The city of Hillsboro’s Finance Committee this week passed a package of measures to help fund a $120 million new ballpark for the Hillsboro Hops baseball team.
The financial plan for the stadium known as the Hillsboro Hops Ballpark puts the city in the position of publicly subsidizing the Hops, a private business that operates as Short Season LLC.
The city plans to fund the ballpark with $18 million via lodging taxes. Bonds would have to be sold on a taxable basis because of the facility’s private use. City staffers are considering using cash reserves instead of borrowing to reduce long-term costs at higher taxable interest rates.
The funding package also includes $8 million from Washington County . Explore Tualatin Valley has committed $2 million from its reserves for the project.
The city is also planning to sell $30 million in revenue bonds to build two or three fields to replace the two fields displaced by the new Hops stadium.
Finance Committee members unanimously approved the funding package on Tuesday night, sending a recommendation to the City Council , which is expected to take up final approval of the package on May 21.
“The public funding related to this project is now all coming to fruition, and there are some things we need to do to formalize those,” said Suzanne Linneen, chief financial officer for the city of Hillsboro.
A Finance Committee member, Sal Bianco, praised the clarity of the funding package.
“It is very clear what has been decided upon, what’s being done,” he said. “(It’s) about as transparent as you can get.”
No members of the public spoke for or against the funding package. A Hops spokesman did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
Separately, the Oregon Legislature in March approved $18 million for the project. The Hops’ ownership group, led by Hillsboro resident Mike McMurray, is providing most of the funding with an $82 million contribution.
The Hops are responsible for coming up with all remaining funds, and a city document states the Hops are “close to securing private financing in an amount up to $82 million of the project costs.” The Hops are providing $2 million in bridge funding to move the project forward.
Mortenson is on board as design-build contractor and designing the ballpark with input from the city and the Hops. The design team also includes SRG + CannonDesign and Populous , a Kansas City, Missouri-based architecture firm that specializes in sports stadiums. Mortenson market director Trent Rehfeldt said in February that the project was 65 percent designed.
Also in February, Mortenson indicated that it expected to break ground by June, depending on funding and permitting.
The Hops’ stadium project comes in response to facilities requirements from Major League Baseball . In 2021, MLB shrunk the minor leagues by 40 teams. The remaining 120 affiliated teams signed Professional Development League licenses, pledging to provide certain amenities such as indoor batting cages, high-powered lighting, and women’s locker rooms.
Across the nation, states and cities are funding the ballpark upgrades. In Maryland, state officials approved $200 million in public funding for five minor league teams. Washington approved $11 million (including $7.4 million for the Everett AquaSox, a Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners) to upgrade minor league ballparks. The city of Durham, North Carolina, approved $10.57 million for Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
In Eugene, city, state and county officials are putting together a similar funding package, buttressed by lodging tax revenues, to build a new stadium for the Emeralds, another Single-A team.
Major League Baseball is contributing no money to the nationwide stadium push, according to the league.
The Hops are a Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Last year, 11 former Hops were with the Diamondbacks during the MLB postseason.
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