Sports For All Seasons

The Vision

Boost our economy and the health of our community

The need for additional indoor and outdoor sports facilities has been known for decades and the time has come to bring these facilities to life. Facilities such as Civic Park, home to Kidsports, the Eugene YMCA and Willamalane's Bob Keefer Center are facilities that are programmed for local use and are serving this purpose well. But the need is much greater (CSL Facilities Needs Study, 2016). We need additional places for kids and adults to practice, play and compete.

Key projects have been evaluated and are in various stages of analysis or development. Two projects worked on by local business leaders, city staff and elected officials include an indoor multiuse sports facility and an outdoor sports complex at Golden Gardens Park. Other sports projects that will enhance the opportunity for youth and adult recreation and competition include, the regional pickleball facility at Lane Community College and a competition pool at Willamalane.  

Support Lane County's Strategic Priorities
Safe, Healthy County 

Indoor and outdoor multiuse sports facilities would provide places for kids and adults to exercise and stay active all year. Healthy movement positively impacts behavioral and physical health and is available to everyone. An added benefit of an indoor multiuse sports facility would be the potential use as an emergency response space that would be climate-controlled and big enough to help when the need arises. It’s not an overstatement to say that a facility like this could save lives. This facility would support physical and behavioral health, as well as public safety.

Robust Infrastructure

The Lane County Fairgrounds can be the civic gathering place for Lane County residents. Adding this indoor multiuse sports facility to the mix of infrastructure on the fairgrounds would bring a different kind of use to the campus — that of active play. This facility would provide space for 10+ sports to practice, play and hold tournaments, including indoor track, basketball and volleyball. Being an indoor facility, it could also be used for meetings and events. This recession-proof facility is guaranteed to produce a high return on an investment that could include economic success, improved safety, community connection and enjoyment of life.

Vibrant Communities

Creating a place and space for kids and adults to play indoors and outdoors creates an active community year-round. It would also result in the highest economic return by maximizing visitor spending in our county. These facilities would foster an engaged community, economic vitality and a healthy environment.

Active Kids = Active Adults

Studies show that active kids are 6x more likely to be active adults and we all know that activity leads to better health outcomes. Local pediatrician Dr. Pillar Bradshaw sums up many of these benefits in this video

Active Kids Graphic

The Economic Case

We had more than 3 million overnight visitors and millions more day visitors in 2023. These visitors spend money at hotels, restaurants, cultural events and more all around our region. In 2023, direct visitor spending was $1.07 billion, which sustained more than 11,000 jobs for Lane County residents. Visitors also pay lodging tax that builds and sustains attractions and funds marketing and infrastructure projects to bring more visitors.

2023 Direct Visitor Spending = $1.07 billion 

2023 Transient Lodging Tax Spending

Boosting our Winter Economy

We’re doing a great job bringing visitors here from spring through fall, but our businesses need more demand in the winter. The seasonality of visitors is hard on hotels, restaurants, etc., requiring them to layoff staff in the winter when we have fewer visitors. Year-round multiuse sports facilities will generate needed wintertime demand for local businesses through hosting indoor track meets, basketball and volleyball tournaments, other indoor competitions and outdoor competitions such as soccer, baseball, softball and lacrosse. The estimated economic impact for an indoor multiuse sports facility, over the first five years of operation, is approximately $91 million. Learn more about the economics of the hospitality industry in Lane County

Transient lodging tax (TLT) is paid on overnight stays at commercial lodging that includes hotels, short term rentals and some campgrounds.

Countywide TRT collections by month

Sports Tourism is Paying Dividends

Travel Lane County has documented the economic boost that winter volleyball tournaments have locally, but without dedicated space to host tournaments, it's difficult to grow this and other winter sports business.

Spokane, being in our competitive set of tourism markets, opened an indoor sports facility with a track in 2021. The Podium has been utilized as a template for estimating development costs, operating costs and return on investment for a project here in Eugene-Springfield. An article from KREM provides a glimpse into the success of The Podium over the past year ($65 million in economic impact) and it’s important to note that the facility is only just completing its second year of operation.

Coupled with the success of The Podium is the fact that facility development lags in the western half of the United States. The vast majority of the 6,000-plus facility developments are east of the Mississippi and when the team at Huddle Up Group dug further into the data to evaluate those with hydraulically-banked indoor track facilities, The Podium is the only facility identified west of the Rocky Mountains. Read the Huddle Up Group memo for more information.

Sports Facilities Across USA

The Solution

There is a solution! We need indoor and outdoor facilities that draw groups of people here in the winter and throughout the year. An indoor multiuse sports facility would bring tournaments from all over the region for indoor track, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, pickleball and much more. An outdoor multiuse sports complex would bring tournaments from all over the region for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse.  

The added benefit of indoor and outdoor multiuse sports facilities is that they will serve our local community. Civic Park, Willamalane and school gyms cannot meet the demand. Local teams need a place to practice and play. 

See Similar Existing Facilities Across the U.S.

There has been an explosion of indoor and outdoor sports facilities across the nation. While it's common for communities to make these investments, an article in Sports Business Journal notes that more than $9 billion has been committed to youth and amateur sports projects since 2017. Here are links to a few:

Contact Us

If you have questions or would like further information on sports facility development in Lane County, please contact us.

J.B. Carney - Senior Director of the Sports Commission

J.B. Carney Senior Director, Sports and Interim Director, Conventions

J.B. oversees the Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Commission, focusing on growing the local sports event economy through excellent sales and services programs and effective target marketing.

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