Ems open a new era

Wait a minute. What’s going on here?

That’s not real grass. Those aren’t Eugene’s south hills behind center field. Those foul balls aren’t smacking backward off the old wooden roof and bouncing into Willamette Street.

This must be some weird dream.

Nope.

This is … “The Greatest Show on Turf.”

At least that’s what the Eugene Emeralds are billing this whole new ballgame and the team’s 2010 season, which kicked off Friday night at the University of Oregon’s PK Park.

It was the first Ems home game not played at 72-year-old Civic Stadium in south Eugene since 1968. Back then, the Ems played at Bethel Park in west Eugene, which no longer exists, before moving to Civic in 1969.

But the old Eugene School District-­owned stadium on the other side of town fell into disrepair in recent years. The Emeralds, who did not want to pay a share of the costs to fix it, decided to strike a deal last year with the UO to play at its brand-new ballpark next to Autzen Stadium.

“I hope people are excited about what we’re doing,” said Onalee Carson, the Emeralds’ director of media relations, as she helped the staff get ready for Friday’s Northwest League opener against the Vancouver Canadians. The evening included interactive fan promotions every inning, from winning free pizzas to dancing with Sluggo, the Ems’ new mascot.

If Friday’s game, which the Ems won 6-3, is any indication, this bold new era is going to be a home run. The $19.2 million park that opened earlier this year for UO baseball was sold out for the Ems’ opener that included a fireworks display afterward. The park seats about 3,100, but with standing-room tickets and beer garden seating, capacity is about 4,000, and Friday’s official attendance was listed at 4,056.

That’s not as many as the 5,418 who attended the Ems season-opener at Civic last June, but it was still a sellout in a smaller park. Civic Stadium could hold about 7,000 fans.

“It’s so much better,” said George Koris of Eugene, sitting in the final row of Section 7 behind home plate with his wife, Pam Love. “It’s a comfortable seat, it’s clean.”

“The women’s restroom has 25 stalls,” Love said with a big grin. “And the scoreboard,” she said, looking out at the video board. “We can see the players faces and names. That’s really cool.”

Ticket prices are a tad more in the new park. Although the $6 general admission tickets are just 50 cents more than they were at Civic Stadium, there are only 500 general admission seats at PK Park, all in the bleachers along the left-field line.

Parking did not exactly go smoothly Friday. Before the game, Leo Harris Parkway adjacent to Autzen was filled with two long lines of cars coming in each direction from Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., all into one entrance on the east side of Autzen Stadium. The bottleneck caused many fans to be late to the game.

But all in all, fans seemed to enjoy the new experience.

“Civic was a beautiful old stadium,” said Marq Bauman of Springfield, sitting with his wife, Melanie Sicotte, in the first row behind home plate. “You can’t argue with the history. But it was falling apart. It’s hard to argue with something new and shiny.”

As the Ems came to bat with a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, across town the sun was setting on the south hills and Civic Stadium sat empty. Its gates were all locked with “no trespassing” signs on them.

A man with a long gray-and-blond ponytail walked his bicycle on the sidewalk of Willamette Street behind the old stadium, marveling at the spectacular dusk sky that was filled with red and gray and patches of black, a faint rainbow slicing through it.

“I’m sorry to see the stadium closed,” he said, stopping for a moment and looking down at the lush green grass in the outfield. “I wish (the Ems) were still playing here.”