HILLSBORO, Ore. — On Friday, hundreds of baseball fans filled seats at Ron Tonkin Field, on a perfect night for Hops baseball. This weekend's games will be the last of the season — but some fear that they could be the players' final hits and homeruns in Hillsboro ever.
The Hillsboro Hops need to build a new ballpark, but currently, they haven't secured enough funding, after money from the state legislature fell through during the last session. If they don't get it by the end of September, the team could relocate to a different city.
"If the funding doesn't come through, the MLB has the opportunity to force us into selling the team or relocating the team. We don't want to relocate the team. Obviously, we're invested in Hillsboro. We all live in Hillsboro, but if we sell the team, it would be up to a new owner. The new owner can't play here, so they're not gonna have a choice. They have to move the team," explained resident and General Manager K.L. Wombacher.
Although many fans believe the current home of the Hops suits the team just fine, Wombacher said it comes down to MLB requirements, of all teams in the league.
"In 2021, we signed a new agreement with Major League Baseball. That's the professional development agreement. 120 teams throughout the country sign the same exact agreement. We all have to meet the same standards.
"It is a great ballpark and from a fan perspective, it's awesome. We love coming here. People love coming here. All of the new requirements are player development related. These are professional athletes, professional baseball. They're developing into big leaguers."
Some of the new requirements include a visiting clubhouse, a female locker room, weight rooms and eating areas for players. Wombacher said although the team looked into renovating the current facility, it wasn't feasible — due to cost and site constraints. So, they opted to build a new stadium close by.
"We've been working hard to put together a plan for about $120 million stadium and we've been really working hard to try to get that price point down as much as we can. We feel like that 120 mark is about as low as we can get," he said. "Of that, we're contributing about $82 million of private funding. It's unprecedented how much private funding will go into this from a Minor League Baseball perspective. The city is contributing $18 million of a lodging tax that that they've allocated."
That leaves about a $20 million funding gap, which the Hops expected the Oregon Legislature to help fill.
"Unfortunately we were left with zero when appropriations came out. So, you know, major set back in the project."
With the clock ticking, the team and fans fear what could happen if the Hops left Hillsboro.
"When you look at all of the good that this organization does, the void that it would leave not just on a beautiful summer evening, not just in the memories, not just in the creation of the next generation of fans, but in the social impact is huge and it just won't be replaced," said Steve Callaway, the mayor of Hillsboro.
Local leaders and the team encourage supporters to reach out to state lawmakers — and soon. The funding plan deadline: the end of this month.
"It is critically important for our state to do this. If we aspire to be a state worthy of Major League Baseball, you know? And yet we don't even give a penny to Minor League Baseball?" said Callaway. "That sends an incredibly powerful message to Major League Baseball because Major League Baseball controls the minor leagues and they are watching this very closely, so it's critically important for us. To step up to the plate, you know, with support from the state."
State Sen. Janeen Sollman (D) represents Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro and Rock Creek. She told KGW she's hopeful that the state can come up with the funding, and keep the Hops here.
As to why the funding fell through? She said there were multiple factors, a combination of issues.
"Going into this past session, we had a focus on making sure that we were looking at housing priorities, making sure that we were looking at investing in public safety, not only with Oregon State Police but also our court system with our public defense," she said. "We had a lottery bond process... and there were quite a few requests placed in there.
"There were a lot of positive feelings around not only this concept, but the Hillsboro Hops as well."
But then she said, a six-week walkout impacted the Legislative Fiscal Office, and put pressure on them to rework bills, with time running out. In the end, this request fell through the cracks.
Now, Sollman said she's working with the team to secure the funding in time. She also hopes the community will rally around this effort.
"This is going to be a real grassroots opportunity for people to get involved and say what this investment will mean for them and for the future of the Hillsboro Hops," she said.