Eugene Sports Complex
132-acre sports complex owned and operated by the City of Medford. As identified in the 2016 Annual Report, “Since opening in May of 2008, USCCP has produced over $79.5 million in economic impact. The estimated amount of visitor spending ($34.6million)
has surpassed the park’s construction costs ($32.5 million).” As identified by CSL, a component of that increased local revenue would be responsible for generating over 120 jobs.
Recommended Actions
Existing fields • The 11 artificial turf fields that the City and School Districts have partnered in constructing and managing pose less of a day to day maintenance responsibility than natural grass fields, but do require replacement of the carpet approximately every ten years. This is a shared expense with the school districts that requires significant renovation funds. See the Project List in Appendix A for specific turf field renovation recommendations. • Additional sports fields throughout the system are in need of renovation, including: Shasta Ballfields (managed in cooperation with Bethel School District) Maurie Jacobs Field Graham Fields Ascot Park
• An important consideration in the scheduling of sports fields is to have “non-scheduled” times when fields are available for informal pick-up games. Soccer, in particular, is a sport that is central to Latino and other cultures world-wide. Local research has shown that costs associated with sports leagues and formalized scheduling of facilities are barriers to Latinos utilizing park and field facilities. New fields • The CSL feasibility study determined that there is a clear market for a sports field complex of 10-12 diamond fields and 4-6 rectangle fields in Eugene. Golden Gardens Community Park is a city-owned park site that has been identified as being able to accommodate such a use, pending additional public engagement.
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