Stadium Updates for June 29, Match Preview for Timbers - FC Flounders

There's been more talk of trying to revive the Memorial Coliseum as the site for the triple AAA baseball stadium here in Portland. The Oregonian did some more research into baseball sites in the Portland area, and the most popular sites were all listed with pros and cons. At least on the surface, the Portland Meadows site seems to have some advantages, having parking there and it's relatively close to transit, while Delta Park seems like the worst possible option. So you aren't going to allow park land to be taken for baseball, yet people in this town would advocate taking a popular amateur sports complex and putting a stadium there?

A guest opinion in the O talked about the situation in Baltimore with their Memorial Stadium, that soon lead to them building Camden Yards and the Ravens stadium in the area once the NFL returned. This led to some pointed comments from various sources, including Brian Libby, who has been the most vocal of the architectural preservationists. I get the significance of the Memorial Coliseum, but as I put in a response to comments that he made, I'd feel differently if there was a better site for baseball then there, I'd feel differently if the Trail Blazers had kept up on their promise to maintain the building, I'd feel differently if the MLS said the teams could share for a few years while we figured out a good site. But since none of those statements are true, and we've looked at all the reasons why PGE Park can't be shared by soccer and baseball and the cost of putting up a triple AAA ballpark is less than building a soccer stadium to MLS specifications, the course of action that is best for the city is to find a new home for baseball. But then again, logic hasn't been a big part of this stadium discussion, so why should I expect the facts to be considered otherwise.

Since I'm going to be very busy preparing for Wednesday, I thought I'd do the match preview for Timbers - FC Puke Green now.

Game Time: Timbers vs. FC Puke Green in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup, the premier American open soccer competition. It pits teams from various levels of US Soccer in a single elimination tournament. Portland beat the Kitsap Pumas and Sonoma County Sol to earn the right to face the Flounders, who are playing their first Open Cup match. The Timbers bid to host the match, and so it's here on Wednesday at PGE Park at 7 PM.

Broadcast: You can listen to the match at www.portlandtimbers.com, on the Game 95.5 (http://www.955thegame/) or watch the Timbers Senior match on Fox Sports Northwest (channel 34 in the Portland area) around the northwest.

Special Events: It's renewing a rivalry that has been around for years, but had it's final game in the USL last season when the Flounders visited the Timbers in August 2008. The Timbers and Flounders will meet again in 2011 when both teams will be part of MLS, unless they met in the Open Cup.

Overall History: The Timbers have 11 wins, 16 losses and 5 draws in their USL history against the Flounders. The Timbers are 7 - 7 - 3 at PGE Park against them, while sporting a 4 - 9 - 3 record in the Emerald City for various matches. The last meeting was August 2008, with the Flounders winning 1 to nil here, although the Timbers Army had a grand time, bringing a coffin with a whale into the park to mark the death of the USL Flounders.

Timbers Form: Still unbeaten in 12 league matches, a friendly and 2 Open Cup matches since losing their opener in Vancouver. They sit with 26 points at 7 - 1 - 5, and most recently, they beat Montreal at home 4 to nil on Sunday June 29th. The Timbers have a busy week with 4 matches this week (Wednesday, Thursday at home and Saturday in Minnesota).

Timber Player Updates: Ryan Pore, Tony McManus and Takuro Nishimura and Automann Jallow have been injured over the past few weeks, but they are all healthy and available for selection on Wednesday.

Timber Key Players: Mandjou Keita continues his hot streak, as he takes over the goal lead for the team with 6 goals, followed by Ryan Pore and Brian Farber with 3 goals, and then George Josten with 2. Josten leads the team with 4 assists, followed by David Hayes and Ryan Pore with 3 each. The forwards are now finding their shot, and putting shots on goal, which is great to see, but really the midfield is the engine for this team. Brian Farber, Johan Claesson and Keith Savage really held their form last night, and with Taka Suzuki, they have learned how to control the middle very well. The defense is doing well, with 6 goals given up, and only two real chances last night versus Montreal and the only Impact goal was waived off due to a player being offsides. We are certainly playing well right now, and after these home matches, we have our longest road stretch of the season in July before having the schedule balance out a bit.

Upcoming Timbers Matches: The Timbers play 7/2 in a friendly against Bayern Munich II and then head to the road to play Minnesota on 7/4, and then they have a bit of a break before heading to Austin to play there on July 11th, and then a long road trip to Miami to face the Blues for 2 matches on the 17th and 19th.

Flounder Form: They beat the Colorado Rapids 3 to nil this weekend, preceded by draws against DC United and FC Energy Drink the preceding weeks, and then the Flounders get a break until July 11th when Houston comes to visit Qwirst Field.

Impact Player Updates: Backup keeper Chris Eyelander has been struggling with a knee problem, so the team signed former FC Energy Drink keeper Terry Boss. At this point, we don't know if Keller or Boss will start for

Impact Key Players: I spent a few minutes on their site to get some stats, and trying to get the smell out. Fredy Montero leads the Flounders with 8 goals, followed by former Portland Pilot Nate Jaqua with 6 goals, while Montero has 6 assists and Jaqua has 5 assists, while former USL mid guy Sebastian Le Douche has 3 assists. Kasey Keller, another former Pilot and EPL keeper, has started 15 games in the pipes, and played really well for them in stretches. The FC Flounder defense has played well at times with Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, James Riley and Patrick Ianni really holding the fort well, as the Flounders don't give up a lot of goals. In most of their games, though, the question seems to be are they going to score enough to hold up the lead.

Key Notes: The Timbers have another long stretch of games coming up, so depth is the key, and as much as I love the chance to advance in the Open Cup, there is a key stretch of league matches coming up. However, most recently, Montreal rested some players in a competition against Toronto to prepare for a league match versus Vancouver, and they lost the competition match but got the league win anyway. There's plenty of new players on both squads that have never played in a Timbers - Flounders derby, but there are some holdovers that know what the game is like, so I would expect both sides to be charging up their troops.

Prediction: The Flounders have something to lose here, being the MLS side and the expectation is that they should win down here if they play their top players. But they are being coy about who is making the trip down, and who will be starting, so I would expect that they would have a side with many reserves and some starters sprinkled in. Portland, meanwhile, is going to use their depth and play their top side on Wednesday, knowing they have a match on Thursday that while should be a good test, has no meaning so they can play some reserves while they get ready for a tough road match on Saturday in Minnesota. The fans are keyed up, so I expect a big showing from both sides, and my hope is that there's no problems between supporters. I predict that it will be a hard fought match, and the Timbers magic at home remains with a tough, but well earned 2 to 1 victory. We always win 2 to 1!!

Lesson in Politics - Part 2

Another lesson I should learn about with politics is never assume something is really dead and on the table until the obituary is done and set in stone. The ballpark idea gets another life and change in plan, courtesy of Randy Leonard, who is now asking the Portland Development Commission (PDC) to look for potential ballpark sites in the Portland area. While we've been told that Memorial Coliseum is a dead plan, it appears that by this action, Leonard admits that the Lents URAC vote probably wouldn't go in their favor, so let's find more alternatives in the area.

Leonard is committed to trying to find a suitable place in Portland, and I think there are some places that might work pretty well. Delta Park will not because it's a very busy park for the city, but it's known that Portland Meadows might be up for sale because the owners are bankrupt, and you have a large area there with parking that is near transit. Terminal 1 in the NW Portland area has been rumoured for a while as well, and while I don't know much about the site, apparently, I've heard it's a giant parcel of land. This also allows other exploration for cities in the area to step up and pitch their idea to Paulson, such as Vancouver, WA or Hillsboro, OR, both cities that have large areas of land available and have at least been rumoured to be interested. The Oregon Live story includes some more information, including the sites that will be reviewed and the fact that the Lents URAC was cancelling the vote for this week on the baseball idea.

The other big development today is that Sam Adams won't be charged by Oregon's Attorney General for misconduct in his personal life, by having sexual contact with another man who may or may not have been of legal age. The circumstances behind the relationship became public right after Adams took office, and while he's remained in his role and been assisting with many city projects, the whole situation has been a dark cloud to say the least. Apparently, the information provided by Beau Breedlove has some inconsistencies, there isn't much corroborating evidence to support some claims, and so the only thing that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt is that Adams lied about the relationship particulars. While it's not a complete exoneration, what it does do is clear the legal avenue relating to criminal charges. There is still an ongoing recall effort that will start up in a few weeks, but at this point, Adams is still in office. Since he's been a huge proponent of MLS, this really strengthens things for soccer fans by having another supporter in the City Council.

So apparently, the idea isn't anywhere near dead, it's taking another strange turn. Politics have nothing on soap operas, apparently, and we'll keep you posted on things from here. Apparently, Wednesday is when the City Council discusses the MLS proposal and the actual decoupling of it from the overall baseball idea.

Lessons In Politics

I've been excited and frustrated by the entire MLS - Triple AAA stadium process, and nothing emphasized that more that my morning yesterday. Girl and I went to her father's house for a breakfast gathering, and he asked us about the whole effort because he wasn't quite up to date with things, and so we talked about it with him for almost an hour. It was amazing to hear the assumptions he'd reached through some of the incomplete information that had been shared in the media, but he also had some thoughts about how people were thinking that I hadn't necessarily considered.

I get that people might be scared about putting so much money into one project, and since my last post, things have gotten even more interesting in the world of Lents. Merritt Paulson has walked away from Lents, stating he doesn't want to build a stadium in an area that doesn't want it there. However, Randy Leonard, one of the city commissioners wants Paulson to wait and allow the Lents URAC (Urban Renewal Advisory Committee) to meet and vote on the idea, otherwise he is not willing to support soccer, while Dan Saltzman and Sam Adams are comfortable with the process and still want to discuss the stadium issue on Wednesday. Since the decoupling has occurred last week, soccer and baseball plans are being talked about separately, but we do know that plans for MLS must be in place by September 1st to secure the expansion team, which includes stadium plans to renovate PGE Park and other team specifics. Rumours have been floating about that Montreal is trying to secure the bid for the team if the Portland bid implodes, although I'm not convinced that's a very likely if.

Politics today is a rather nasty business, as you have to navigate some rather choppy waters to get anything done and try to remain sane in the process. Nothing seems tougher than trying to build a consensus amongst people that often times don't see eye to eye, and don't see the point of yielding in any way from their idea. I've watched passively on the debate to rename a street for Cesar Chavez, which makes the MLS situation seem tame in comparison. You have a group that wants this so badly because they feel Chavez needs to be honored, and they don't want to compromise by having a bridge or park named after him, while many of us, myself included, just can't understand why there isn't a way to compromise on the issue. I respect Chavez quite a bit, and understand his legacy, but I fail to understand his contribution to Portland so that a street should be named for him. Granted, it doesn't help things when the last renamed streets, Rosa Parks, MLK and Naito Parkway, were renamed without following the letter of the law when it comes to the process.

It's tough to build consensus with inconsistency, but at the same time, interests and topics change quite often, and I admire anyone that wants to get into public service and try to navigate this mess. You have to gage things as much as possible while hearing from a constituency that often times isn't informed or only sees one side of an issue and can't see the long term side of an idea. You have the anti-tax zealots, people who hate development, people who love development and can't understand why we can't just let business do what they want, the environmentalists who want everything protected, people who want kids protected under any costs, and sports fans that want the city to help them secure funds for stadiums or teams. Voters don't often spend time learning about issues as much as they should, but in all fairness, it's hard to find a nugget of truth in a saturated media that often times doesn't care about reporting truth but what will bring ratings or notoriety to their channel.

But at the same time, anyone in politics has to understand the game, and as Oregon Live's columnist Anna Griffin points out, we expect them to make the tough choices and represent our needs, no matter how fractured they might be. It's how things work around here, and that's why strong leadership is important, especially in a town like we have here where power is split between five commissioners that run various bureaus around town. Portland is unique in the sense that during the rally at Lents on Thursday, Commissioner Nick Fish was there to support the opponents as the commissioner of parks while Leonard was there in support of the plan, putting commissioners on both sides of the debate. And both sides of the argument can point to the fact that their side was represented by elected officials, which while it might be frustrating to someone like me who wants the stadium, I appreciate the fact that all sides can feel like their voice is being heard by someone with influence.

But where I get frustrated in this situation is simply that as someone who watches processes, I expect that our leaders will be strong in their conviction yet have an ability to find consensus and make tough decisions, even in the face of criticism. And that's the failing that I'm seeing of our city council right now. I appreciate the job they do, and understand that they need to follow their voice, but at the same time, it's important to work together and find ways to make the city work as smoothly as possible. Instead of bending to small interest groups or a vocal minority, it's important to stick with a plan if it makes sense for the city, and honestly, the original stadium plan to put the baseball park in the Memorial Coliseum site was the best idea out there, and it's frustrating to me to see that abandoned by a small group of architects and the Trail Blazers' influence. While I'm confident that things will find a way to work out, what I fear is that this process has exposed the dysfunction and chaos that often happen in city government. I find that I'm much more engaged in local issues, which is a good by-product if we are really looking for positives here.

I wish that politics wasn't such a messy game and that discussions could be done in a much more above board manner, and that decisions could be made quickly and efficiently. But like many good things, it makes the end result that much more satisfying, and after talking with girl's father, he seemed to understand what we were doing, and didn't seem to object nearly as much. I wished I could do this with many of the opponents of the stadium, but I suppose it's just one step or one person at a time, because that's how the city that works really works.

Lents Gets Their Wish - UPDATE!!

Merritt Paulson has decided to withdraw the plan to put a triple AAA ballpark in Lents, per this letter to the City Council and the Lents URAC. What this means is:

• The Timbers front office will focus efforts on getting the details done for MLS in time for the 2011 MLS Season, including securing financing to update PGE Park for MLS.
• The Beavers' future is cloudy at best, but probably not as bad as people might make it out to be. What this means is that the original agreement to get the Beavers a new stadium within Portland would not occur by the September 1st deadline that has been set to secure financing to update PGE Park for soccer.
• Merritt Paulson is committed to do everything he can to keep the Beavers local, but this now means that they can look at other sites within the local Portland - Vancouver WA area. The only sites that have been reviewed officially were the Memorial Coliseum and Lents Park, and now at this point, the rumored sites are Terminal 3, OMSI area, Vancouver or Beaverton. Other people mention sites like Delta Park, Portland Meadows, or the Greyhound Park in Wood Village, but those sites haven't been mentioned officially just by people on blog entries.
• Baseball has been here for over 40 years, and I'm not 100 percent about what this means for the future for the Beavers, but we've had baseball leave PGE Park on 4 different occasions, and so losing it again may be a reality again. This also opens up the possibility that other cities might jump to see if they can buy the Beavers from Paulson and move them when the lease is up in 2010.
• The Memorial Coliseum is still the best stadium site, but it will not be revisited, and Lents Park won't be reconsidered either. Right now, it appears that there might be baseball fans in the area, but they haven't stepped up enough to make their feelings noted.
• The City Council needs to step up and make some decisions soon, and next week, there will be a discussion of the MLS deal for PGE Park only on Wednesday during their regular meeting. We'll here more about the whole baseball issue as this plays out.
• In the past 4 decades, Portland has only built two major stadiums within the area within that time, the Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Garden. The Memorial Coliseum was built with minimal investment, and the Rose Garden was paid for mostly by private money from Paul Allen. The history of this city supporting stadium building has been poor at best, and there is nothing to think that it will change.

So Lents gets what they want and the URD money stays where it is, where it's sat for 11 years without minimal projects, and baseball people are having less of a leg to stand on as the attendance numbers don't seem to support Portland as a baseball area while the Timbers put up better numbers. The debate will rage on, and while the Beavers have over 100 years of history, it appears the days of baseball here might be numbered unless something dramatic happens.

Right now, I'm going to put this on the back burner and focus tonight on the Timbers - Thunder because the lads need our support tonight. As much as I'm interested in this, I'm tired of this city and some of our leaders who can't show enough leadership to make a decision and stick with it and instead we now have the possibility of baseball leaving town over the whole mess.

The boys at 955 The Game are talking about it right now, with Wheels and Strong saying the baseball plan to MC was a good idea, while Vance and Allen are upset about the chance of baseball leaving. If you get a chance to podcast it, it's a fascinating listen as it essentially boils the arguments down to what we've all been talking about for the past year.

Game Day Vs. Minnesota and Way to Stay Classy, Lents

It's game day!!! The Timbers face their rivals to the east from the land of lakes, the Minnesota Thunder!!

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2009/06/game_day_minnesota_thunder_at.html - The O previews the game, but let's recap some specifics:

Game Time: 8 pm at PGE Park. It's a late start because of the broadcast.
Broadcast: You can listen to the match at www.portlandtimbers.com, or watch in on Fox Soccer Channel, channel 401 in the Portland area if you have digital cable.
Special Night: It's Teddy Bear Toss night, where teddy bears go flying after the first Timbers goal. Last year, it was bears ahoy after an early goal, and it's always a fun night to see things landing on the pitch for a good reason. Timber Joey also has a birthday celebration tonight at Barracuda after the match.
Overall History: The Timbers have a winning record against the Thunder with a 10 - 5 - 11 record in 26 meetings throughout the years. At home, the Timbers are 5 - 3 - 5, while on the road, they are 5 - 2 - 6 versus the Thunder.
Timbers Form: Still unbeaten in 10 league matches, a friendly and 2 Open Cup matches since losing their opener in Vancouver. They sit with 20 points at 5 - 1 - 5, and most recently, drew on the road in Carolina last Thursday 0 - 0 and in Charleston on Saturday 1 - 1. They beat Sonoma County on Tuesday 3 to 0 to advance in the Open Cup.
Timber Player Updates: At this point, we know Ryan Pore, Tony McManus and Takuro Nishimura have been dealing with injuries and visa issues. Pore and McManus have targeted the Montreal match on 6/28 for their possible return or at the very least the 7/1 Open Cup match vs. FC Puke Green. No word on Nishimura so far, but I'd like to see him return soon. Everyone else appears to be healthy and ready to play.
Timber Key Players: Mandjou Keita is on a tear lately, with 3 league goals to tie Ryan Pore for the team lead in goals, and Keita got 2 goals on Tuesday in the Open Cup match. He's playing very well lately, and his partner up front, George Josten, has also played well, getting a goal in the Open Cup match as well. Brian Farber continues his stellar play, leading the team with 2 assists, but Johan Claesson and Keith Savage have also played well in the middle by keeping thing stable and providing support in the front or back as needed. The defense continues their stellar play, giving up only 5 goals on the season so far, and Steve Cronin making some rather incredible saves and heady keeper moves. Can't say enough about the job Keel, Hayes, Scot, Cam and Danso have done in back. One guy I've been impressed with lately is Taka Suzuki, who seems to have found a place in the midfield, showing some creativity and flair that have been missing lately. He has made some nice plays and is showing some hustle, and it's good to see him showing some skills.
Upcoming Timbers Matches: They get a break for a bit, not playing again until June 28th versus Montreal, but then play 7/1 versus FC Puke Green, 7/2 in a friendly against Bayern Munich II and then head to the road to play Minnesota on 7/4
Thunder Form: Courtesy of their website, the Thunder got their first win of the 2009 USL campaign on Sunday 6/14 versus Carolina at home 2 to nil. They also beat the Chicago Fire PDL team 4 to nil in the Open Cup to advance to a meeting with the Kansas City WIzards on 6/30 at home, and their next league match in the USL after tonight is the 27th when they host Rochester. They currently sit in last place in the USL Division 1 with 7 points and a 1 - 5 - 4 record in 10 games played.
Thunder Player Updates: Per their website, the team has been playing better lately, but got off to a really rough start. They have two injuries to Kevin Friedland and Rich Costanzo, as Friedland has hamstring issues and Costanzo has a dislocated elbow. Everyone else is healthy.
Thunder Key Players: The Thunder have 3 players with 2 goals each, Brian Cvilikas, Leonel Saint-Preux, and Ricardo Sanchez, while Sanchez has 3 assists to lead the team. Long time Thunder player Melvin Tarley returns to the Rose City, along with a former Timber, Lawrence Olum, who has a goal and assist. Olum was a midfielder for the Timbers last season, and was a fan favorite with his high energy runs. Nick Platter returns as the long time Thunder net minder, a veteran of many Timber - Thunder matches.
Key Notes: Former Thunder player and coach Amos McGee is now coach with the Timbers, so he faces his old side tonight. McGee resigned from the team last year, and was replaced by Manny Lagos, who is still coach of the Thunder. The Thunder are playing a bit better after their rough start, but the Timbers are on a roll right now, not having a loss since April and they are getting a lot of contributions across the pitch.
Prediction: As much as I'd like to rely on the records here, I don't think this game will be as easy as people might think. Minnesota is a scrappy team, and they traditionally play smart soccer by trying to control the midfield and make short passes to their attacking forwards. But, the Timbers are playing very well lately, and tonight gives them a chance to keep the streak going before a much needed break after a rough road trip. I expect 3 goals from the Timbers, and the Thunder get 1 to keep it interesting, but in the end, it will be a Timbers win and they'll be bears flying all over the place.

Last night, the Lents URAC held a public open house to talk about the stadium deal for the Beavers, although some of the anticipation of the night was pulled out of the air with the earlier announcement that the soccer and baseball stadium efforts had been decoupled, and would proceed separately from each other. The baseball opponents held a rally, and when the actual meeting started up, Merritt Paulson spoke to the crowd and was greeted by jeers and boos. Apparently, Randy Leonard suffered a similar fate last night, and there was a report of something thrown at him by someone in the crowd. Also, Nick Fish, the city's self professed biggest soccer fan was there to tell the opponents he supports their efforts and won't let the city take away Lents Park.

The whole stadium thing has reached epic proportions of ineptitude, and I can pin a lot of blame on the architects and the Trail Blazers for killing the MC idea, but I can't think of any reason why people need to get so worked up that they throw things at city leaders or purposefully boo people who are there just trying to make their position known. I get that this is a passionate issue and people are entitled to their opinions, but have we all just lost whatever decorum or respect we have for each other that we have to turn public meetings into a spectacle.

I get that many of people in Lents don't like this idea, but by acting this way, you do nothing more than perpetuate the stereotypes that many residents outside the area hold of Lents - crime filled, working class, uneducated. I hold out hope that public debate and discourse can always occur in a civilized manner, but then I read about these kind of reminders of why that will never happen. It's too bad, because this will mean that some other part of the city will get a very nice ball park to enjoy and help their area while MLS comes to Portland and revitalized the area around PGE Park, and Lents will be known as the area with the big Walmart. Nice calling card there, but hey, if it's what you all want, the rest of us won't stand in your way.

De-Coupling the Stadium Issue

Many of us read Steve Duin's take on the recent stadium issue with Lents last night, and it hit the papers this morning:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2009/06/end_the_madness_at_lents_park.html

Duin is pretty middle of the road on most issues, but I did find his take hard to deal with on a couple of different issues. Like the Memorial Coliseum deal, it appeared that there was little interest in doing anything commercial in Lents until suddenly it was discovered that the Lents area had a pot of urban renewal dollars that they haven't used for some time and there was an area that seemed to work for baseball. Memorial Coliseum might make sense for the ballpark, but you'd have to come up with the money in a private-public mix that ended up making the deal more complicated until the architects started screaming the the MC is a treasure and the Trail Blazers decided they didn't want competition in their back yard. Lents made sense because of a $45 million dollars or so that was ear marked for development in the area for urban renewal, and try as they might, Lents hasn't been able to attract much in terms of bringing big business or other anchor pieces to the area. They've tried but nothing has materialized, and there doesn't seem to be any good ideas right now to attract anything new there at this moment.

The baseball plan wouldn't destroy Lents Park, but build a stadium over the old dilapidated Walker Stadium and add some parking, but apparently there are traffic and parking concerns which would need to be addressed. But the soccer fields are apparently near traffic and are considered by soccer folks to be very dangerous (apparently, someone got hit on a bike during a match there while TA folks were playing on the field) and the fields themselves are in bad shape. I get that people use the park, but the plan here would only use a small portion of it. But apparently, the plan is full of madness, not only with Duin's words but the various comments noted.

What I don't get is that for such a progressive city, we seem to be afraid of making tough decisions which will keep our progressive stance. So we overspent on a tram to OHSU, it was a mistake that people noted because of a lack of oversight, yet some citizens refer to this project as a reason why we need to slow down with progress. Gee, Paul Allen built the Rose Garden so why can't someone just build a soccer park? Allen had the money, and if he had waited for the city to help with the process, the Trail Blazers probably would still be playing in the MC or would be playing elsewhere right now. We're in such a desire to keep Portland weird and in some ways progressive, it almost paralyzes the decision making process because we want our decisions to be risk free and bullet proof. Life doesn't work that way, but for some stupid reason, the leadership in this town doesn't seem to want to make a decision.

I just got late word from the Mayor's Twitter account (http://twitter.com/MayorSamAdams) that the decision makes want to de-couple MLS and the baseball situation, thus allowing each decision to be made independently. While it does mean that there are less moving parts to the proposal and people can look at the merits of each sport individually, what it does mean is that someone needs to keep the overall picture in view. It's been mentioned that MLS would want a Portland team in a stadium where the soccer team controls the scheduling and revenue streams, and while they'd prefer the MLS team to be the single tenant, they are willing to share if it makes sense. PGE Park is entirely too big of a stadium for triple AAA baseball, and they need to find a stadium location that works for selling season tickets and giving everyone a chance to watch games. Very few people buy season tickets for the Beavers, knowing that in a 19,000 seat ballpark, the chances of being shut out of tickets is pretty nil unless you are wanting to watch the 4th of July ballgame. There's a market for each team, and we need to find a way to make it work. I hope that this tactic really means that there will be honest and constructive conversation about the plan, rather than just another excuse for a small minority to trash the idea of the city getting into stadiums instead of helping schools and potholes.

Bring On the Flounders, Stadium Vote Coming Soon?

Flash back to a fine August evening back in PGE Park during the 2008 season, and the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers met for the last time as rivals within the USL during the regular season. With the Sounders moving up to MLS for the 2009, this would be the last time the two teams were slated to meet each other officially, although there was an outside chance the teams could have met in the playoffs. After that, the only time they would meet again would be if there was a US Open Cup match, an agreed upon exhibition game or if the Timbers were moved up to MLS at some future point.

We now know that the Timbers will be joining FC XBox in MLS in 2011 after Portland was awarded an expansion team, so the once bitter rivals have a two year hiatus from meeting each other until that point unless the US Open Cup put the rivals in the same bracket. And sure enough, it was learned that after the bracket was announced in June of this year that the Timbers were in the same bracket, but had to win twice versus Kitsap and Sonoma County to set up this match, and a few days ago, it was announced that if Portland won in Sonoma, they would host FC Puke Green here.

The Timbers took care of business last night, beating Sonoma County 3 to nil in California, as Mandjou Keita notched two goals and an assist in leading the team to the win. Keita has been on fire lately, notching a goal late in the Charleston match to draw that game level, and he gets two more last night while keeper Steve Cronin and the defense kept the Sol attack at bay. The Flounders - Timbers match will be at PGE Park on Wednesday, July 1st at 7 PM and the winner advances to the next round. So, the old USL rivals meet in the Open Cup as a tuneup for the eventually matchup that will be forthcoming in 2011. It should be an epic night, and I'd advise anyone that is remotely interested in getting tickets to get them know through the PGE Park box office, Portland Timbers ticket sales, or through Ticketmaster. After talking with my ticket rep today, the great Dan Zusman, sales have been really brisk already and the tickets aren't officially on sale to the general public yet. Also, knowing the rivalry between the supporter groups, the Timbers Army and the ECS (I call them the POD), there will be some crazy TIFO displays and some bantering on message boards between these groups. I hope there is no significant trouble between the groups, but at the same point, some good natured ribbing is anticipated. The Timbers next home match is Friday versus Minnesota at 8 PM at PGE Park, which should be a good time, and I'll have a match preview and recap for you later this week.

The Offsides has a good match preview and recap for your perusal:

http://timbers.theoffside.com/team-news/portland-timbers-face-sonoma-county-sol-in-us-open-cup.html - a great match preview, including some history of the Sonoma County Sol, and the fact that both teams came into the match on very hot win streaks.

http://timbers.theoffside.com/match-reports/us-open-cup-portland-timbers-defeat-sonoma-county-sol-advance-to-face-seattle.html - Match recap from the Offsides.

http://portlandtimbers.com/newsroom/headlines/index.html?article_id=1250 - Official Match recap, courtesy of the Portland Timbers

Stadium Updates - Apparently, the Lents URAC (the Urban Renewal Action Committee) will be holding an open house on Thursday to hear discussion of the plan to put a triple AAA baseball stadium in the north corner of Lents Park, so that the Portland Beavers could move out there to make way for PGE Park to be refurbished for MLS. The plan is to hear from both sides, give groups the chance to talk about the plan, and it is anticipated that the URAC might actually vote on the proposal that night. Two of Portland's city commissioners, Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard, have indicated that their support for the park is conditional based on their vote, so if they approve the idea, they'll vote for the proposal.

The Oregonian has continued to be busy on the topic, providing a front page article about the residents of the area and what they are thinking about the ballpark, and they are as divided as some other groups about the idea:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/06/residents_will_get_a_say_in_le.html

Some folks see the ballpark as a benefit, and could spur other development or draw people in that wouldn't otherwise visit the area, while others have concerns about the amount of money being used for the stadium or giving up part of a somewhat popular Portland park for a professional baseball team. A few other folks have weighed in on the idea, including John Mulvey, who lives in the area, and Tracy Francis, who was part of the Goose Hollow neighborhood association when PGE Park was being refurbished:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/lents_the_false_choice_between.html - Mulvey isn't convinced the stadium is such a good idea, presenting it as a false choice. And while I see some of his concerns, my issue is that it's really something that we have to make a decision on, because the future of the Timbers and Beavers does hang in the balance. If we do nothing, we risk losing the teams to other cities or in the case of the Timbers, risk having the costs go skyrocketing because of no regional rivalries.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2009/06/lents_park_stadium_project.html - Lematlents is concerned about a lack of public process in the whole stadium situation, and honestly, I don't know what else the city could do about getting people involved. There have been public meetings, presentations, studies done, mailings sent, and discussions in various media sites, and yet there are some that still think this is an idea that is just being thrown at us without any discourse. I love that Portland wants to have their process honored, and I think there's something to having people talk about options and not make rash decisions. The problem is that at some point, you have to make a decision and stick with it, rather than just keep talking until the decision becomes obvious or the opportunity passes you by. That trait is called leadership, and right now, I'm frustrated at some of the leadership in this process who really are struggling to make a decision and stick with it.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/what_goose_hollow_would_advise.html - Tracy's post, which talks from the voice of experience, and as being a resident of the area when PGE Park was being built, I would agree with her that PGE Park has been a very good tenant to the area, and they've done a lot to help the area. However, I do take some offense to her assessment of Steve Janik's comments (the MLS commissioner has said the teams can't share PGE Park, so that's all you need to know) and the only part of the process that has been like a runaway train is the seemingly non stop opinions that are relying on limited information to try and prove a point against this idea.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/bridges_vs_the_stadiums_a_port.html - Steve Novick weighs in and talks about the difference of the Columbia Bridge process versus the stadiums, and why they are being treated differently. It's actually an intelligent question, even if I don't agree with his conclusion. Building a newer bridge between Washington and Oregon makes sense, and I wouldn't mind it being artistically pleasing, but for my money, I'm a sports fan and to me, building a stadium for the Beavers is a good investment in my mind. I'm troubled that some people that call themselves progressives are still struggling with that concept.

Finally, in an unrelated topic about baseball, we found out today that Sammy Sosa cheated. Wow, what a big surprise that the two main guys in the home run derby were both juiced up on some form of drugs, and that the results might have been chemically enhanced. I'm not surprised at all, and honestly, I find myself caring less and less about baseball because of it. Instead of being honest about the issues of drugs, baseball has played a game of deceit and deception about how rampant drugs are in their sport. I agree that baseball shouldn't be on an island in that respect, but it's hard not to point blame at them when even some of the big stars of baseball's current generation have been caught with drugs.

I get that most of the drugs weren't actually against the rules at that point, but at this point, it's just become boring and tiresome, and this discussion only gets amplified when we start talking about Hall of Fame players and statistics comparisons, things that happen in baseball all the time. Until the baseball world can come to a conclusion about how to deal with the situation, this problem just won't go away. My solution to the problem is simply this, if you broke the rules of the game to either influence the outcome of the games, be it gambling, drugs or whatever, you shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame and I can't seriously consider that person as a true great baseball player. But I'm just one opinion, and right now, I would just like baseball to step up and make a decision rather than this stupidly slow piece meal process of dealing with things as they come along.

The Portland Parks Bureau Weighs In On Lents

The Portland Parks Bureau weighs in on the Lents deal, and the Oregonian mentions Saltzman's demands for a triple AAA ballpark to be placed in the Lents district. The more I read about the situation, the more I realize that these are conditions that could be easily met by Merritt Paulson, if he's convinced that Lents will work for the Beavers. Nothing on the list seems that unreasonable, from working out parking at close park and rides, refurbishing elementary school fields near the park, and replacing some park land. The parking situation still needs to be addressed, but since I lived near PGE Park when it was refurbished in 2001 and saw the work they did there, it can be done rather easily. I paid for a resident permit to have for friends that wanted to park in the area, and the parking patrols went by and checked for cars that had the permits.

The first few years after 2001, the permits had to be used until 11 PM, so it kept many folks at bay from using parking near my old apartment, but recently, I noticed the parking permits are Monday through Friday so the parking must not be as much of a concern. I get that the city needs to work with the neighborhood on these concerns, and while I understand their issue with some of the park being lost, there is still over half the park that would still be available for use, for the ballpark plan uses 16 of the 38 acres available. Plus, it will be a destination point for many, including myself, who would normally not venture to Lents. I thought about it last night, and what other reason do I have to go there right now? I have reasons to go downtown, to North Portland, to NW Portland, Clackamas, Lloyd Center, and a lot of other areas of town, whether they relate to businesses in the area, shopping, or places that I like to frequent. Lents, while it might be a very nice neighborhood, doesn't have anything that is drawing right now, but baseball could change it.

I expect over the next few weeks, we'll hear more about the deal. Paulson hasn't weighed in with his thoughts, and at this point, the other city council members supporting the deal, Sam Adams and Randy Leonard, haven't said whether they like Saltzman's suggestions or not. Nick Fish has already said no, but he's been saying no since the original vote, despite being proclaimed "the biggest soccer fan around", while Amanda Fritz hasn't said much lately about it, but it's expected she'll stay with the negative vote she provided back in March from the original proposal. It's going to be an interesting few weeks, not only on the pitch, but in the council chambers.

And today, it's Rose Festival parade day, and it's raining. How fitting is that for the Rose City to have rain on our signature day? Feels more like the way things should be around here!!

Timbers Last Night and Saltzman Says Something..

I missed a Timbers home match. Oh, I've missed home matches before due to travel, like to my 20th high school reunion or for business, or my epic European honeymoon last year, but I've not missed a home match while being in town since 2004. But as I was working downstairs on the computer about 3 pm, girl came downstairs and said that bad thunderstorms were coming from Salem, so things could get bad later today. I continued to work until just before 5 pm, when the power went out bumping me from my task. I wandered upstairs to see the wind pick up, and so we went outside to grab lawn chairs, the gazebo cover, and other assorted outdoor furniture and put it in a safe place before the heavens opened. And right at 5 pm, they did. The power flickered on and off a few times, and it rained solid for over an hour, along with thunder and lightning strikes. Our cats were going insane with the racket outside, and as much as I wanted to head downtown, the weather was keeping me here, and then watching the television after the power came back on, traffic around town was terrible as every highway was backed up for miles.

Once I saw that, I was resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to make it to the match, but I had the feeling I wasn't going to be there all week. Our original travel plans were that we were supposed to have been in Mexico from the 29th until yesterday, so really I wasn't supposed to be here anyway. Our original arrival time would have gotten us back in time to go to the match, depending on how we felt, but really, it was insane watching the Waterfront Village for the Rose Festival as a ghost town. I also enjoyed seeing traffic shots and trees fallen down, it was as if the world was ending, but it was a powerful storm. Much like the Timbers Army, as I heard them chanting loudly during John Strong's pregame report. 95.5 The Game was calling the match on the radio, while FSN was providing television coverage, so I settled in to watch the match here.

The first 20 minutes were extremely calculated, as the rain continued to come down and both Montreal and Portland were trying to figure out what each other had planned. Guest analyst Antonio Harvey was really on his game last night, providing some nice insight into a match between a team that has been hot lately (The Timbers) and a team in a bit of trouble (The Impact). The Impact have been struggling with injuries and they made a coaching change recently, but they stuck with their basic idea of playing strong defense and slowing the game down to get a draw. And the longer the game stayed close, perhaps they could steal it with a late goal. Portland, meanwhile was trying to attack from everywhere, but the rain conditions were causing passes to fly in different directions, and it was hard to control the ball at times. Portland seemed to get better later in the first half, generating some chances finally, but Impact GK Matt Jordan was up to the task. The second half was more of the same, as Portland continued to shoot but come up with close misses on golden opportunities, while Montreal held its ground defensively. Some late substitutes for Portland gave some fresh legs, especially Keith Savage, Alex Nimo and Taka Suzuki, as the chances became more frequent, and finally just before stoppage time, David Hayes took a direct free kick that glanced off Cameron Knowles, and Keith Savage tapped in the rebound for the game's only goal. The celebration by Strong on the air was brilliant, and the Timbers got the 3 points and the win.

Observations:

• Montreal didn't start Eduardo Sebrango, who was one of their leading scorers. Not sure what that was about, but the starting lineup for the Impact was a bit odd. They had called up a few players for the match, but their lineup seemed to be built for holding the ball and then hitting the Timbers late with offense if needed.
• Steve Cronin was very good again last night, making some good saves and keeping another clean sheet. But the defense was the man of the match, with Steven Keel, Scot Thompson, Knowles and Hayes all playing parts in keeping things solid in back, and making plays when needed.
• I was very impressed with Aaron Heinzen's work as the color guy for FSN. He must be following the Keith Costigan school of TV work, using his experience as a Timber to get work. But seriously, Heinzen broke down a lot of key moments in the match with ease and simplicity, and I found that even the most novice soccer fans would gain some understanding from his work.
• Even Antonio Harvey was solid last night, and he's a basketball guy. But he understood the basic concepts, and provided some great insight into a game that was being played under tough conditions, both physically with the weather and emotionally with Montreal being a bit wounded. I expect the Impact to be a bit more under control when they visit again on the 28th.
• Don Garber was the halftime guest on FSN, and he spent a great deal of time talking about the Pacific Northwest, and the intense rivalry here. Ok, he spent a bit of time talking about the team up north and the good things there, while the background shot was a Timbers Army member with an ACES scarf.
• John Strong's best comments of the night: "Keel is listed at 6-foot, but it's really more like 6-3 with the 'fro.", which is a clear Fletch comments, and "Hayes and Claesson love to play with themselves." I think Strong has been talking to Mike Rice a bit lately, as Mr. Rice loves to talk about sports in a uniquely double entrendre way.

Match Reports:

Allison did some great work as usual for Soccer City USA, while the Oregonian provides some good analysis as well.

Our next home game is the 19th against Minnesota, and ironically, Minnesota is one of the more famous matches where PGE Park suffered a power outage, so perhaps there will be more magic later this month. The Timbers have a busy week on the road, taking on the Kitsap Pumas on Tuesday in Bremerton as part of the US Open Cup, then they travel to Carolina on Thursday and Charleston on Saturday for matches. Our depth will be tested, but I expect our boys to do alright. And I'll have some information about each match out, and I will be watching the Saturday match on the road in Bend, OR, as the Row N crew go on road trip!!

Saltzman Speaks!!

Well, in a letter to the City Council, per this post on Soccer City USA. His main points, which are summarized in the post are as follows:

Dan Saltzman released a letter to the remainder of the city council yesterday with the following- if I can possibly summarize:

• Considers MLS a unique opportunity, continues to support it, requests the council deliberates decoupling.
• Concerned about the Lents proposal, will consider if Office of Management and Budget AND Lents URAC approve the deal.
• List of other conditions: *Some of $2 million designated for park replacement go to new athletic fields at Marhsall HS, playing fields at Lent Elementary, lights and synthetic turf at the two remaining Lents Park soccer fields. *200-space south parking preserves the vital trees and uses the pavers or green bricks. *Paulson should help pay for expansion of Lents Farmers Market at said parking area. *Replace any trees removed. *Try to reduce footprint of stadium. *Do not locate team offices at the stadium site as originally proposed. *30 game tickets available for Marshall HS students. *Stadium made available for 600 hours of community events and use between March and October. *Paulson pays living wage to stadium workers.

The terms seem rather reasonable based on what I can see. Saltzman still sees benefit in MLS, but wants the baseball issue to be thought of separately to perhaps clear up confusion on the moving parts. His other demands mirror many of the same concerns the neighborhood has brought up in previous meetings. The last point about living wages has to do with a complicated agreement made between previous Timbers/Beavers ownership and the City of Portland whereby the city is making up a pay difference for stadium workers between the paid wage at the park and the prevailing minimum wage in Multnomah County.

Nothing on the list seems too outlandish of a request, and I can imagine if the other requests are met, the Lents URAC (Urban Renewal Admin Committee) might put a blessing on the whole idea, and we can finally move past these generic thoughts and put more tangible plans in place for the future. At least now, we know there is still support from three of the City Council, and what Saltzman wants to continue to provide his support. It feels like a win, and some of the air has been cleared. Now, it's up to Paulson and his team, and I have a feeling that we'll hear good things from him very soon.

Updates From Lents

The Friends of Lents held a rally last night to protest against the ballpark going in their area. I'm appreciative of many of them voicing their opinions, but it does seem like many of them are speaking from bad information or fear of change. One of the members of the Friends of Lents even did a study about triple AAA Baseball and the economic impact based on data from the new park in Las Vegas, and determined that the impact would be negligible.

We are all waiting for Dan Saltzman to voice his thoughts over the idea, and I'll post something as soon as we hear from him. Apparently, John Canzano from the O knows the decision, and expects Dan to make his announcement very soon.

Match Preview - Portland Vs. Montreal

One of the USL's flagship teams is visiting PGE Park on Thursday, as the Montreal Impact make one of their two visits to PGE Park tomorrow night at 7 pm. The game is televised on FSN, and the Timbers Army has promised quite a display to start the match, including some coordination of balloons and banners. Should be an interesting site to see for sure.

Key Points:

• This is the first meeting of the year for these squads. The Timbers lead the overall series record with 5 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws. The Timbers have 2 wins in PGE Park versus the Impact, but they also have two losses to them.
• The Impact are 2 - 3 -2 on the year with 8 points, while the Timbers sit in third place on the table with 15 points and a 4 - 1 - 3 record. Portland played Vancouver on Saturday, winning 2 to nil and winning a friendly versus the Club America reserves on Sunday 4 to 1. Montreal also played on Saturday, winning in Rochester 1 to nil over the Rhinos.
• Roberto Perea and Joey Gjertsen have two goals each for Montreal, while Rocco Placentino leads the team in assists with 3. Matt Jordan has played 6 games in goal for Montreal, getting one of the two wins. Montreal has 9 goals scored, but they have given up 7.
• The Timbers start up a tough stetch of games, as they play the Kitsap Pumas in Bremerton on Tuesday night in the opening round of the US Open Cup, which is the US National Soccer championship. Teams from all leagues qualify to play in this tournament, and the Timbers will be facing a new PDL team in the Puget Sound. If they win, they face the winner of the Sonoma County Sol or the Orange County Blue Star, both PDL teams. They would be in the same bracket as the team up north, so depending on how things played out, it could be a rematch between two old rivals.
• Montreal continues their trip out west, playing old Canadian rivals Vancouver on Saturday.

Montreal: Edward Sebrango has been their main target for years, but now they've added the former WhiteCap Gjertsen and now Roberto Perea and so they've got a stable of forwards that can score. And it would appear that midfield wise, they've got veterans in Donatelli and Gjertsen mixed in with some younger guys Felix Brilliant and David Testo. Matt Jordan has been their long time keeper, and has a good leg and organizes the defense very well. He has been dodgy in some catches, but overall, it seems the issue with Montreal is which defense is going to show up, the one that holds teams down or the other that struggles to keep the ball from the net.

Portland: The Timbers are flying high with two wins this weekend, and it appears that George Josten has found his touch, with a nifty goal versus Vancouver. The defense has also played stellar ball, keeping the shots to a minimum, as Steve Cronin wasn't even tested on Saturday night much. The real key from Saturday, though, was controlling the midfield, and Claesson, McManus, Pore, Farber and Savage are doing a great job of countering the other team's attacks and also assisting the defense when needed with numbers, while generating shots for themselves.

Prediction: We always win 2 to 1, we always win 2 to 1. Seems like this is our year to have this happen a lot, much like the wonderfully fun 2007 season.

It's a Thirsty Thursday, so the crowd should be bigger, and the weather should cooperate with a cooler night. Hope to see a lot of you there.

Stadium Update: A new group called Friends of Lents Park has formed to provide some opposition to the proposed Triple AAA ballpark slated for there, replacing the old Walker Stadium, and providing a home for the Portland Beavers. The article itself isn't much more than what we know, but in reading the comments, there is a comment from Jeff Rose that is one of the most thoughtful, articulate, and correct statements about this debate. Keeping things as they are for the simple sake of keeping things that way is no way to run a city or a neighborhood, especially if you have an opportunity to really change things potentially for the better. So far, this seems to be the most organized of the opposition groups, even though in reading various blog spots, there are more residents that don't want the stadium than do.

We'll provide updates as we hear more about their plans, as we all wait for the next episode of "What Will Dan Saltzman Do?" Because right now, he's the main vote in saying what happens now, as he is the swing vote in the City Council, as Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard support the idea, while Commissioners Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz are opposed. And Saltzman isn't saying anything about his plans, after providing the initial third vote to support starting the negotiation process. A lot has changed since that big vote, except for one major thing. It's still a great idea for the city, and it will work. Wishing you loads of luck, Dan, and hopefully, you'll share with us soon your grand plan to make this happen.

The Natives Are Still Restless

Recent posts and articles about MLS and the Triple AAA Stadium:

Peter Apanel comes up with another idea to help soccer here, by building a soccer specific stadium for the Timbers instead of redoing PGE Park. His base premise is using Montreal as the bench point, stating that the team spent $13 million dollars to build Saputo Stadium, so why couldn't something like that be done here. Mind you, he never mentions a specific site for this stadium, he fails to mention that the Impact received a generous donation of land from the government of Quebec to build the stadium, and that the current owner has been asking for at least $25 to $30 million more to invest in upgrading various parks of the park. I'll get that Lents may not be the best place for the ballpark, but following this idea doesn't pan out in terms of saving money. The comments on this article are truly hysterical, but I'll talk about that in a bit.

The Portland Mercury has posted a blog entry about an economic study done for the new Lents ballpark, showing that the ballpark would create 453 jobs but the net result would be lost jobs in the end. The hastily prepared study was done in one day, and the results held for almost two weeks before being reported, and most ballpark opponents have been having a field day with the results, but there are major flaws in the premise of the study. It only accounts for ballpark construction jobs, it doesn't take into account the jobs for the team, the possibility of other jobs put in the area because of the park, or the other economic streams that Lents suddenly gets by having a ballpark there. But hey, the opponents need to hang their hat on something, and this gives the situation some traction. Now, their archrivals in the alternative newspaper world, Willamette Week, run a bit more balanced take on things, not immediately calling the idea bad but providing some food for thought that maybe this isn't such a terrible idea.

But perhaps the most crazy take on things was done when Commissioner Randy Leonard appeared on the Bald Faced Truth on Tuesday and spoke with the guys about the park. The few calls that made the air were against soccer, which led John Strong and Dwight Jaynes to rip on the soccer haters because of the process here. Leonard is hopeful a resolution is coming, it's all dependant on what Commissioner Dan Saltzman is deciding to do, and right now, he's not talking to anyone about his thoughts. But suffice to say, the process is really about where it was a few months ago, full of posts and conjecture and nothing really resolved. But what this whole thing has gotten me thinking about is some observations about how things work for the city that works:

Observation 1 - We love our process, no matter how clunky it is or how many hurdles it has. We love our neighborhoods, we love our town, and we love to talk about ways to get things done. And when decisions need to be made, there's more talking and more discussion and more thoughts, and then we talk more. It's the Portland process, labeled to be progressive and inclusive, and I don't want to squash anyone's right to be part of the process and provide their voice. The problem is simply that the process needs to have an end resolution at some point, and too often, decisions made lead to more discussion and a vicious cycle of talking. What our city lacks right now is someone to actually make a decision, good or bad, and have the guts to stand up and say I'm doing this and here's why. Instead, the circular logic goes on and on, and we sit in this version of status quo.

Observation 2 - While we crave change, we secretly despise it and are resistant. If you look at Portland as a whole, on the surface it's a lot about new ideas, trying to think outside the normal, or as it's put here, "Keep Portland Weird" We want to be thought of as a cutting edge city, thinking above and beyond other areas, but yet, the way our city is set up, it's really easy to keep within your own comfort zone, thus resisting the changes that could really kick start an area. People in NW Portland rarely venture to the eastside, because they have everything they want in their neighborhood, so why do I care about what happens in Lents? Well, the fact is the city is one big collective, and what affects one of us, affects us all. And staying within our institutions and not thinking on a larger scale sometimes puts us in a small town way of thinking.

Observation 3 - The NFL, MLB and NHL aren't coming anytime soon. Get over it. Seriously, I'm tired of sports fans shitting on the soccer idea because it's not one of the major sports, and they proclaim why can't we finally think bigger. Do you even seriously think the NFL would come here, knowing the process that MLS has been put through trying to be secured here. Other cities are clamoring to get professional sports to come to town, and Portland is tripping all over itself trying to figure out where to put a minor league baseball park. So by all means, sports that will demand an investment 7 to 10 times as much as the proposed price tag for just a stadium and need huge corporate support will come here simply because we have passionate football fans? It's not going to happen, and the sad truth is that if this deal implodes, no other league will want to come here knowing how difficult a process it is to try and survive here unless you are the Trail Blazers. Just ask Angela Batinovich, the owner of the Portland Lumberjax, the most recent team that failed here.

Observation 4 - We run the risk of losing both our teams if we choose to do nothing. If we choose to keep the current Timbers and current Beavers in PGE Park and say we are happy with the status quo, we are taking a huge chance that the park will be empty in 2010. That's when the Beavers lease is up, and there are cities already watching this process to see what happens. If Portland can't make a go of it, there is at least 3 other cities that have been rumoured to make a play to move the Beavers there. It's already happened twice when the Beavers left town, so you can't say it would never happen. And honestly, if I was an owner and saw the process here and then saw a city falling over itself to bring baseball and it could be a smooth process, where am I going to choose. The Timbers, meanwhile, would be the only west coast USL Division 1 team on the west coast with Vancouver moving up, so you have a soccer team on an island. So you immediately increase travel costs, scheduling becomes more difficult, and if another city that was closer to where the USL is came calling, what would stop the Timbers from going there? I would hate that happening, but seriously, doing nothing means this is a very true possibility.

Observation 5 - The teams can't share the stadium, no matter how much you think they can. MLS wants their teams to control scheduling and revenue streams, and with PGE Park as it is now, the Timbers are second fiddle to baseball. Baseball also requires a specific footprint that doesn't mesh with soccer, so that's why you have the empty area behind the Timbers benches. PGE Park is a great multi purpose stadium, but not quite good enough for baseball itself or for soccer itself. It makes sense to pick one sport and go with it. And soccer could easily stay by adding seats along 18th Avenue, and we could even host football there easily. Seattle already has that arrangement with their MLS and NFL teams, but that is only because the park was built with both sports in mind and the guy that owns the stadium happens to be an owner of both teams. Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Allen.

Observation 6 - The Trail Blazers destroyed the Memorial Coliseum deal because they don't want competition. I can't confirm this completely, but I was in the room when J Isaac talked about the ballpark destroying income potential for the Trail Blazers, and that it would hurt the team in the long run. This despite the fact that up until then, most insiders felt the team was OK with triple AAA baseball coming in. The Rose Garden is dead most nights unless there is a show there or a Trail Blazers game, and the ballpark going for the Memorial Coliseum made sense because the MC has been under utilized and it's not been kept up. The Trail Blazers don't own the MC but run it and are in charge of the upkeep, but they've done about as little as they can just to keep it from falling down. And they want the land for their properties for bars, shops, and the like, and as long as the MC still stands and it's owned by the city, that will never happen. If the MC is still standing in 5 years, I'll be shocked, but for those that saved the building, it's coming down whether it's for a ballpark or the Trail Blazers ideas. And no, the MARC isn't the idea they are thinking of because there's not enough dollar signs behind it. The Trail Blazers want to keep their monopoly on the sports market, and so far, they're doing a really good job of it.

Observation 7 - The ballpark won't destroy Lents Park. It's not a jewel, but it is a good sized park in an area that has really not changed much over the years. And you have the footprint of an old baseball park that could be used for the new baseball park, and suddenly you have an anchor to the area that will draw people from outside the area to come and watch games. In the past 10 years, urban renewal monies for Lents have gone unused as they try to come up with ways to draw people to the area, and now there's an idea that could do that and suddenly it's a huge risk. I get that it's a huge investment for the area, but here's the point. What good is affordable housing and jobs if your residents have nothing to do when they aren't working? People expect a certain level of services from their town to give them things to do, and many people put sports on the same level as arts, movies, concerts, parks, and the like. I get that some of the park land will be used, but they are looking at replacement sites, and the traffic in the area is not nearly as bad as other areas of the town. It's all about planning, and then finding a plan and sticking with it. While I would have preferred the MC for the ballpark, Lents is a good fallback because it will give the Beavers a stadium that they can fill that isn't a cave, and it will give an anchor destination to an area that has been looking for.

Observation 8 - There is a market for soccer here. Just listen to stories of pubs around town showing the UEFA Cup championship earlier this week, or World Cup matches when that is going on in Pioneer Square. Yes, the Timbers are part of that, but follow the passion of the University of Portland and their fans, the Timbers, and the various clubs and national teams around town, and there are fans everywhere. Portland sports fans are unique in that they follow some of the more fringe sports, like track and field, cycling and soccer. I hate calling soccer fringe, as that is only the case here in the States, but having other sports fans refer to soccer as "boring" or "not cool" misses the point that it is a beautiful game to watch. It's not for everyone, but if you can appreciate the skill, passion, and strategy of what's going on, it's an amazingly fun game to watch. It can be very simple and so complex all at the same time, and if you bring MLS here, the fans will come.

Observation 9 - Public discourse isn't civil at all in a state that prides itself on being civil. Whether you can blame Fox News or the Internet, but simply put, there's a lot of haters on the whole MLS and Triple AAA idea simply because of who is proposing it. If it was Phil Knight, I don't expect we'd be dealing with nearly the backlash that we have here because of Merritt Paulson being involve. And people aren't very civil in their arguments either, latching onto any small nugget of information that can be distorted and then using it to post everywhere. And if you happen to wander into an article or discussion about the topic, it's usually the naysayers spouting anti-sports, anti-tax, why doesn't the rich guy pay for it himself versus the passionate sports fan who can't figure out why people are so against it. We don't have public discourse in this country anymore, it's who can come up with the cleverist line to prove a point.

Observation 10 - Cities and teams will work together to build stadiums. Cities want to own stadiums to help their tax base, earn some potential revenues and keep some control over teams leaving in the middle of the night. Some teams prefer to own their own park, but at the same time, if you have another group that is willing to own it and maintain it, why not? But as any tenant will do, teams demand things from the stadium owner, and it's usually a long discourse into getting sides to agree. But as Dwight Jaynes pointed out earlier this week, Memorial Coliseum was the last facility built here without public money, and that was over 40 years ago. You may not like the trend, but it's happening all over, and it's not going away.


I'm a sports guy, so this is simply my take and I'm entitled to it. And I've shared my thoughts on blogs around town, and the crowds are diametrically on the opposite ends of things. You have the naysayers talking about wasting tax money, the prosayers saying that events will come here. The arguments all really fall into one question in my mind - Are you satisfied with the city the way it is now or do you think it's time to invest in an idea that has the potential to help the city long term? It's that simple really, and you can phrase the arguments anyway you want, but it comes down to keeping things as they are, thus avoiding risk, or taking a chance on an idea that could bring revenues at a time where jobs are being lost and people are struggling to make ends meet. My answer is simply, passionately, unwaveringly, that it's time to think long term and invest in the future with MLS and the Beavers/Lents.

Long Holiday Weekend! WEEEEEE!!

It's a long holiday weekend, and I'm really happy about it. Memorial Day always starts the summer holiday season, as the cookouts and camping trips start up, and people talk about their planned trips out of town. Girl and I aren't going out of town, but we'll be plenty busy as is usually the case...

Timbers Update:

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2009/05/portland_timbers_at_puerto_ric.html - Match Preview

The Portland Timbers make their annual trip to Puerto Rico to play the Islanders, and this year, it's a bit of a different traveling agenda. Like with Carolina here a few weeks ago, the Timbers are playing their two games in Puerto Rico this weekend on Friday at 5 PM PT and Sunday at 4 PM PT, then they are done with traveling there. It's a cost saving measure not having to travel there twice, especially since the Timbers have struggled a bit playing there. But the team is coming off an impressive late win last week against Rochester, and everyone is healthy at this point, so I would expect a good effort and for us to get some points from the weekend. Puerto Rico is usually a solid team, attacking from the midfield with flash and creativity, and they usually have steady goalkeeping, and this year's group seem to follow that trend. They've also been busy playing as one of the USL representatives in the CONCACAF Championship League, and winning matches, so they've got talent. And Puerto Rico does have a pretty crazy home crowd apparently, which keys up the home team. They are viewing parties this weekend all about town for the matches (Beulahland in SE Portland, Rogue Pub in the Pearl, Cheerful Bullpen near the Park, St. Johns Pub for Sunday's game), so if you are up for some Timbers come on out. Check the SCUSA site, http://www.soccercityusa.com/, for more details about viewings.

The Holiday:

I understand the significance of this holiday, and have a great deal of respect for those in the military that choose to sacrifice for their country so that many of us can enjoy our freedoms at home. While I still don't agree with our decisions in the Middle East made before our current President was elected, I understand that we have a job to do and I'm glad that there are those that choose to hear the call. It's important to remember those that have served, either in the past, currently, or in the future, because it truly is honorable. I took one ROTC class in college, mostly because some friends had signed up and it seemed like fun, and part of me wanted to understand the whole military mindset. While some of the skills were interesting and I enjoyed myself in learning new things, I just couldn't get or understand the military vibe, so I decided to take my talents elsewhere. I'm glad I have that choice, and understand that veterans have had influence in allowing me that right.

Update from Last Post:

Finally, I was listening to Strong at Night on 95.5 the Game, and John spent a great deal of time talking about the subject of my last post, our friends from Wilsonville who were upset about language. He had a great take about exactly who should the team market towards, families with limited disposable income and potentially many competing interests or single people without those influences. Soccer has tried to market itself under the family banner for years, as the common convention was that kids that played soccer would become soccer fans. Suffice to say that hasn't happened, as soccer has remained relatively obscure in television ratings although attendance figures are up this year for the MLS.

Part of that phenomenon is Toronto, who has continued to sell out like crazy with its passionate fan base, and Seattle, who is riding the new team factor to record crowds and attention. I have issues with the team up north for them not supporting their old USL team very well, but it's hard to ignore what's happening up there now. I expect crowds to level out a bit, but both teams have done a good job successfully marketing to a lot of different groups to get them in the park. Toronto went after the soccer fans that had disposable income and marketed the chance to sing, chant, and have an authentic football experience, while Seattle used their website to help fans pick which section fans wanted to sit in based upon their fan preferences of standing, singing, chanting, or the like. It's a smart move.

The TA does distribute chant sheets for each match in the PG version without swear words, and many members alter words based on their own preferences. And the team and the TA meet regularly to discuss things, and we've even killed off one of the more offensive chants that the team specifically said they didn't like. It's not like we can't be reasonable about the situation, but all the TA ask is that it's important that the team respect everyone's fan experience and we'll try and do the same thing. I get that families should feel welcome to come to PGE Park and watch the Timbers, but if they are expecting a Disneyfied, homogenized, bland fan experience where you'll be prompted to make noise and show support, it's not going to happen. I'm not anti-family, I want to have one, but I also don't feel that every experience has to be family inclusive. It's OK for Dad to hang out with the boys and play golf, or Mom to visit her friends and go dancing without the kids now and then, and if you go out as a family, not everything is going to be family friendly. That's why teaching kids about correct behavior and expectations is so important, especially if you want them to behave.

My expectation is that the Timbers will find a way for everyone to co-exist in the park and everyone will be able to enjoy their fan experience. The fan sign marking section 107 as supporters is a great start, and the park employees also do a great job of laying out what to expect if you sit near 107, and the TA will do our part to help in that cause. But as much as we want to help, we also want the ability to cheer and chant and do what we do, and the fact that MLS management was in the stands for the Rochester game and loved what we did and want it to grow to other teams means that football culture is growing, and people understand what we have here. It's special, it's unique, and it's definitely Portland.