Medford hit another home run at U.S. Cellular Community Park in 2017 when an estimated $10.7 million was pumped into the local economy, the fourth straight year the 15-field facility topped $10 million.

Since it opened in 2008, the impact on hotels, restaurants and other business has topped $90 million.  

"It is a jewel," Mayor Gary Wheeler said during an announcement of what the economic value of the park means locally.

The city held a contest on Facebook to see whether someone could guess how much of an economic impact this area gets from the park. Bekkah Beckwith received a $50 gift certificate for her guess, which, at $10,741,431, was the closest to the correct number.

In 2017, 1,754 teams competed at the park, including 845 from outside the area. Those visiting teams produced $4.3 million in local spending.

The park had a record 340 youth teams playing in eight sold-out tournaments in 2017.

The park "has become part of the fabric of the community," said Rich Rosenthal, parks and recreation director.

He said U.S. Cellular is the top park of its kind in the state, attracting tournaments and other events to the area, while filling up hotels and restaurants.

"We do it better than any other facility in the region," he said.

City officials also pointed to new artificial turf that was installed on the infields of five fields.

While the economic impact remained good in 2017, it was down from 2016 and 2015, partially because of the smoke that plagued the region in late summer.

"There was the Rogue Valley Senior Softball Association on Sept. 9 and 10 that was canceled due to smoke," Rosenthal said. Tournament game attendance was also slightly down. "That was the first time in the nine years that a tournament was canceled for that reason."

In 2016, the overall estimated sales for the park totaled $11.5 million, which was ahead of 2015, when sales hit $11.07 million. The estimates of economic impact were based on a variety of sources, including how much teams spent on entry fees, food and beverages, entertainment, retail shopping, transportation and lodging. The estimates were calculated based on a multiplier effect from each dollar spent locally.

Total park attendance in 2017 was 220,401, slightly behind the record 232,293 set in 2016.

Rosenthal said the city will continue to study the possibility of building an indoor recreation center at the park.

"The question facing our department and the City Council is what type of indoor recreational facility makes the most sense for Medford," Rosenthal said.

U.S. Cellular Community Park sits on 132 acres just off Highway 99 in the southern end of Medford. It cost $32.5 million to build the park.

Rosenthal said he expects tournament attendance to increase this year.

"2018 will be a record year," he said. "We will have four more youth baseball events, including two more full-blown tournaments and a state Little League tournament."

— Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.