After a chilly reception from local officials at a hearing last week, the Eugene Emeralds (High-A; Northwest League) have informed the city they are not interested in further discussions of a new Medford ballpark.
The Medford City Council met last Thursday to discuss a feasibility study, commissioned by the city and the Emeralds, regarding a new Medford ballpark and how it could be financed as part of a larger downtown development. In November 2025 voters approved a hike in the local hotel tax, up to 2 percent, to back Creekside Quarter (above), an ambitious downtown development built around a conference center, the usual convention amenities (hotel and restaurants), office space and residential. The referendum authorizing the development did not allow for the use of the proceeds to fund new athletic facilities; hence the study.
One of the purposes of the study is to examine ways to get around those limitations. The study from DLR Group and KNO Construction LLC would also provide a rough design for the new ballpark as well as a preliminary cost estimate, ending up at $80 million. The study was also to evaluate the expansion of Harry & David Field, home of the summer-collegiate Medford Rogues, to meet MiLB standards.
The Harry & David Field option was taken off the table early by the Emeralds, however, and the City Council wasn’t thrilled with the plan presented in the feasibility study. A final cost estimate came in at $80 million, with the Emeralds putting up $10 million, funded with a variety of urban renewal dollars and other downtown fees.
But the construction would mean the relocation of existing Hawthorne Park features and not include any parking. It also called for a 2027 groundbreaking in anticipating of an April 2029 opening, though city council members cited the high likelihood of lawsuits to block the proposal and felt the accelerated timeline–a 2027 groundbreaking would mean an agreement be reached later this month or early month–was not feasible or desirable. While the study estimated there was plenty of street parking in downtown Medford to accomodate MiLB game crowds, locals weren’t thrilled by much in the plan. From the Rogue Valley Times:
Medford Mayor Michael Zarosinski expressed concerns about the aggressive timeline and spending such a large amount of urban renewal dollars.
Zarosinski thanked Elmore, stating, “We went on the ride together. We split the cost in this. It was all a good faith effort to get us there,” he said.
“As I look at this now, I see what appears to me as the city of Medford taking the bulk of this, and it’s still a very expensive project. Its gonna really suck up a lot of resources that could be used other places,” the mayor said.
The opposition to the project led Emeralds owner DG Elmore to pull the plug on the new Medford ballpark. From a statement released to the public: “We sincerely appreciate the time and effort the Mayor, City Council and City staff dedicated to exploring this opportunity. While there are still important questions to address and challenges with the timeline, we believe the best path forward is to focus our efforts on keeping the Emeralds in Eugene. We’re grateful for Medford’s partnership and thoughtful consideration.”
Keeping the Emeralds in Eugene is a tall order, however. The team’s current home, PK Park, has been deemed by Minor League Baseball as being noncompliant with current facilities standards. On the fan side PK Park is a perfectly lovely facility, but it lacks the player amenities–like no visitors clubhouse, food-prep facilities and training spaces–demanded these days by MLB. The Ems attempted to put together a new-ballpark plan on Lane County fairgrounds land, but the move was rejected by voters, leading to today’s present situation. On the surface, Eugene would seem to be the more desirable market of the two: Its MSA features almost 400,000 residents (as compared to the Medford MSA population of 221,000) and is the second-largest metro area in Oregon, behind Portland.
Rendering courtesy of City of Medford.
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