History of the Springfield Drifters

Building Hamlin

If you’ve found yourself on the corner of Pioneer Parkway and Centennial Boulevard in Springfield, you’ve probably seen the large outfield walls and beautiful blue bleachers of Hamlin Sports Complex and thought to yourself, “how the heck did they build a stadium this nice at a middle school?” The story goes back to summer 2020. In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, local business owner Ike Olsson of Olsson Industrial Electric received a phone call from a local long-time baseball coach asking if he could sponsor a local legion baseball team after nearly 60 kids showed up for try-outs. Olsson, who has helped support local youth sports for years, agreed to sponsor the team, naming them the “Ole Athletics.” Olsson’s son Sam, then a catcher at the University of Oregon, coached the team with three other local baseball friends who were home for the summer after the pandemic shut down their spring seasons. 

At the end of the Summer, Olsson was at a team barbecue when the same local coach approached him and expressed his desire to build a public turf field in the Eugene/Springfield area. Most cities in the Pacific Northwest have public turf fields, which help teams play during the early spring, when many natural turf fields are unplayable due to rain. Eugene/Springfield, unlike cities like Portland and Salem, did not have a youth turf field at the time — a glaring hole for youth athletics in the community.  Brainstorming with Olsson on how they could bring a public turf field, the coach asked, “Have you ever thought about starting a West Coast League baseball team?”

The idea struck Olsson to his core. By creating a WCL team, he could start a local sports business venture while also building a much-needed turf field to benefit the community. To do that, though, he would need to find a college to partner with to help support the summer league team. With the Eugene Emeralds already leasing PK Park, Olsson had to look elsewhere than the University of Oregon, and the local coach had the perfect partner — Bushnell University, a small private Christian university located right next to UO’s campus. 

Right then at the barbecue, the coach called Bushnell University’s President, Joe Womack, and introduced him to Olsson. The two hit it off and soon met for breakfast at the Eugene Country Club to discuss what it would take to build a shared stadium for a WCL team and Bushnell University. With limited land in the south University District near the Bushnell campus, the two had to look elsewhere in the community. That led them to the current site at Hamlin Middle School, a location 4.1 miles from the Bushnell campus, which already featured two grass fields and space to build a stadium. 

Olsson, whose non-profit Huddle Up had previously worked with Springfield Public Schools on a turf field project at Maple Elementary, utilized his connections to pitch the stadium idea to the school district. Springfield Public Schools was looking to improve their facilities to benefit their students and the community at the time. They loved the idea.

Next, Olsson began searching for a pair of business partners to assist him with his new local sports venture. The first person he called was Kelly Richardson of Richardson Sports. The pair had worked together on a variety of projects at Sheldon High School, including the covered stadium project in the mid-2000s and the baseball facility renovations in 2014. 

Olsson met Richardson at North Fork Public House for a beer and said, “I’m thinking of doing this, and I’d like you to be my partner.” Richardson responded by saying, ‘I’m in, but it’s just you and me because if we get someone else in on it, then it will be a cluster.” 

Together, they would co-own the 16th active franchise in WCL history, the Springfield Drifters.

Just like that, Olsson and Richardson were in business once again, this time with Bushnell University and Springfield Public Schools.