Supporting existing venues and advocating for new ones is one of the Southern Oregon Sports Commission’s main areas of focus. Southern Oregon is filled with diverse venues, both man-made and natural for both traditional and non-traditional sports. As the Southern Oregon population continues to grow at a fast rate and sports tourism continues to be a main economic driver in the area, Medford and the Rogue Valley is left with venue deficiencies in many areas. The Commission does not support venues with cash donations, but in other areas such awareness campaigns or familiarization trips.
The City of Medford recognizes the importance of SOSC and the role the Commission plays in the community. The Medford 2040 Vision Task Force created a collaborative and proactive action plan for growth and development for the next 20 years and tasked SOSC to be a leading partner on one action plan item under the vision focus area of Promoting Recreation Opportunity. Within the strategy of promoting the building, expansion and maintenance of premier facilities, SOSC will lead the charge on developing new facilities for indoor and outdoor sports and recreation.
Prescott Park, on Roxy Ann Peak, is Medford’s largest city park featuring 1,740 acres of hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails. In 2016, several members of SOSC attended a Jackson County Commissioners meeting and spoke in support of the proposed Comprehensive Plan Map and Zoning Map Amendment to include extensive trail building. The motion was approved, and trails have since been created and improved, providing more opportunities to hold mountain biking events at the park. The park is also undergoing further development with a 3-mile long rocky equestrian trail, which is identified in the Trails Master Plan for the City of Medford.
Construction has begun on a 120,000 square-foot multiuse pandemic response center at the Expo in Central Point. The facility will cost an estimated $60 million and will double as a center for managing regional emergencies as well as housing a community center for the city of Central Point. The building will include a commercial kitchen, shower facilities, and a large gym space for eight full-size basketball courts.
A conceptual design for a bike park/urban trail system at Midway Park in Medford is going through the development stages. The Rogue Valley Mountain Biking Association announced the plan which would feature a 30-acre space to host jumplines, trails with features including a pump track, dual slalom area to create a regional draw and become a revenue generator for the city. It would also provide residents and those who can’t access local trail systems an easily, accessible and progressive place to learn.
The park is located in the northwest quadrant where Crater Lake Highway and I-5 intersect and Bear Creek Greenway, one of Medford and the Rogue Valley’s natural assets, goes through the park. The plan was created after hard work from a bike park committee which included representation from the City of Medford, Travel Medford, Southern Oregon Sports Commission, RVMBA leadership and other members of the community.
The project is a candidate for federal funding via the senate delegation and Travel Medford and SOSC provided a letter of support, in conjunction with the City of Medford, to Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley in March.
The Gold Hill Whitewater Center is a unique venue and another one of Southern Oregon’s world-class natural attractions along the Rogue River.
The Whitewater park has diverse functions that feature Class IV (expert!) rapids for kayaking and has hosted the U.S. Rafting Championships in the past. Its goal is to make the park accessible to more people in a variety of watercraft by modifying the hazardous rapids in the channel known as “Muggers Alley.” It is a training site for search and rescue and has the potential to have an Olympic Slalom Course that could be the host for the Whitewater Events at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games when the international competition come to Los Angeles. As a first step to test the Olympic idea, Travel Medford invited Morgan House, Director of High Performance for the American Canoe Association, to visit Ti'lomikh Falls. The ACA is the governing body of Olympic slalom. Morgan toured the site with a group including Olympic kayak gold medalist Oliver Fix and Steve Kiesling, as well as Alex Campbell from the governor's Solution Team and Angela Wood from Travel Medford
There is currently a design for Riverbed Modifications and 2021 renderings for an Indigenous Peoples Monument to overlook Mugger’s Alley.
