The Emeralds, the High-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have been rooted in Eugene since 1955. However, their future in Eugene is uncertain.
The Eugene Emeralds have been playing at PK Park since 2010, sharing the stadium with the Oregon Ducks baseball team. Due to new standards in minor league baseball stadiums, PK Park is no longer able to hold the team.
The Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball have implemented new facility rules requiring large clubhouses, training facilities and changing rooms for women. PK Park does not possess these facilities and, since there is not enough room to add them on, the Emeralds will have to move.
The Emeralds are not the only team in the country that are experiencing issues with the new facility standards. The Durham Bulls, the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, had to perform a $10 million renovation on their stadium in order to stay, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The Emeralds have been thinking about moving from PK Park for a while. Allan Benavides, the Emeralds’ General Manager, said it would be hard to develop professional players due to sharing the stadium since the Ducks have priority over using PK Park.
“The University has been very gracious and accommodating in helping us get our games in,” Benavides said. “But the Ducks have their own baseball team.”
The Emeralds have a devoted fanbase in Eugene, so staying here was Benavides’ main goal, he said. Benavides said the Emeralds have been looking for a new home in dozens of locations, but there’s one location in Eugene that works the best: The Lane Events Center and Fairground in the Jefferson Westside neighborhood, a mile and a half away from the University of Oregon campus.
“It’s no secret. The event center needs to be spruced up,” Benavides said. Many residents within the Jefferson Westside neighborhood agree the event center needs some improvement. Benavides believes the Emeralds’ moving in can rejuvenate the area.
On Nov. 8, the Lane County Board of Commissioners approved the Emeralds to move forward with the design and budgeting phase of development. This is far from approval of the stadium being built, however, as this phase will just map out the finances and hear the concerns of the residents.
Cost estimates for a new stadium approximately range between $60 and $80 million. Commissioner Laurie Trieger said the Emeralds would only be able to provide $10 million upfront toward the stadium and $3 million toward furniture, fixtures and equipment. But there is no official financing plan yet.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners recently approved a 2% tax increase on hotels and car rentals. Although it isn’t in effect until Jan. 1, 2023, the money from the tax is what could be used to help the Emeralds build their new home.
However, the Board has not approved the money from the taxes to be used to help the Emeralds and is waiting for the design phase to complete before making a decision. Commissioner Trieger said part of the next phase is hearing the concerns of the neighbors and working with them.
Jefferson Westside residents, the neighborhood the Emeralds would be going into, have varying opinions on if the Emeralds should move in. Some believe the stadium should not be built in a residential neighborhood where noise, traffic and light could affect residents. Others are excited about what the Emeralds could bring to their neighborhood, both in development and in recognition.
It is hard to gauge which side has more supporters, as each camp claims the community has the majority on their side. Trieger said she reads many emails from both factions, and it can be impossible to tell which side has more support.
Don Latarski, a resident of Jefferson Westside, is specifically worried about the noise an open air stadium could bring.
“One of the things we really enjoy doing is sitting out in the backyard entertaining guests.” Latarski said. “I’m afraid that’s actually going to go away.”
An open stadium would allow for sound and bass to travel a lot more than an enclosed area, an issue residents already experience with the Lane County Fair. Latarski said that bass can be felt in his house during the County Fair, and other neighbors have experienced the same issue.
“When the Lane County Fair goes on here, it rattles the windows in the house. Now that’s only for five days out of the whole year. I can put up with that.” Latarski said “To me, it serves a greater good too. A fair is different from a baseball stadium.”
Parking is another issue residents worry about if the Emeralds begin playing at the fairgrounds. Christine Beneda has been living near the fairground since 1982 and has seen many different events held at the fairgrounds.
“I know from living here that anytime there are bigger events at the fairgrounds, people park on our street even if there is still parking at the fairgrounds,” Beneda said.
How lights from the stadium could affect nearby houses and disrupt wildlife in Amazon Creek, which runs parallel to the fairgrounds, concerns some residents. Benavides said he is confident there will be no light bleeding from the LED lights into the neighborhood, however.
Other residents, like Ted Coopman, the chairman of the Jefferson Westside Neighborhood executive board, believe the community could benefit from the Emeralds.
“This is something that we’re hoping that’s going to help to drive more investment in the neighborhood,” Coopman said.
Coopman said West Eugene has been almost neglected compared to other areas in Eugene. He said residents of Jefferson Westside tend to have lower incomes than other Eugene neighborhoods, and a majority of them are renters.
“The higher percentage of renters you have, the less influence you have with the city,” Coopman said. “Its homeowners are the ones that generally advocate for things.”
Coopman, as well as other residents, take note of the effort that Benavides and the Emeralds have put into the Eugene community, like when Benavides helped with their last park cleanup and their 20th anniversary annual picnic.
A West Eugene resident himself, Benavides said it’s about collaboration with the neighborhood. The goal is to work together to better the community and the neighborhood, he said.
“We want to be a strong partner for [Jefferson Westside], not just somebody who lives there and does business there,” Benavides said.
Benavides said the hope of the new stadium would be to hold other community events like graduations and wintertime events in addition to baseball games.
He acknowledged the concerns some residents have and is trying to make it work for everyone. Concerns over traffic are something the Emeralds are looking to improve. Benavides added that he wants to perform traffic analysis to make getting into the fairgrounds easier and safer.
“If it’s difficult to get in and out of that place, fans aren’t going to like it; neighbors aren’t going to like it.” Benavides said. “It needs to work for the neighbors, and it needs to work for the fans.”
Benavides also expects a lot more foot and bike traffic coming to the games since they would be located near downtown, and there is a bike path parallel to the stadium, which could help reduce the need for parking. The baseball stadium will have a full parking lot out front, which will hopefully prevent street parking, Benavides said.
“We understand that we are going to be in a neighborhood.” Benavides said. “We will have a lot more day games, earlier starts, so we aren’t playing super late.”
Residents who oppose the move still have their doubts on the Emeralds’ plans to mitigate some issues. With noise, specifically, residents worry the Emeralds can not contain sound and the bass movement of music. As for the expectation that more people will walk or bike to the stadiums, Latarski said it’s wishful thinking.
Trieger said noise could be an issue regardless of if the Emeralds move in.
“I have a tremendous amount of empathy and concern for neighbors, but, also, we live in a city, and we have this unique 50-ish acre property,” Laurie Trieger said. “It is an event center, and there will be events there. The campus will change, and it should.”
Many residents in Jefferson Westside agree on one thing: Something needs to be done with the Events Center. Whether the Emeralds move in, they said the space needs to be utilized more.
“We need to know our fate,” Benavides said. Benavides said that if the Lane Events Center doesn’t work out for them, the team would likely leave Eugene. “We would just be done, honestly,” he said.
There is still a long way to go before the Emeralds can officially call the Lane Events Center home. Many of the supporters of the move are optimistic that it will happen based on the amount of momentum the project has had. The Emeralds expect an answer on when they can stay by winter 2022.
