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An influx of new funding could help move the Eugene Emeralds’ new stadium plans closer to reality, team officials announced Friday.
At a press conference at PK Park, team general manager Alan Benavidez outlined a path forward to address the funding gap and build a stadium and multipurpose facility at Lane County Recreation Park.
State Sen. James Manning (D-Eugene) told reporters that the Legislature has pledged an additional $7.5 million to the project by the end of the session, bringing the state’s contribution to $15 million. He said it would be.
With that funding, the financial plans outlined by Emeralds include:
- $15 million from Congress.
- $1.5 million will be provided by the federal government through grants for new earthquake-resistant buildings.
- The $15 million will come from Eugene, depending on whether city voters pass a proposed bond measure this May.
- $23.5 million from Emerald’s ownership, including upfront rent and expected sponsorships.
- The $35 million will come from Lane County, which depends on the county following through on its plan to allocate 1.5 percent of its transient lodging and car rental taxes.
Together, these sources amount to up to $90 million, which approximates the projected cost of $90.5 million to construct the facility, excluding the associated reconstruction costs of the exhibit site livestock facility. Benavidez said the project team will explore ways to position the facility so it doesn’t require reconstruction, but acknowledged that additional construction could cost an additional $10 million.
state legislature
Senator Manning spoke to reporters about the increased Congressional appropriations and emphasized the project’s potential uses beyond baseball.
“We can house and staff emergency planners, have a multi-purpose facility with a distribution network, and also provide opportunities for businesses to participate and grow,” he said. “This is an investment in the future.”
Emerald ownership
$23.5 million is “an amount that our ownership is willing to put into this project,” Benavidez told the Register-Guard.
This $23.5 million will be divided into three parts.
- $3.5 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment “Basically, if you flip the stadium over, everything that falls on the ground is FFP,” Benavidez said.
- The promised upfront rent is $10 million. Critics object to Elmore Sports Group paying rent instead of direct capital. Benavidez said he believes it’s still a good deal for the public sector. “Any property owner would pay 20 years’ worth of prepaid rent upfront, and that’s what we’re offering,” he said.
- The final $10 million is “the amount the owners said we would pay upfront, and we are negotiating with the county on that,” Benavidez said. That $10 million includes future sponsorships and revenue, and “that’s how we make money,” he said.
eugene voters
The Eugene City Council voted on February 21st to place a $15 million bond measure on the May ballot, but also has a work session item scheduled for review and possibly reconsideration on Wednesday, March 13th. Was.
Councilman Matt Keating said at a press conference that he would use his vote to keep the measure on the ballot.
“Multi-purpose facilities benefit all of us: they are the perfect place for graduation events, the perfect place for community concerts, the perfect place to bring neighbors together. Deer events, wildfires…” he said. It is of utmost importance that we have an emergency retreat center in the heart of our community here in Eugene. ”
City Council members who have been more critical of the facility have said the bond could be a more important levy for future taxes and levies, given the city’s projected deficit and what they see as a lack of detail on the project. They have expressed concern that there may be competition with
“Soon, we will be asking the community for even more money to fund city services,” said City Councilor Jennifer Yeh. “It could be a fee. It could be a tax, but we’re going to ask taxpayers for more money, and when we ask them for money, it’s important, it’s doable. You have to make them believe that you’re about something and that you’re for something.” There’s a plan for success. ”
Eugene resident Stephen Hunnicutt, who supports the project, likened the bond program to a financial investment and said city councilors shouldn’t let fear of future deficits stop them from letting people vote on the proposal. Ta.
“The City of Eugene’s general fund will not go toward the stadium,” he told the security guard. “If you live your life based on the future, you will forget to live in the present.”
lane county
County officials have not formally allocated construction funds for the project, but in September 2022, commissioners voted to increase transient lodging and rental car taxes from 8% and 10% to 10% and 12%, and county officials said in a presentation about the facility: Both taxes are projected to allocate 1.5 percentage points, which would amount to approximately $35 million.
County commissioners placed discussion about the facility on their Tuesday, March 12, agenda. Councilors say they would like to see a formal funding commitment before councilors issue bonds, but councilors say it would be better to wait until they know for sure. How wide will the funding gap become?
On Thursday, the Lane County Fair Board, the county advisory board responsible for operating the county fair, voted against the facility, saying it could negatively impact the fair, logging conferences and other events held at the fair. sent a letter to county commissioners urging them to vote. Trade fair venue.
“This proposal … would remove the current livestock building and eliminate the availability of the northwest corner of the property to be used for parking and four-hour camping,” the Fairness Commission wrote. “There has been virtually no formal analysis of how this will impact the Lane County Fair or other programs at the Lane Event Center throughout the year.”
Benavidez told reporters Friday that he had not seen the letter but thought the facility would enhance other events.
“If the fair happens, we’ll be able to use the stadium for concerts so we won’t have to go to the parking lot,” he said. “They’ll be able to set up shop in the concourse. They’ll also be able to use the restrooms, the concourse, and the concessions. That’s going to be a clear benefit for almost any event that takes place there.”
Livestock building
Demolishing and rebuilding the livestock wing of the fairgrounds, as in the current plan, would add about $10 million to the project, beyond the $90 million outlined by Emerald’s leadership.
Benavidez told reporters that setting up the facility in a way that doesn’t require this is still under consideration. “There is a possibility of moving the stadium a little bit further east, where it doesn’t affect livestock. So there’s still some debate as to where it will be moved,” he said.
Benavidez said if the livestock arena needs to be rebuilt, the project team will find $10 million to pay for it. “I didn’t know where the $90 million was going to come from,” he said, though he didn’t know where the money would come from.
Alan Torres covers local government for Register Guard. He can be reached via email at atorres@registerguard.com or X @alanfryetorres.
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