Medford council members hear proposal, which calls for a 2,600-seat venue, 66 baseball games a year plus at least another 150 events

The Eugene Emeralds made a pitch to Medford City Council on Wednesday to build a $90-million minor league ballpark in the downtown area.

The Emeralds, or “Ems,” have been using the University of Oregon’s PK Field in Eugene, but the field is out of compliance with Major League Baseball’s new standards for minor league facilities. The Ems are a High-A minor league baseball team affiliated with the San Francisco Giants.

“There is a real possibility of having to move out of Eugene,” said Alan Benavides, general manager of the Emeralds. “Medford is the leading option.”

Councilors liked the idea of a stadium that would help revitalize the downtown.

“The benefit is clear,” Councilor Nick Card said.

But he said the city has raised fees and there is the need for a new Jackson County Jail, both of which put a bind in the city’s potential to generate additional revenues.

“Is there a way we can do this without raising fees?” he said.

D.G. Elmore Jr. with the Elmore Sports Group, which has owned the Emeralds since 1983, said the city has been looking for solutions to revitalize the downtown over the years.

“Your reason just showed up,” he said.

But, he said the stadium can’t be seen as a money-making venture for the city.

“This has to be the centerpiece of a much larger plan,” he said. “It can be a renaissance that will lift this community.”

Elmore said the preference would be to locate the stadium in the downtown area, though no specific location was disclosed, other than a prime location.

Another community that built a minor league stadium is Parkview Field in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, Elmore noted, which has helped bring new life into that city center. The field occupies about 10 acres.

One of the few large areas in the downtown that might accommodate a large stadium is Hawthorne Park, a property that is owned by the city.

The proposal pitched by the Emeralds called for the city to finance $45 million of the project with the remainder coming from a variety of other sources.

In Eugene, the Emeralds attempted to get enough money together to build a stadium there at a cost of $90 million, but voters rejected a $15 million measure that would have provided the final dollars for that project.

Councilor Jessica Ayres said, “I’m just curious why isn’t the Eugene community fighting to keep you there?”

Benavides said the city of Eugene is having budget problems and the $15 million bond measure was shot down by voters.

“Without that 15 (million), we didn’t get there,” he said.

Benavides said his organization approached Medford because it has invested in the Rogue X facility as well as Lithia Driveway & Fields.

“The real reason we are here is because you guys built things,” Benavides said.

He said his year-round staff would expand from 14 to 30 to help run the 2,600-seat stadium, which would become a multi-use center, offering concerts and other events when it isn’t being used for games.

The proposal calls for 66 baseball games a year plus at least another 150 events.

“Our goal is to use the facility as much as possible,” Benavides said.

Niree Kodaverdian, with Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics, said the proposal would call for the city of Medford and Jackson County to foot the bill for 56% of the construction costs.

“The success and the profitability of this venture depends on how much this city is willing to stretch,” she said.

Kodaverdian suggested a number of different ways to help raise the money for the project, including tax-increment financing or designating the facility as a natural disaster center in emergencies.

Kodaverdian, who said her calculations were based on “ballpark estimates,” said it would take about 23 years before annual revenues from the ballpark would exceed annual costs for the debt.

She said a deeper dive into the economic impact of the stadium would be needed to further refine the numbers.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at dmannnews@gmail.com