Ron Tonkin Field, originally Hillsboro Ballpark, is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb west of Portland. The stadium has a capacity of 4,500 spectators (3,534 seats) and is the home for the Hillsboro Hops of the Northwest League and the Post 6 Barbers of the American Legion Oregon Zone 2 Division. Groundbreaking for the $15.55 million venue was on September 21, 2012, with the first game played nine months later on June 17, 2013.
The ballpark is adjacent to Hillsboro Stadium, a multi-sport stadium owned by the city of Hillsboro, with both stadiums located inside the city's Gordon Faber Recreation Complex. Ron Tonkin Field hosts the only professional baseball team in the Portland metropolitan area.
History
Following the Portland Beavers exit after the 2010 season when a new ballpark was not built, minor league baseball’s Northwest League approached the city of Hillsboro about relocating a team to the city. Once the Beavers left, the Portland market was the most populous in the country without a professional baseball team. The league and city then started discussions around September 2011 about Hillsboro building a stadium in the city’s Gordon Faber Recreation Complex near Sunset Highway. The city announced in March 2012 that it was in discussions with the Northwest League to bring a Single A team to the city. Milwaukie on the eastern side of the Portland metropolitan area also had plans to build a stadium for a minor league team.
Hillsboro proposed to build a four to six-thousand-seat ballpark adjacent to Hillsboro Stadium at the Faber Complex, with plans to open for the 2013 season. Total construction budget for the new stadium was originally expected to be $15.2 million. To pay for the construction, the city would sell bonds and repay the money using revenue from the facility, including leasing the field to the minor league team. Early projections hoped to have attendance between 100,000 and 180,000 total for the 38 home games.
While the league had two teams in-mind for relocation, the Yakima Bears became the leading candidate, as the team previously failed to land a new stadium at Clark College in the Vancouver, Washington, area. The other team interested in relocation was the Boise Hawks. By April 2012, the Hillsboro City Council approved issuing a request for proposals to design and build a stadium, and hired a sports attorney to assist in the process. The new 4,500-seat stadium, to be built on field four at the complex, is planned to have covered seating, a new orientation to face east, a beer garden, an entry plaza with artwork, and more concession stands.
On April 16, the City Council considered authorizing up to $30 million in full faith and credit bonds to pay for several projects, including a baseball stadium. Repayment of the bonds would come from revenue generated by the stadium, and if necessary, discretionary funds from the general budget. City officials expected a $7.1 million economic impact annually from the stadium, and said the overall cost of the project would be half of what would normally be expected due to the existing infrastructure at the complex.
The council announced they might vote at their May 15 meeting to authorize the $15 million project, start negotiating a lease agreement with the team, and hire SRG Partnership to design the stadium with Hoffman Construction building the $13.4 million stadium. However, the city council did not consider the matter at that meeting as planned, as negotiations were still continuing with the Yakima Bears and the league.
Two weeks later, the Council announced they would again look at approving a term sheet with the owners of the Yakima franchise, and that the league had two teams interested in possibly relocating to Hillsboro. The deal with the Bears called for a 20-year lease on a $13.4 million stadium, with the team paying rent of $150,000 per year. The rent would increase 3% each year, with the team retaining concession revenues and the city keeping parking revenues, among other provisions. The city was also to consider contracting with Hoffman Construction to build the stadium, and hire SRG Partnership for the design. The city expects to sell naming rights to the stadium, with the city keeping 70% of the proceeds.