Armed with expertise in sharing a facility with a college, the Greenberg Sports Group will work with the Eugene Emeralds as the team moves from Civic Stadium to PK Park.
Armed with expertise in sharing a facility with a college, the Greenberg Sports Group will work with the Eugene Emeralds (short season; Northwest League) as the team moves to PK Park for the 2010 season, ending the club’s four-decade stay at 71-year-old Civic Stadium.
As part of the consulting agreement, GSG has been charged with conducting a national search to identify a strong General Manager candidate, developing the structure of the club’s front office staff, implementing a corporate and group sales training program, evaluating and developing a sponsorship rate card for the new ballpark, and creating ways to maximize revenue and expense opportunities and enhance the overall operation through the partnership with the University of Oregon.
The university relationship dynamic is an area of special expertise for Greenberg Sports Group and was a key factor why Elmore Sports Group turned toward GSG during its exciting period of transition. GSG operates the State College Spikes (short season; NY-Penn League), which not only shares its home ballpark with the Penn State University NCAA Baseball program, but also has developed a multi-faceted, shared expense model which set the standard for a partnership between a Major League Baseball-affiliated franchise and a major public university.
GSG Chairman Chuck Greenberg worked tirelessly with Penn State University on the financing, construction and Operating Agreement for Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, which opened in 2006, and is experienced at navigating the complexities of a university relationship in a professional baseball context. Executive Vice President Rick Janac, who was Spikes’ General Manager from the club’s inception through the 2008 season, has years of experience with the University relationship and currently sits on a three-person Administrative Board with representatives from both the Penn State Athletic Department and Penn State General Administration. This specially-created Board serves as the decision-making body on matters which require both party’s consent per the Spikes/PSU Operating Agreement.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Elmore Sports Group and offer to the Eugene Emeralds our unique style of sales and management training and relationship-building as they celebrate the re-birth of their franchise in a beautiful new ballpark on the University of Oregon campus,” said Greenberg. “The Elmore family has entrusted GSG to navigate the Emeralds through this exciting transitional period and with the similarities between Eugene and our State College franchise, not the least of which is our unique relationship with another major university, this partnership couldn’t be any more fitting.”
“Since being presented with this project and the chance to partner with such a respected group like the Elmore family and the Emeralds franchise, we have been energized by the chance to use our years of experience to work with the Emeralds on the creation of a talented, sales-oriented staff, showing the new revenue-generating potential available to the club, and unwrapping the many great synergies available as part of this relationship with the University of Oregon,” said Janac, who is coordinating the project for GSG. “With talented, trusted and motivated operators like Dave and D.G. Elmore and everyone associated with Elmore Sports Group, the Emeralds franchise will be one of the model clubs in Minor League Baseball for many years.”
Elmore Sports Group is one of America's most dynamic leadership companies, which includes professional sports teams and a wide variety of affiliated companies. Industries represented include entertainment, travel, sports marketing, facilities management and special events management. The Elmore Sports Group includes five Minor League Baseball franchises – Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA), San Antonio Missions (AA), Inland Empire 66ers (Advanced A), Eugene Emeralds (Short-A) and Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie).
“Greenberg Sports Group established the most successful model of a university and minor league team partnership in baseball and we want to replicate that success in Eugene,” said David G. Elmore, Owner & Chairman of Elmore Sports Group. “Like Penn State, the University of Oregon is one of the premier universities and athletic departments in the nation. When we considered the best organizations in baseball to help us in this new venture, Greenberg Sports was the clear choice.”
PK Park opened in February 2009 in conjunction with the return of the Ducks’ NCAA baseball program. Once full construction is scheduled to be completed in March 2010, the stadium will feature approximately 3,200 seats. Oregon’s Pac-10 schedule will be completed annually in May, while the Emeralds Northwest League schedule runs from mid-June to early September.
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