Eugene Emeralds

The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) is a minor league baseball team in Eugene, Oregon, United States. They are a short-season Class A team in the Northwest League, and have been a farm team of the San Diego Padres since 2001.

Originally created in 1955 as a charter member of the Northwest League, the Emeralds won the inaugural pennant and remained in the NWL until 1968. During that time, they played in 6,000-seat Bethel Park.

In the 1969 season, the Emeralds were promoted to AAA status, playing in the Pacific Coast League and affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Emeralds returned to the Northwest League and short-season Class A status five years later, when the Phillies moved their AAA farm team to Sacramento for the 1974 season.

With their 1969 promotion to the AAA ranks, the Emeralds moved from Bethel Park to Civic Stadium. The 6,800-seat facility is owned by the Eugene School District and was built in 1938 as a venue for high-school football, which was played there until 1968. Civic Stadium also hosted semi-pro baseball teams, sponsored by local timber companies, until Bethel Park was built in 1950.

The Emeralds began playing home games in the University of Oregon's PK Park in 2010. They share the new facility, located adjacent to Autzen Stadium, with the Oregon Ducks baseball team.