HILLSBORO, Ore. — Washington County has agreed to kick in $8 million toward a new ballpark for the minor league Hillsboro Hops, bringing the project one step closer to fulfilling its funding target ahead of what the team describes as a critical Major League Baseball deadline. The team has said the league could force it to leave the city if the project stalls.
"As a community and a county, we have enjoyed the Hops and everything they bring to this region," Washington County Commissioner Jerry Willey said in a statement following a unanimous vote by the commission to allocate the money using Transient Lodging Tax revenue.
The Hops and the city of Hillsboro announced plans for the new $120 million ballpark in March 2023, slated to be built next to Ron Tonkin Field, where the team currently plays. The larger new stadium would replace three smaller fields in the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex and would double as a year-round outdoor entertainment venue for concerts, festivals and community events. The city would retain ownership and operation of Ron Tonkin Field.
The Hops were promoted to "High-A" level in 2021 and became affiliated with the Major League Arizona Diamondbacks, but the team said the deal 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. The team said it secured about $82 million through private financing and the city of Hillsboro contributed about $18 million in Transient Lodging Tax dollars. It asked the Oregon Legislature to supply the final $20 million, but the money didn't emerge from the 2023 session.
Hops president and general manager K.L. Wombacher warned in September that if the team can't lock in the full funding for the new ballpark, MLB could force the team's ownership to either relocate the team themselves or sell it to a new owner who would relocate it. The deadline from MLB is March 15, according to a Tuesday news release from the team.
Push for state funding
The team plans to go back to the legislature during the 2024 session that got underway on Monday and make a renewed request for $15 million, which it said is the last piece of funding it needs to line up before MLB's deadline.
"If the state doesn't come through, we don't really have any other options, so we're kind of at the last straw here," Wombacher said in January.
State Sen. Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro) said last year that the funding effort got lost in the 2023 session because the legislature was juggling a lot of bigger priorities and the six-week walkout created too much of a crunch at the end. But speaking to KGW last month, she reiterated her support for the project.
"We have to invest in housing, in homelessness, in mental health care. We also know we have to invest in arts and entertainment," she said.
Opponents of the project plan to weigh in as well. Jody Wiser from the group Tax Fairness Oregon spoke to KGW about the issue in January.
"We don't think it's a state issue," she said. "The state didn't sign a contract with Major League Baseball. They don't own a team, and they don't have a responsibility for providing facilities for it."
