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It’s nearly the end of the 2024 legislative session, and lawmakers are scurrying to lard the go-home spending bills with generous one-time expenditures that are the state-level equivalent of congressional earmarks.
This session, which Gov. Tina Kotek and legislative leaders said would focus on housing, homelessness and the issues surrounding Measure 110, there are nonetheless a large number of checks going to sports-related expenditures.
The appropriations are contained in what lawmakers call “Christmas tree bills” because they are festooned with decorations, many designed to make constituents smile, and undergirded with presents.
The focus on sports caught the eye of Jody Wiser of the watchdog group Tax Fairness Oregon. Wiser is quick to say that she recognizes athletic pursuits are good for all Oregonians and that spectator sports are an important part of the state’s culture. Her group, however, question the emphasis and amount of lawmakers’ largesse.
Here are the proposed appropriations, which can be found in Senate Bill 5701 and House Bill 5201.
- $15 million for the Hillsboro Hops, a privately owned Class A minor league baseball team seeking to build a new stadium.
- $10 million for Oregon State University for athletic scholarships. Oregon State has been seeking a bailout from lawmakers since getting orphaned by the 2023 collapse of the Pac-12 Conference, but in December, OSU and its fellow orphan, Washington State University, won a hefty multimillion-dollar legal judgement against the Pac-12.
- $7.5 million for the privately owned Eugene Emeralds Class A minor league baseball team, who like the Hillsboro Hops are seeking to build a new stadium.
- $5 million for the Eugene Civic Alliance to build a new soccer facility. (This is separate from the Emeralds stadium.)
- $3 million for Willamette University (which is private) “for artificial turf and lights at Roy S. ‘Spec’ Keene Stadium at Bush Park to support Salem youth baseball and softball.”
- $3 million for “Round-Up City Development Corporation to support the construction of the Pendleton Regional Sports Complex.”
And yes, there are plenty of other one-time expenditures that benefit private institutions or public ones, like Oregon State University, that enjoy strong fundraising operations. The state’s cultural institutions, which got shut out of their customary appropriations in 2023, will get money this year, but even the largest—$2.55 million for the financially struggling Oregon Shakespeare Festival—is smaller than the smallest payout on the list above.
Tax Fairness Oregon’s Wiser questions whether lawmakers are making the best use of taxpayer dollars.
“I thought housing, housing, homelessness and mental health were our priorities for this session,” Wiser says. “Why are we spending such a huge among of money on sports and sports facilities?”
Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) says the proposed expenditures are part of a larger package of investments in dozens of entertainment and cultural organizations around the state designed to spur economic growth.
“Coming out of the pandemic, it’s clear that the cultural and entertainment organizations critical to our economy and sense of community are in desperate need of support,” Wagner says. “Legislative leaders in both chambers and parties identified where we could make targeted investments to protect these community hubs. After funding our priorities of addressing the drug crisis and improving housing affordability, we were able to invest in theaters, museums, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, culturally specific organizations, parks, and sports facilities that serve as economic engines and critical cultural centers.”
The Joint Committee on Ways and Means—which hold the Legislature’s checkbook—will take up the spending bills at 5 pm today.