BASEBALLPARKS.COM's Ten Must-See Parks

Franklin Covey Field

The Must-See list includes a couple of parks with incredible views of bodies of water.  This selection allows you to take in an incredible mountain scene.  In fact, we feel that this park has the best view of any Minor League stadium in America.  The shot below was taken at twilight through the backstop screen.  Utah's beautiful Wasatch Mountains dominate the background.

WHERE THIS PARK IS LOCATED:  The park is south of downtown at (and, yes, the street address is confusing) 77 West 1300 South.  From the Salt Lake City airport, take I-80 east to I-15 south to the Beck Street exit.  Then take the street called 300 West south to a left on 1300 South.  

WHO PLAYS HERE:  This park opened in 1994.  Back when the Franklin Covey company was called Franklin Quest, this field (logically enough) was called Franklin Quest Field.  For the park's first seven years, its tenant was the Salt Lake Buzz of the Pacific Coast League.  For the 2001 season, though, the team was renamed the Stingers, and for 2005, the Bees.  Same franchise, they just keep changing the name.  By the way, the team's ticket prices are among the most reasonable in AAA baseball.

SPECIAL EVENTS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED HERE:  In the first season that the park was open, the Buzz set an all-time attendance record in the PCL, as over 714,000 fans came through the turnstiles . . . That same year, Salt Lake's Marty Cordova blistered the league with a .358 average.  The next year he was the American League Rookie of the Year . . . Vancouver catcher Todd Greene cracked three homers in a game in SLC in 1996 . . . The '96 Triple-A All Star Game was held here . . . The '98 Buzz trotted a great one-two punch up to the plate, with Chris Latham batting .324 and Corey Koskie hitting .301 with 32 doubles, 26 homers and 105 RBIs.

WHY YOU MUST SEE THIS PARK:  The park has a nice, modern design.  On the outside, the exterior brickwork is lovely, and the main entrance to the park behind home plate is one of the prettiest in the Minors.  Inside, there is an overhang over much of the upper deck (always an aesthetic plus in my book) and a pleasant, uncluttered look.  But the main reason you need to see a game here (and, yes, this is the park's "most unique element") is so that you can sit back and stare at the incredibly beautiful Wasatch Mountains in the distance.  And if you go to a night game, note how the setting sun casts an incredible, colorful hue on those mountains.  The locals call this effect "Alpine Glow."

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