Portland’s ECONorthwest research firm estimates 523,399 people will attend 214 events annually at a new Hillsboro Hops ballpark, yielding an economic impact of $190 million in total output.
The new Hillsboro Hops ballpark will be located on the northwest side of the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex. The ballpark will be designed as a year-round outdoor entertainment venue potentially hosting up to 300 events per year, including Hops home baseball games, concerts, festivals, community events and amateur baseball games. The decision was made by the Hops to build a new ballpark rather that spending the money to bring Ron Tonkin Field to meet new MiLB facility specs in 2025. The Hops will be financing most of the $120 million cost on their own, with a small portion coming from the local hotel tax.
The design-build team of Mortenson, SRG and Populous will begin the construction process in late summer 2023, with project completion prior to the 2025 Hops baseball season. The project is anticipated to cost up to $120 million and will be designed to accommodate 5,500 people for baseball and up to 7,500 for concerts and other events. From KOIN6:
Economists at ECONorthwest based the venue’s projected performance on data from the McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater in Troutdale, since it’s currently the largest outdoor music venue in Oregon.
Data from Edgefield showed that ticket sales at the venue rose 44% from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, Edgefield box office sales totaled $9.8 million.
Using the average ticket price from Edgefield and an estimate of how many people would attend 12 concerts at the new ballpark, researchers predict the new stadium could earn $4,137,455 in annual gross box office ticket sales.
Rendering courtesy Hillsboro Hops.
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