In response to Travel Lane County’s recent letter to the editor about the organization’s push for an indoor sports facility, the argument that Eugene needs a massive indoor sports facility to fix winter is based on a flawed premise. Winter in Oregon is slow because — newsflash — it’s winter. This is not some Eugene-specific failure. It is the entire state.
Here is the clearest example possible: Bend, a city every Eugene resident is super jealous of and often wonders, “Why can’t we be more like Bend?” It’s home to Mount Bachelor, the largest ski resort in the state — a place people literally travel to for winter recreation. And the slow season there is — yes, you guessed it — winter.
If Bend cannot beat winter with skiing, snowboarding and nationally known outdoor recreation, how is an indoor gym in Eugene suddenly going to change visitor behavior?…