Medford is moving a proposed professional baseball stadium at Hawthorne Park deeper into the municipal planning process, advancing a project that could bring affiliated Minor League Baseball to Southern Oregon while committing the city to a much larger examination of construction costs, public financing, downtown redevelopment and regional economic impact.
A pre-application conference scheduled for Sept. 23 will place the Hawthorne Park proposal before city planning staff, utilities, transportation agencies and other departments responsible for reviewing infrastructure, access, development standards and land-use requirements.
The conference will not authorize construction or commit Medford to the project. It will begin identifying what would be required if the city proceeds with a formal stadium application.
Current plans call for a multipurpose venue capable of hosting professional baseball, concerts, festivals, tournaments, civic gatherings and other large events. Preliminary designs have identified approximately 3,992 seats, including 2,392 fixed seats, with additional areas incorporated into the broader stadium configuration.
The Eugene Emeralds, the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, remain at the center of the proposal as the prospective professional baseball tenant.
The Emeralds began exploring Medford after efforts to secure a long-term stadium solution in Eugene encountered obstacles. Their interest brought Medford into discussions over whether Southern Oregon could support an affiliated professional baseball franchise and whether a new stadium could be incorporated into a larger downtown redevelopment effort.
Medford officials have since moved beyond preliminary discussions and into formal engineering, design and cost analysis.
The City Council voted 5 to 1 in June, with one abstention, to authorize a consulting contract of up to $500,000 with KNO Construction and DLR Group. The work includes site analysis, engineering review, constructability, preliminary design, cost development and a 10 percent design for the Hawthorne Park location.
Medford and the Medford Urban Renewal Agency are contributing $250,000 toward the study. The Eugene Emeralds are contributing another $250,000.
The consultants are also examining whether Harry & David Field in south Medford could be modified instead of constructing a new stadium at Hawthorne Park.
That comparison could become one of the most significant financial questions before the city.
Harry & David Field already contains baseball infrastructure and parking and currently serves as the home field for the Medford Rogues, a summer collegiate baseball organization. Hawthorne Park would require a substantially larger redevelopment but would connect directly with Medford’s broader Creekside Quarter plans surrounding downtown and Bear Creek.
The Hawthorne Park option has previously carried preliminary construction estimates averaging approximately $86 million.
Those estimates remain subject to change as engineering and design work progresses.
One financing model examined by Medford contemplated approximately $60 million in bonded debt. Under that scenario, projected interest of approximately $57.1 million would bring total bond repayment to roughly $117.1 million. Combined with construction expenses, the long-term project cost under that example could reach approximately $143.1 million.
No final construction budget or financing package has been approved.
Medford has examined several potential funding sources, including urban renewal revenue, car rental tax revenue, park-related fees, team lease payments, naming rights, system development charges, private contributions and possible state participation.
Earlier legislative material also identified a potential financing structure that included approximately $50 million connected to transient lodging tax revenue, about $20 million in private funding and a request for $15 million from the State of Oregon.
Those figures were part of financing discussions and did not represent a completed funding package.
The scale of the proposal has also placed Hawthorne Park itself at the center of the project.
Existing recreational features include a playground, splash pad, skate facilities, basketball and futsal courts, dog areas, open lawn and picnic space. The proposed stadium configuration would substantially alter much of the current park layout.
Plans have continued to account for the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market, which operates a Medford market at Hawthorne Park, while integrating the site into a larger entertainment and redevelopment district.
The property presents additional engineering challenges.
An existing sewer line runs through the Hawthorne Park area near Bear Creek, requiring further examination as stadium plans advance. Transportation access, pedestrian movement, parking capacity and surrounding street impacts will also receive additional review.
Earlier stadium concepts did not include dedicated on-site fan parking.
Those issues will carry directly into the Sept. 23 pre-application conference as agencies begin evaluating how the development could function within the existing downtown transportation and utility network.
For Grants Pass and Josephine County, the project would place affiliated professional baseball approximately 30 miles away along Interstate 5.
That proximity would extend the stadium’s potential market well beyond Medford.
Baseball games, concerts, festivals and tournaments could draw visitors through the Rogue Valley and increase regional spending on hotels, restaurants, fuel, retail and other services. The extent to which that spending would reach Grants Pass or other Josephine County businesses has not been projected and would depend on attendance patterns, event schedules and visitor travel behavior.
The economic projections already discussed in Medford have included construction activity, stadium operations, employment, labor income and visitor spending.
Earlier presentations examined scenarios involving more than $90 million in construction spending and approximately $25 million in annual direct spending tied to team and game activity. Those estimates were projections rather than guaranteed economic returns.
The project also carries significance for Medford’s larger redevelopment strategy.
Hawthorne Park has been incorporated into the proposed Creekside Quarter concept, which has included discussions involving lodging, conference facilities, housing, retail development, office space, parking and improvements along Bear Creek.
Under that approach, the stadium would operate as one component of a broader downtown redevelopment effort rather than as a stand-alone baseball facility.
The Medford Chamber of Commerce has publicly highlighted the Creekside Quarter concept as a potential economic-development project capable of attracting visitors, investment and additional activity to the city.
Travel Medford and the Southern Oregon Sports Commission have also identified sports tourism and venue development among regional economic priorities.
The stadium proposal now moves forward on two tracks.
The Sept. 23 conference will address development requirements associated with Hawthorne Park. The separate engineering and financial analysis is expected to be completed around mid-October.
Consultants are expected to provide updated construction costs, site findings and a comparison between Hawthorne Park and Harry & David Field.
Those results are expected to return to the Medford City Council for further consideration.
Until that analysis is completed, Medford has not selected a final stadium site, approved construction or committed to a final financing structure.
What has advanced is the city’s examination of whether professional baseball can be incorporated into a larger Southern Oregon entertainment and redevelopment project, with Hawthorne Park and Harry & David Field now under direct comparison and the next round of financial and engineering findings approaching.