South Jordan • Bumble, the Salt Lake Bees’ mascot, zipped around the South Jordan Community Center taking photos with city officials and business leaders.
South Jordan’s second annual State of the City event on Wednesday night displayed the suburb’s emerging status as a buzzy regional hub for entertainment and recreation in the southwestern part of the Salt Lake Valley.
Mayor Dawn Ramsey, the city’s leader since 2018, started the tradition last year.
“It is somewhat overwhelming to sit up here tonight and talk about all of the great things happening in our city,” she told attendees. “This is one of the most dynamic times in the history of South Jordan.”
Unlike Salt Lake City’s State of the City address, the event included a panel of prominent community leaders, led by Ramsey, rather than a single speech from the mayor.
This year, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, Larry H. Miller Co. spokesperson Amanda Covington, Utah Transit Authority trustee Beth Holbrook and former Utah legislator Susan Pulsipher joined Ramsey onstage and mostly discussed new amenities coming to this burgeoning burb of 85,000 residents.
Chief among them is the new baseball stadium, The Ballpark at America First Square, set to host the Bees after their exit from Utah’s capital. Other Miller-funded amenities near the stadium are also poised to premiere this year.
Covington confirmed the ballpark, which was formerly called Daybreak Field, will be ready to host the Bees’ first homestand on Apr. 8. The privately funded stadium will host up to 8,000 fans, barely half as many as the 15,400 at Smith’s Ballpark.
“We’re calling it our season of openings,” Covington said.
In March, a new TRAX station on the Red Line is set to debut and provide easy access to the stadium. Then, in summer, the Miller company expects to host concerts at an outdoor plaza next to the ballpark and begin opening nearby restaurants. By midsummer, a Megaplex movie theater will join the offerings and include additional activities like bowling and arcade games.
New apartment growth, Covington said, will come later in the year and the company plans to build at least 400 units to be leased as more affordable workforce housing.
(South Jordan) Mayor Dawn Ramsey speaks at South Jordan's State of the City event as Utah Transit Authority trustee Beth Holbrook, Larry H. Miller Co. spokesperson Amanda Covington, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and former Utah legislator Susan Pulsipher listen in on Jan. 15, 2025.
A new performing arts center will be coming to Daybreak’s downtown. Funded by Salt Lake County and the Larry H. Miller Family Foundation, it won’t break ground until 2026 with an expected opening in 2028. Plans call for an 800-seat theater and a visual art gallery.
Wilson and Ramsey also announced a joint project from the county, city and the Jordan School District to add swim lanes to the pool at the South Jordan Recreation Center. Leaders hope the new lanes will allow more swim time for high school athletes and older residents alike.
“The thing that I love the most about South Jordan is it is such an incredible blend of history,” the county mayor said, “but also, you look at [Ramsey’s] success and the fact that you do have this regional draw.”
