Oregon Senator Alan Bates secured $100,000 from the Legislature, to help fund a feasibility study on a new convention center in Medford. The idea has been discussed for the past twenty years.
“By having a facility that will accommodate large groups of people, and certain specific types of meetings and events, it’s a way to get groups of people to come to your community and see what other amazing things there are to do,” said Brad Hicks, the President and CEO of the Medford-Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
The feasibility study be done by an outside consulting agency, likely hired by the City of Medford. It would aim to answer a number of questions, including where the convention center would be located, and what type of facility it would be. Hicks stressed the facility would not necessarily be limited to large meetings.
“What a good feasibility study tells us might not result in that sort of facility at all,” Hicks said. “They might say, ‘you really need a multi-use facility out by the sports park.'”
The feasibility study would likely involve a community survey. It’s not clear when the study will begin, or which agency will conduct it.
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