After securing state funding, Hillsboro Hops break ground on new $120 million ballpark

Ground has officially broken on a new $120 million stadium for the Hillsboro Hops, the culmination of a yearslong struggle to fund a new ballpark and keep the team in Oregon.

Fans, financial backers and Hops staff all flocked to the construction site, right next to Ron Tonkin Field where the Hops currently play. The Hops are a High-A affiliate, the third-highest level of minor league baseball, for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I want to tell you how much we appreciate all of you and your support in this multi-year effort,” team owner Mike McMurray told the audience.

The mood was celebratory, but many in attendance acknowledged it might never have happened at all.

Financing the new stadium required significant investment from the team, and governments contributing millions of dollars. The team is funding $82 million, the bulk of which comes from bonds backed by the stadium’s future revenue.

The Hops also received $18 million from the city of Hillsboro in future lodging taxes, $8 million from Washington County, and $2 million from Explore Tualatin Valley, a local nonprofit that promotes tourism in the region.

The final piece of funding came from a $15 million appropriation from the Oregon Legislature, finalized just days before a deadline from Major League Baseball that threatened the future of the team in Hillsboro.

MLB had required the Hops update their current stadium, which lacked female locker rooms for umpires and a weight training room. Hops management said building a new stadium was their only option.

Speaking to reporters at the groundbreaking, Hops President and General Manager K.L. Wombacher said he was happy the team could finally focus on the new stadium.

“It is a huge relief,” Wombacher said. “There were some moments where it was touch-and-go.”

Not every minor league team is able to fund a new ballpark. The Eugene Emeralds had asked residents to approve a $15 million bond measure for a new stadium on the Lane County Fairgrounds — voters overwhelmingly rejected the request, and the team has announced it will likely move.

Public funding of sports stadiums has been a contentious issue for years. Teams and league officials argue new stadiums can lead to a local economic surge, but some economists have said those claims are often exaggerated.

The Hops expect to compete in the new stadium by 2026.

The city of Hillsboro will continue to operate and maintain ownership of Ron Tonkin Field.