Hare Field is a multi-sport facility located in Hillsboro,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The facility opened in 1965 and is owned by the

Hillsboro School District The Hillsboro School District 1J is a unified school district located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The district operates 26 elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools. Founded in 1851, the school district covers Hi ...

. Hare Field includes a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

stadium, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium, practice fields, and track and field equipment. The venue hosts high school sports, open track meets, youth sports, and occasionally college sports. The football stadium seats over 5,000 fans, was the first high school field in Oregon with an all-weather field, and was named one of the best venues to watch high school football in the state.

History

Hare Field opened in 1965 when the Hillsboro High School (Hilhi Spartans) baseball team started using the baseball

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

. The field was named for civic leader and former state legislator William G. Hare.McKinney, Dick. Sparts trim Gresham in first game. ''

The Hillsboro Argus ''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First ...

'', October 19, 1976. The first football game was held on September 9, 1966, when Hilhi played Gresham High School. Hilhi won that game 7-0 and would become the season’s state champions. From 1948 to 1965 school football teams had used Goodman Field, located on the north side of NE Lincoln Street to the east of the high school building (later J.B. Thomas Middle School). With the addition of Glencoe High School in 1980, that school also began using the facilities at Hare Field. In 1991, coach

Rich Brooks Richard Llewellyn Brooks (born August 20, 1941) is an American retired football coach and former player. He was the head coach at the University of OregonMcCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, Oregon: McCann ...

held the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

spring scrimmage at the stadium drawing 5,183 spectators. The football stadium was used in 1997 for a memorial service to Hondo, a police dog killed in the line of duty and namesake for the city’s

dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...

. Century High School became the third school to use Hare Field in 1997, but moved to the new

Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro Stadium is a multi-sport stadium in the northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb west of Portland. Opened in 1999 and owned by the city of Hillsboro, the award-winning stadium is part of the Gordon Faber Recre ...

when it opened in 1999. The following year, the facility began a multi-year renovation that was funded by private money, including a controversial deal with soft drink maker

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

that raised $1 million.Gaynair, Gillian. Hillsboro thinks things will go better with Coke. ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', May 21, 1998. The total cost for the project were $3.5 million and included the installation of an all-weather surface for the football and soccer field, a new track surface, locker-room improvements, and upgrades to some seating areas among others.Fentress, Aaron. Track around Hare Field is completed: the privately funded effort spurred Glencoe High’s Craig Ruecker moves into the next renovation. ''

'', June 26, 1999. As a result of the sponsorships, the artificial turf has Coca-Cola logos in both end zones, and it became the first all-weather high school football field in Oregon. Following the installation of AstroTurf in 1998, the facility was used to host OSAA state playoff games that year.Forbes, Ron. Local news: Hare Field will get a new turf next summer. ''

'', August 15, 2008. Hare Field hosted the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

football spring game in 1999, the first year under coach

Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) league. He was also the head coach at the University of ...

. In 2003, ''

'' newspaper named the football stadium as one of the ten best places to watch a high school football game.Charbonneau, Dave. 10 great places to watch prep football. ''The Oregonian'', August 29, 2003 The Hilhi versus Glencoe football series was selected in 2007 for the Great American Rivalry Series. The all-weather playing surface was scheduled to be replaced with a new all-weather field in 2009. Hilhi boosters began renovations to the baseball diamond (Ad Rutschman Stadium) in 2014, which were completed in 2015.

Facilities

Hare Field consists of Craig Ruecker (football) Stadium that includes locker rooms and a covered

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...

. The football field is also used for soccer, and a track surrounds the field. Other track equipment and open fields also make up the western section of the facility. The track is named the Elden Kellar Track.Fitzgibbon, Joe. Everyone ends up a winner at All-Comers Track Meets. ''The Oregonian'', July 14, 2005. On the east side of the complex is Ad Rutschman Baseball Stadium, with a portion of the south part composed of ticket stands and paved parking. There is a jogging track around the perimeter of the complex. The complex hosts home football games for both Glencoe and Hilhi, along with home

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

games for Glencoe and home track meets for Hilhi.Fentress, Aaron. Glencoe coach continues fund-raising: Craig Ruecker will ask for an additional $1.5 million to further refurbish Hare Field in Hillsboro. ''The Oregonian'', August 10, 2000.

Oregon School Activities Association The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates high school athletics and competitive activities via athletic conferences in the U.S. state of Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. s ...

state playoff games for football are also held at the stadium. Hilhi uses the baseball diamond for their teams. Hare is also home to the annual Elden Kellar Invitational amateur track meet, while occasionally hosting high school district championship meets. A weekly all-comers track meet is held during the summers. In addition to athletic venues, Hare Field houses and hosts other items and events. The facility serves as the staging ground for parades such as the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the annual Fourth of July Parade. Hare Field’s grounds also house an air quality monitoring station owned by the

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the chief regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for protecting and enhancing the state's natural resources and managing sanitary and toxic waste disposa ...

. The school district also receives revenues from a cellular phone communication tower located at the site.

Glencoe-Hillsboro rivalry (Battle of the Boro Rivalry Series)

Since opening in 1980, Glencoe High School has maintained a close rivalry with cross-town Hillsboro High School (Hilhi) with a football game taking place nearly every year between Glencoe and Hilhi. The rivalry has been featured on the Great American Rivalry series presented by the US Marine Corps. Glencoe has won 30 Battle of the Boro rivalry games, while Hilhi has won eleven. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Glencoe Football played on an independent schedule, meaning they had no control over their game schedule. This resulted in a brief pause on the annual rivalry games. The rivalry series was again paused in 2020 as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. As both schools are tenants of Hare Field for football, the winning school gets to call Hare Field "their home field." Scores from each game

References

External links

MapHilhi baseball
{{Sports venues in Portland, Oregon , collapsed High school sports in Oregon Sports venues in Hillsboro, Oregon Soccer venues in Oregon 1965 establishments in Oregon American football venues in Oregon High school football venues in the United States High school baseball venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1965 Hillsboro School District Athletics (track and field) venues in Oregon

History

Facilities

Glencoe-Hillsboro rivalry (Battle of the Boro Rivalry Series)

See also

References

External links