in 1994, they have been a part of the PCL, including the 2021 season when the league was called Triple-A West.

After the 1914 Pacific Coast League season, Salt Lake City businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane purchased the Sacramento Solons and brought the team to Utah as the Salt Lake City Bees. Though a charter member of the PCL, the Solons suffered on the field and at the gate, being exiled at times to Tacoma, Fresno, and San Francisco. On March 31, 1915, their first game was played with more than 10,000 fans pouring into Majestic Park (later renamed Bonneville Park) to cheer the Bees to a 9–3 win over the Vernon Tigers.

The original Bees never won a PCL pennant, but they drew attendees well, especially given the small market size. However, other PCL team owners resented the high cost of travel to Salt Lake City. When the Vernon Tigers abandoned Los Angeles after the 1925 season, it was suggested to Lane that he would do well to transfer his team to Southern California. After 11 seasons, the Bees moved to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. Initially known as the Hollywood Bees, the team soon became the Hollywood Stars. After ten seasons in Hollywood, the team transferred again to San Diego, where it played as the San Diego Padres from 1936 to 1968. Salt Lake City was without a baseball team until 1946, when it received a franchise in the Pioneer League.

Salt Lake City once was home to an all-black baseball team called the Occidentals. They played during the early 1900s against white teams in Utah and across the Western United States.

In 1971, the Salt Lake City Angels started playing. The minor league team was affiliated with the California Angels.

The current franchise dates from 1994, when Joe Buzas, a former major league player and the owner of the PCL Portland Beavers, moved the team to Salt Lake City. Buzas made a deal wherein the city would build a new ballpark on the site of historic Derks Field in exchange for relocating the team. The new ballpark, Franklin Quest Field, opened in 1994 with the renamed Salt Lake Buzz drawing 713,224 fans to home games during their inaugural season—breaking the PCL single-season attendance record that had stood for 48 years.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.