SALEM, Ore. — The Hillsboro Hops secured state funding for a new stadium that's expected to break ground this summer. On Thursday, the Oregon Legislature approved the final $15 million needed for the project.
The House voted Thursday to approve House Bill 5201 on a 50-5 vote after it passed in the Senate on a 23-5 vote. The bill issues funds for several projects, including the ballpark for the city of Hillsboro. Those funds are from a previously approved lottery bond.
Oregon’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means had approved the bill Wednesday, paving the way for a vote in the House and Senate.
The Hops and the city of Hillsboro announced plans for a new $120 million ballpark in March 2023, slated to be built next to Ron Tonkin Field, where the team currently plays. The new, larger stadium will replace three smaller fields in the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex and double as a year-round outdoor entertainment venue for concerts, festivals and community events. The city will retain ownership and operation of Ron Tonkin Field.
The Hops were promoted to "High-A" level in 2021, an affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. The promotion came with an obligation have a home field that meets a new set of MLB standards. The team initially planned a $40 million expansion of the 4,500-seat Ron Tonkin Field, but later concluded that a new 6,000-seat stadium would be more cost-effective.
The project was originally set to break ground last summer, but it ran into funding trouble.
Washington County commissioners unanimously approved $8 million in funding for the Hops ballpark, but as of February, the team still needed another $15 million after raising more than $80 million.
The MLB had set a March 15 deadline to secure the funding. K.L. Wombacher, president of the Hops, had said MLB could force it to leave the city if the project fell through, perhaps to Washington or Boise, Idaho.
Wombacher told KGW he was relieved after the final funding for the new stadium was secured.
"We made it; we made it under the deadline. We've been able to cobble together a fully funded facility, and then, excitement started to come. We've got a vision of what this thing is going to look like and function, so now, it's exciting — we are actually going to get to build it," Wombacher said.
However, some are not in favor of public funding being used for the new stadium.
"I think it's time for the business owners to pay for what they need, not ask the public to pay for what they need," said Jody Wiser with Tax Fairness Oregon.