Ron Tonkin Field

^{August 8, 2014
Ron Tonkin Field (Capacity: 3,534)
Hillsboro, OR
Hillsboro Hops vs Eugene Emeralds
Final Score: 3 – 9}

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Our third Northwest League ballpark in the span of a week was also the newest as we stopped in Hillsboro. Located just over the Coastal Range in Northwest Oregon, the city of 91,000 sits within the fertile Tualatin Valley and it is quickly evident this is a rich agricultural area. With the abundance of grapes and hops growing, the baseball team’s nickname becomes clear. Hillsboro is also known as the Hub City with several high-tech companies located here. Baseball is very new to the city, but not to the region. As part of the Portland Metro area (located 15 miles west of the Rose City), the arrival of the Yakima franchise in 2013 helped to fill a two year baseball void in the region after the Portland Beavers left town. With the shine still on the barely year-old Ron Tonkin Field, the Hops have filled the niche very well with an open, inviting ballpark that was built with today’s typical minor-league crowd in mind.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5

Location

The ballpark is just one sports facility within the fairly large Gordon Faber Recreation Complex, which includes the 7,000-seat Hillsboro Stadium amongst several softball fields. On the way to the complex, a grocery store anchors several smaller strip malls and there are a few places to eat, mostly of the fast-food or generic chain variety. The rest of this northeast portion of Hillsboro contains business parks and plenty of industrial space (including a huge Intel facility). While the city offers few attractions, the ballpark and complex is a good 3-4 miles from the center of Hillsboro itself. Portland is only 15 minutes away and is a fun place to check out.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10

Accessibility / Parking

A straight shot up the Sunset Highway (US-26 West), Hillsboro Ballpark is right near the exit from the main road. Parking for Ron Tonkin Field is at the back of the complex and while there is enough space, the narrow and elongated lot is not ideal to traverse. A non-driving option is the MAX light rail as the blue line goes from downtown Portland to the Orenco Station, which takes about 40 minutes. From there, the Hops offer a free shuttle that runs back and forth between Orenco Station and the ballpark. For cars, coming from the Portland area can be trafficy, especially on a weeknight.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8

Exterior

Though the general area is essentially charmless, the location of the ballpark within the sports complex fits in quite nicely and is complimented by the football stadium next door. A light-colored design mixed between cement blocks and off-white siding is the look of Hillsboro Ballpark. Likely the dominant feature are the several white towers and varying support cables on top of the roof, also prominent at the adjacent stadium. Not sure what the significance is, but it is different and defining (which is mostly good in my book). Supported by those beams at the top is a “Ron Tonkin Field” that has a bit of neon touch and includes the images of baseball players on either side that light up at night. The exterior is new, different and overall I liked it.
Exterior Ranking: 7.5 out of 10

Concourse

The location of the entrance is unusual as it is off to the side of the ballpark and then fans climb a decent set of stairs to get inside. This is where the adjoining football stadium comes into play as the stadium’s walls flanked to the left include areas for food stands, bathrooms and cover. Designers had an idea in mind with this ballpark and it is executed beautifully with plenty of open space throughout this half of the ballpark. Mixed past sales tents are many standing railings and tables for fans to eat, talk and watch the game. It was also different to see so many light colors in a stadium and I felt it really opened up the park and made it more friendly. The concourse wraps around to the first base side, where the walk space does get narrow and that leads to the field level Hop Garden near the foul pole (frequented by those aged in their 20s). A narrow grassy space in the outfield includes fans watching the game through the fence and one has to zig-zag through them to get to the kids play area in center. A huge picnic pavilion is located in the right-field corner.
Concourse Ranking: 4 out of 5

Food

Before getting to the food, remember we’re seeing the Hops, so you have to begin with beer (which seemingly every adult fan did). Bridgeport Brewing is the main provider and they have a special made beer for the team called Long Ball that is very good. A few other varieties are available, including Vertigo Brew (made in Hillsboro), but Bridgeport is heavily promoted and consumed. Food is plentiful and varied as there are also specialty items including a Teriyaki Beef Bowl, Cobb Salad and Pork Banh Mi. All good stuff.
Food Ranking: 7.5 out of 8

Interior

I’m not keen on the actual seating bowl, but the overall surrounding ballpark aesthetics partially make up for it. 20 sections of seating wrap-around the ballpark and it is this spread out nature that I’m never a big fan of. Generally 12-14 rows make up each section, which face straight ahead (a disadvantage when located beyond the base path), while both the seat and row width feel tighter than most newer ballparks. There is not a lot of slope either to the bowl and some fans’ heads can get in the way. Most of the seats are blue, the exception being the aluminum bleachers that make up the last four sections on the third base-side. This side should be avoided anyway as the sun is directly in fans’ eyes for the first portion of evening games. A large grassy berm then extends into the outfield and you can see how this ballpark can hold over 4,500 in spite of the 3,534 seated capacity. Covering a lot of the infield seats is a roof and filling in the space behind home plate is a two-story club and press box (those sitting in sections 10 and 11 have access to the club). A shocking missing piece to Ron Tonkin Field is the absence of luxury suites as there are only two party decks that are located adjacent to the club. Into the outfield, fans see a row of both deciduous and conifer trees beyond the outfield fence. Again, if it was not for the spaciousness and pleasing look of the third base concourse that watches the field of play, the interior would likely score even lower.
Interior Ranking: 5.5 out of 14

Scoreboard

There is one scoreboard at Ron Tonkin Field, which is located in left-center and of great quality. The simple rectangular display is centered by a nice screen that is utilized by displaying a player picture and stats during game-play. Video during the off time had a very clear image. The box score is underneath, while large ads are located on each side. At the top is the ballpark name and small logo.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4

Displays

I hate visiting ballparks and teams less than five years old as I can’t get a handle on displays until some history develops. To fill some of that void, the Hops have a good amount of player pictures around the ballpark. There is also a cool mural of the team’s all-stars, while out near the front entrance is a piece of artwork called “Barometer”. Though I do not “get” art, once you learn about the piece it is pretty cool as the noise from a multitude of sounds leads to the brightness of LED lights.
Displays Ranking: 3.5 out of 6

Cost

Man is it expensive for such a low-level baseball game. For a chairback seat, it costs $14 or $16, while the bleachers go for $11. These prices are nearly identical to what you find at a Brooklyn Cyclones game, which is the same level, but within the most expensive city in the country. At least the grassy berm is affordable for families as they go for $7. Concession prices can be put in the high category too with a burger costing $7. A hot dog is $4, while a regular soda is $4 and beer varies between $5 and $7. Parking is no exception as the charge is $5. Keep in mind that on average, it was cheaper to see a Triple-A team in downtown Portland play.
Cost Ranking: 5.5 out of 8

Fan Support

The house was packed for the Friday Night game we attended and I am confident over 4,000 jammed in the park. Hillsboro is filling the missing baseball void in the populated region quite well and the team has been third in attendance standings with paid averages exceeding capacity. Time will tell if the popularity stays, but the Hops are off to a good start and a home playoff game a month later drew a boisterous crowd of 3,000 that had decent energy.
Fan Support Ranking: 6 out of 8

Atmosphere

The crowd I witnessed was mixed between young folks looking to hang out and others caring about the game. The attentiveness and noise from those in their seats was very good and they had a passion. However, the issue was sooo many people leaving before the end of the game. With the result still in doubt, roughly about half of the stadium’s left side had departed. The attempts of a rally in the contest was met with decent approval, but not at the noise level of earlier.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9 out of 14

Other Stuff

Within the Portland metropolitan area, the Beavers were the featured baseball team. That ended after 2010 when Portland focused on renovating their existing historic stadium for soccer-only (quite wonderfully I may add). Plans for a new Beavers ballpark fell through and the team was sold and left the area. In an attempt to have baseball return to the region, different municipalities including Milwaukie and Vancouver (WA) attempted to get a ballpark built for the departing Yakima franchise, but failed. Ultimately, Hillsboro won it…..The ballpark featured several design changes and cost overruns during construction, thus leading to the extended grass berm and reduced seating…..Ron Tonkin is not actually a famous person Hillsboro decided to honor with the naming of the stadium, instead he is the name of the dealership company that bought naming rights…..Just like the stadium down the road in Eugene, field turf unfortunately is the playing surface at the Hops’ ballpark. Fake grass and fake dirt is certainly not natural at a ballpark…..Hillsboro is affiliated with Arizona.

Game

This was the third straight Northwest League game that I saw on this trip and all of them featured plenty of offense. However, Eugene did most of the heavy lifting in this one as they took a 5-0 lead and never looked back. Down 5-1, Hillsboro had the bases loaded with no outs. They cut the deficit to 2, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat and Eugene surged ahead the next inning as they finished with a 9-3 win. Franchy Cordero and Auston Bousfield combined for 7 hits and 6 RBI for the Emeralds.

Stadium Experience Ranking: 66.5 out of 100