EUGENE, Ore. — PK Park is likely double-booked this weekend after the University of Oregon baseball team punched its ticket to an NCAA Super Regional.
It’s the Ducks’ first Super Regional since 2012 and they are expected to host it at PK Park.
Therefore, the Eugene Emeralds are hitting the road and playing Tri City in Pasco, Wash. instead of at home.
It’s a sudden change and a major blow to the pocketbook.
“Between $400,000-500,000 in lost revenue,” said the team’s general manager, Allan Benevides. “Certainly, we’ll save a little in expenses; but it’s a big hit to our business.”
This is the reality of a minor league baseball team sharing a stadium with a surging college baseball program.
“For us, it is difficult,” Benevides said. “It’s just reason number 15,602 of why we need a new facility.”
The Ducks and Emeralds have shared PK Park since 2010. But because the venue doesn’t meet the MLB’s standards for High-A ball, the Ems have to move out by 2025.
They’ve been eying the Lane Events Center as a potential location since 2021.
“We’ve had this nice little home with us here,” said Andrew Brown, the team’s Director of Sales. “But it’s clear that we need a new stadium – no ifs ands or butts about it.”
The opponents of the new stadium mention concerns like light and noise pollution and an overflow of parking.
This isn’t the first time there have been challenges with sharing a facility. The Ems moving up to High-A in 2021 created more overlap in their seasons. And visiting teams have had to use makeshift construction trailers as locker rooms.
But until now, the Ems have never had to move an entire series because of the Ducks hosting a Super Regional.
“We have a great partnership with the university,” Benevides said. “We’re excited for them. But again, it’s just another example of why we need to move and figure something else out.”
In their original agreement with the Emeralds in 2010, the contract says the Ducks get exclusive rights to the venue in the case of hosting a Regional or Super Regional. So now, the front office deals with the logistical challenge of moving an entire series to Washington.
“It’s not easy but, you know, it is what it is,” Benevides said. “It’s like my mom says, ‘It is what it is, Allan. Figure it out.'”