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The city of Medford has reason to hope that history will repeat itself when it comes to investing heavily in expansive athletic facilities.

Still, while parks and recreation officials and tourism advocates are enthusiastic about the early popularity of the Rogue X aquatics and athletics complex, the $75 million facility has a ways to go before it can be deemed as much a success as its predecessor.

The 15-field, 132-acre outdoor sports park now known as Lithia & Driveway Fields, according to an economic analysis report presented last week, has brought in more than $160 million to the area since it opened in 2008.

Now a draw for soccer, softball and baseball teams from across the region, the project drew skepticism of its own 15 years ago when the city took the plunge on its $32.5 million price tag and the installation of a record-setting 1.5 million square feet of FieldTurf.

“What a great deal that was,” Rick Rosenthal, director of Medford Parks, Recreation and Facilities, said last week, noting that the site has returned the city’s investment five times over.

2023’s generated revenue of $11.7 million from activity at the complex — which saw 41 tournaments featuring 1,716 teams (775 from outside the Rogue Valley core) — was the fourth-highest in its history which, in the post-pandemic economy, should be seen as a harbinger of future success to come.

The situation at the Rogue Credit Union Community Complex, obviously, can be measured more in anticipation than concrete figures at this stage — although city officials are encouraged that it, too, eventually will more than prove its worth.

The enthusiasm that accompanied the robust start at Rogue X, however, was tempered somewhat this weekend as a 4-year-old girl was injured when she was struck by a falling piece of the children’s play structure in the public pool area.

As everyone hopes for the girl’s recovery, the children’s play zone at the pool was closed so that the entire structure could be fully inspected and repaired.

Before that unfortunate moment, the 163,380-square-foot aquatics and athletics center, which cost $76 million, already had proven popular for day visits from the community, basketball tournaments, pickleball players, and has even drawn regional interest as a center to hold lifeguard training.

Last weekend, Rogue X hosted its first large-scale national event, as a couple hundred cornhole players competed in a tournament known as the Oregon Major.

Organizers were ecstatic about the facility, with Frank Geers, president of the American Cornhole Organization, predicting that future tournaments at the site could brings upwards of 1,000 players to the area.

It’s that potential for Rogue X that T.J. Holmes, senior vice president of Travel Medford, said spoke to the potential participation and economic draw for the center. The cornhole tournament, for example, had brought in participants and onlookers from 14 states.

“This is why this facility was built,” Holmes said, “to bring out-of-town visitation, but also help residents enjoy a great asset to our community.”

Rosenthal added that the success of the cornhole tournament opened a “new market” for events of that size, while demonstrating that “there was a need for this type of recreational facility” in the Rogue Valley.

And perhaps, 15 years from now, Rogue X will have repeated the entertainment and economic success experienced at Lithia & Driveway Fields.