SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — For a new ballpark, the atmosphere is electric for the Salt Lake Bees' home opener of the 2025 season. Many fans made the trek down to South Jordan for this first.
Talking with fans all night long, we found one who might be more of a "superfan" than anyone else.
It's a day of firsts: the sound of the first train rolling in, the first line waited in, the first tickets scanned, first selfies, first face paintings, pretzels, and cheers — lots of them!
But this is not a first for Jared Benwared.
"We're definitely nearing 1,000 in terms of Bees games — pretty close," he estimates.
Yes, you read that right: 1,000 games since 1994 — before the Bees were even called the Bees (they were the Buzz, originally).
So, we thought, who better to sit with than him?
"I'm a season ticket holder for a lot of years. I've been watching them through thick and thin," Benwared said.
And through the first national anthem and the first pitch, he was ready for another season of baseball along with all these other fans.
"I love the game of baseball, and I love that it’s here. And whether it’s in Salt Lake or South Jordan, I just love it.”
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And just as he felt like it couldn’t get any better, well… the first home run while we were sitting with him in the first inning was a grand slam!
"The adrenaline in this whole place — like we were all just in sync. We were all one, and we were just all baseball fans," he said about the moment.
So while fans experience their first time at The Ballpark at America First Square, cheering on their Bees, it’s going to be a great season of firsts.
"In baseball, we ask, 'Is this heaven?’” he said. “I think it's appropriate to say tonight, this is heaven."
