Initial vote returns suggested Eugene voters were not interested in helping to fund a proposed new multi-use stadium that could house the Emeralds baseball team, with about two-thirds of voters saying no to a proposed bond measure on the topic as of results released late Tuesday.
In a press release, Emeralds General Manager Allan Benavides called the result "very discouraging," and said the Emeralds would regroup with both Lane County and Major League Baseball to determine the next steps.
Project supporter Steven Hunnicutt expressed disappointment in the result. "Very low turnout, … 23,444 people (the number of no votes as of 11 p.m. Tuesday) out of a population of 178,000 decided the fate of the Ems," he said.
He also criticized the opposing campaign for what he viewed as deceptive messaging. "The people were not going to pay $100 million for the stadium as the billboard stated," he said.
Eugene city councilor Alan Zelenka, who voted for putting the measure on the ballot but was one of the more critical councilors, congratulated local winners including the bond opposition at Wednesday's city council meeting. "Now we'll see if the ownership of the Ems steps up and adds some capital to this project," he said.
There were still a number of ballots still to be counted, although it was unclear whether there would be enough to change the outcome. The second round of returns counted 75,784 ballots county-wide, for about 27% turnout. The last Lane County May election in a presidential year had about 47% turnout. Lane County is scheduled to post the next round of results at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Voters who live in Eugene are deciding if they support a city bond for building a stadium and multi-use fairgrounds facility.
Voters in Eugene were asked to pass a $15 million stadium bond to be paid back over 20 years.
Residents in Eugene would pay $0.08 per $1,000 of assessed value in the primary election. For an average Eugene homeowner, the bond would increase their property taxes by $22 per year.
The project has received $15 million from the state so long as the Emeralds close the rest of the funding gap. It also received $1.5 million from the federal government and $23.5 million from Emeralds' ownership. If the Emeralds also receive the $35 million they project from Lane County, it would come most of the way to pay for the project, but Lane County staff said the total cost would likely be higher because of inflation and the cost of rebuilding the livestock arena.
The Emeralds and their supporters have said the project would be a community asset: that in addition to baseball games and the affordable entertainment they provide the facility could host events like graduations, be used as an emergency shelter, revitalize the area around the fairgrounds and that the private contribution is higher than similar projects.
Opponents have said the facility would decrease the chances of voters passing a later more important bond/levy, detract from the fairgrounds and surrounding neighborhood and object to the idea of tax money going to a facility where the anchor tenant would be a private company.
Local elected officials seem to be using the measure in part as a public opinion poll with city councilors and county commissioners voicing desires to let residents weigh in on the project, and by extension whether it should move forward.
Emeralds leadership has said if it's not built, Major League Baseball will relocate the team. MLB rolled out several new standards for stadiums after taking over Minor League Baseball. Oregon's other MiLB team the Hillsboro Hops secured funding for its new stadium , but with a greater private investment that's an outlier among these projects.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres .
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: No stadium for the Emeralds? Early vote results show Eugene voters leaning against it
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