The Hillsboro Hops aren’t going anywhere.
Wednesday night’s meeting of the Hillsboro City Council completed the process for the team, as the organization has announced a groundbreaking for their new ballpark on Wednesday morning.
The groundbreaking for the new facility at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex will be on August 8 at 3:30 p.m., and will include representatives from Major League Baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the City of Hillsboro, Washington Country, the State of Oregon, the Hillsboro Hops and Mortenson Construction.
The event will be open to the public. After the ceremony, there will be a “Fan Fest” celebration will take place in the existing ballpark ahead of a game against the Everett AquaSox.
On Tuesday night, the city council of Hillsboro voted with a unanimous 5-0 vote to approve the 40-year lease between the city and the Hops, allowing for the construction of the new ballpark.
“We’re so excited to secure the Hops as a regional treasure in Hillsboro for the next 40 years,” said Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway in a news release sent out by the Hops. “Thank you to all the community partners, supporters, legislators, and staff who made this possible. We look forward to the wonderful memories that will be made at the new ballpark for many years to come.”
The Hops needed to build a new stadium due to rules imposed by MLB when it consolidated its minor league system in 2020. Facility standards were made uniform for every level of the minor leagues. Among the changes that were needed, including needing a fully dedicated visitors’ clubhouse and weight room, as well as a women’s locker room.
An early estimate of the renovations needed revealed a price tag of $160 million, much more expensive than just building a new ballpark altogether (currently at $125 million).
A major funding snag was hit in the summer of 2023, when the Oregon Legislature did not give the Hops funding for its new stadium in its appropriations package. It was a number of items that was left on the cutting room floor after the 2023 session was affected by a walkout of Republican leadership. When the Hops were left without that funding, the possibility of the team moving from Hillsboro was placed on the table.
But the Hops’ future in town was secured in March 2024, when the Legislature committed $15 million to the project. This is combined with $82 million in private funds, $18 million from the city of Hillsboro, $8 million from Washington County and $2 million from Explore Tualatin Valley.
“It has taken a tremendous amount of perseverance by many people to get to this exciting day,” said Hillsboro Hops President and General Manager K.L. Wombacher. “In true spirit of a public-private partnership, we have shown that teamwork wins the day. Our community will benefit from this shared vision of building one of the best entertainment venues in the entire country.”
Ron Tonkin Field currently has a capacity of 4,500 people. The new ballpark will fit 6,000 people for Hops games, and will be able to fit up to 7,000 for concerts, festivals and other community events.
Construction on the ballpark is currently scheduled to be complete in the summer of 2025. Ron Tonkin Field will not be demolished, and the Hops will remain in that spot this summer.
-- Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
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