Going there was no problem:  
The Springfield Council, still smarting from loosing a competition with Eugene for the siting of the new Federal Courthouse, was more than happy to give away the store to facilitate Sacred Heart being at RiverBend.
Some members of the Springfield Council were in on the secret plan all along.

PeaceHealth, intent on vertical integration to move itself as close as possible to monopoly control of local health care, wanted the big open site so it could control all the doctors offices located nearby.
They were more than happy to locate inside the service area of its major competitor so it could harm McKenzie-Willamette financially.  Eventually the move helped put M-W in such a disadvantageous position that it had to sell out to a national hospital organization and cease  being a true community hospital. 

PeaceHealth got all its own way, in every way - getting local governments to use up huge amounts of state and federal highway money solving their impacts.