Economic & Neighborhood Benefits
Golden Gardens will bring much-needed recreational access to the underserved Bethel neighborhood, providing welcome natural spaces and community activities. Beyond the immediate benefits of the park, this significant development has the potential to bring together families and neighbors through support programs such as childcare and after-school activities. (See examples like Willamalane’s afterschool program, Capital Futbol Club’s GRASSP and TOPSoccer and Friday night Futsal with Rogue X and Southern Oregon Futsal.)
The largest municipal installation of FieldTurf in the United States with nearly 1.5 million square feet of synthetic grass is in Medford, Oregon at the Lithia & Driveway Fields complex. Opened in May of 2008 at a cost of $32 million, the complex has hosted over 47,000 youth games and has generated over $160 million in economic impact. The complex generated close to $12 million in 2023. The 132-acre park has three full-sized baseball fields, seven softball/baseball fields and five soccer/football fields. In 2023, the complex hosted adult softball, youth baseball, senior softball, fastpitch, soccer, youth fastpitch and more. With FieldTurf, the outdoor sports facility hosts events every month of the year, not needing to take a break because of rain or muddy fields despite being in Oregon.
Creating community assets like these often encourages additional private development. Building sports fields can draw in coffee shops, restaurants, and other businesses, as seen in the development around Lithia Driveway Fields in Medford or AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park.
Identified Need
Golden Gardens Park was recognized as early as 2006 as a location for a program that would serve a growing population’s need for sports. A jointly funded service study by the City of Eugene Parks and Open Spaces, Willamalane, and Travel Lane County was completed in 2016 and affirmed the need for more outdoor recreation and sports facilities.
Sports fields were identified for building in the 2018 City of Eugene Parks bond, but with no funding remaining from the bond, the future of the buildout is uncertain. The current timeline for completing the park stretches far into the future, with some estimates putting completion as far out as 2035 - nearly 30 years after the need was first recognized.
Image Courtesy City of Eugene
