EUGENE - It's one of the most popular spring and summer attractions in Downtown Eugene and the Lane Events Center. Thousands of people flock to the Lane County Farmers Market.

Now, an idea brought up about 8 years ago is getting new exposure and could lead to an expanded market.

We're downtown at 8th and Oak where during the growing season on Tuesdays and Saturdays, you see some of our area's freshest produce. That's when the Farmers Market is here.

The idea for a permanent indoor farmers market has been sitting on the back burner, but a Eugene woman hopes to change that.

Erin Ely sits in front of her computer screen and says, "Here's my idea, right here." When the South Eugene resident latches on to an idea... she doesn't let go.

"I'm an instigator; I'm a loose wheel," says Ely

She's also a big supporter of local farms and the
Farmers Market. During a trip last year to her native New Mexico, she got wind of an indoor year-round farmer's market being built in Santa Fe. A light bulb went on.

Ely tells KVAL she realized, "Oh my god; we can do this here. We can do this in Eugene. There's no reason why we can't."

Ely says such a market would include a commercial kitchen, an open market hall for year round indoor sales, office space and much more.

The Santa Fe market is being built for just over $2-million. Ely feels with the right feasibility study and planning, it can be done locally. "There's no better place in the world. We have the greatest growing conditions here. We have the most fantastic produce," according to Ely.

Part of the idea for an indoor farmers market would also include a restaurant, or what they call a farmers diner. Backers say that, in turn, would support a vanishing breed- small local farms.

"My family moved here in 1964," explains Paul Atkinson, whose farm is just off Territorial Road south of Veneta. Operations like Laughing Stock Farms, in the family for 44 years.

On his 50 acres, Atkinson raises chickens, turkeys, hogs, dairy cows and goats...and grows sweet corn and squash for sale. He's a big booster of the farmers diner concept and tells KVAL, "Whether it's farmers, restaurateurs, the Department of Agriculture, the tourist industry--all should be interested in seeing something like this happen."

Above all, Atkinson sees this as another way to boost locally grown Lane County products, in the local market.

As a sidebar to all of this, Erin Ely has sent her idea to ideablob-dot-com and is in the final eight nationally for a $10,000 prize.

If she wins, the money will be a down payment for a
feasibility study on the indoor market.

At the height of the season 160 vendors take part in the Lane County Farmers Market.