Salt Lake Bees announce month-long delay of opening day

SALT LAKE CITY  —  Last month, the Salt Lake Bees announced that they were going to have a 2021 season, after the 2020 season was canceled last year because of the spread of the coronavirus. Now, the Triple-A team said their season will be delayed, but they’ll still play ball.

The team says Major League Baseball notified the club that opening day at Smith’s Ballpark will begin on May 6th against the Reno Aces. An updated schedule will add home games for the Bees on Monday, July 12th and Tuesday, July 13th against the Sacramento River Cats.

A press release sent out on Wednesday indicates the games scheduled for April will not be rescheduled, but the new schedule would consist of 120 games with 60 dates at home and on the road.

All night games at Smith’s Ballpark will start at 6:35 p.m. with Sunday matinees and Memorial Day scheduled for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

The Bees are currently working with local and state health department officials on a plan for fan
attendance at the ballpark, to be announced at a later date.

Baseball fans, team players and personnel aren’t the only ones that are happy just to have a season back despite the delay. Employees of Lucky 13 are also celebrating after the Smith’s Ball Park neighbor and mainstay lost revenue in 2020 because there was no season.

“Last year was tough all the way around, especially when a good chunk of sales comes from just across the street,” Jasmine Gordon, an employee of Lucky 13 said. We love having baseball and our regulars who come for the season.”

In a normal season, many Bees fans would make it a habit to stop by Lucky 13 before or after a game. Lucky 13 remained open as much as they could without those fans during the past year, but it hasn’t been the same. Gordon says delay or not, her crew will take whatever they can get, as long as there’s some ball being played next door.

A complete schedule is available at slbees.com.