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SINCE YOU ASKED: Paving gravel lot at ballfield a priority for Medford Tuesday May 2, 2017 at 12:01 AM First of all I am a total baseball junkie and have attended many local games for years, even when Jose Canseco played here. I am embarrassed by the dirt parking lot the Rogues are using at the beautiful Harry and David field. I have contacted the Rogues management more than once about this issue, and they have totally waved me off. Their position is this is a city of Medford matter. The entire city should be embarrassed when the first league all-star game was played here last year and was subjected to this ugliness. When will this be fixed? I will not attend another game until it is. Gary S., Medford   Wow, you feel really strongly about this, Gary. I suppose you don't get to the field to snag one of the more than 100 paved parking spaces in another lot next to the field. You're right that there is a gravel parking area available as well, but looking ahead, it will be paved at some point. "It is in the facility capital improvement plan to be paved someday," said Rich Rosenthal, director of Medford Parks and Recreation. "There are no funds yet for a project that is a fairly big ticket item." Rosenthal said plans and engineering have been completed, so it's essentially a shovel-ready project. Once built, it will have close to 200 parking spaces. "That's just a ballpark number, pun intended," Rosenthal said. To get the project built, the city will need some buy-in from Southern Oregon Veterans benefits, which will be building a scaled-down version of the Vietnam Wall, as well as the Rogues. If the city sells a triangular piece of property next to the field, Rosenthal said the proceeds could be used to help build the parking lot, which is a priority for Parks and Recreation. "We're going to do everything we can to address that need as quickly as we can," he said. All we can say, Gary, is that for the time being, try to get there early so you can slide into one of the paved parking spaces. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.