[Sioux612]

It's been almost two years since we've heard anything. The teams that are candidates to relocate due to stadium issues with their current cities are the Oakland A's and Florida Marlins. These teams really are our last hope. We wont be seeing another expansion team for a long time.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Hype_won/winter.jpg


The Portland metropolitan region (population 2.3 million) is the 22nd largest metro area in the country and is the largest in the nation without a Major League Baseball franchise. Portland is by far the largest metro area in the nation with only one major professional sports franchise; the region's ratio of population to professional sports franchises is behind only New York and Los Angeles.

[nwroots]

I would love to see another professional team in PDX! Man, It's hard to choose between football and baseball. Sipping a local IPA and relaxing in the summer sun at a ballpark or a high energy stadium with testosterone flowing sipping a local IPA watching drizzle soaked football. I'll take either one!:cheers: Did I hear that we were going to have Major league Soccor sometime soon? I also am inclined to believe that Las Vegas, with 1.8 million in it's metro, has the highest % urban population without a professional sports team in the country.

[Fiat Lux]

With interleague play and the uneven divisions, MLB should expand add two more teams sometime in the future. Their current priorities is fixing the ballpark situations in Florida. After that, its time for expansion. Portland, Charlotte, and San Antonio will all be players I would presume.

[lil yuca x3]

DANg this is great News, I hope Portland Gets both A MLB ANd MLS team, that would be awesome,
THAt kinda sucks becuase portland is one of the greatest cities in the united states and only has one major sports team,
I found a link where you guys can look at proposed sites and facts about the possible new stadium
http://www.oregonstadiumcampaign.com/submission/pdx_ballpark_mlb_082604.pdf

[Drew-Ski]

I do not mean to be pessimistic, but the only way Portland will land another Pro Sports Franchise is if it gives out tremendous tax and financial subsities. We all know that won,t happen. There are many desperate cities out there who will roll out the red carpet for a team to relocate to there city.

[Fiat Lux]

^ Portland is a creative city, get creative! Ticket tax, use potential income tax revenue directly from MLB towards ballpark, lottery game, license plates, t-shirts, screw the tourists taxes (rental car tax, hotel/motel tax), create a ballpark district with extra parking and restaurant tax, etc. Heck, I am sure there are other clever financing schemes out there that can tap the people most interested in supporting the effort or some of the potential revenues gained from the presence of MLB.

[PacificNW]

PDX currently has $150 million financing earmarked for building a MLB stadium...that is a huge part of the equation.

[Sioux612]

One of the coastal Oregon tribes said they would pay for the $350 million ballpark if they were allowed to put a Casino within the city limits.

Now that some state officials are talking about the tribes (confederated?) to run and operate a Casino/Hotel in the Lloyd District, could this still be an option?

....This all of course hinges on if we can land the Marlins or the Oakland A's.

[Fiat Lux]

The A's are headed for the South Bay (Fremont), most likely.

[PacificNW]

Sioux612.....I have suggested this also...... getting the Governor on board would be a big step forward...

[pdxman]

I believe it was the grande ronde tribe that said they would finance a stadium if they were then allowed to put a casino in the city. I believe some other local tribe(s) came out against it tho because they said it would unfair to let one tribe take advantage of such a large market, or something like that. I personally am not opposed to the idea of having a casino as long as the ballpark comes with it. I believe they(grande ronde) also offered to finance the convention center hotel if a casino could be built

[MarkDaMan]

Why the hell shouldn't the State of Oregon or City of Portland build and own the casino? They can than issue revenue bonds to finance the stadium. The $350M to $500 million it would cost to build a stadium would be recaptured in 5 to 10 years, less with using money from the I-tax of players and stadium employees approved by the Oregon legislature. Why should one tribe get a 50 year windfall to build a stadium and not the People of Oregon or the city?

[sopdx]

Yeah, that'll never happen. You can only imagine the flak the city or state would get for proposing such an idea. We can't even fund schools adequately.

[EastPDX]

I don't understand why creating jobs and supporting arts and entertainment in this city isn't understood.

My personal hope (stated in the past at the OSC site) is for the Beavers to find a new home in Portland or in another city so PGE Park can go to a grass only surface.

I think the new owner of the Beavers and Timbers does have a game plan for the future along these lines. He is quoted as talking about a future MLS and/or MLB team in PDX.

EP

[pdxtex]

you need to sell alot of tickets to make a mlb franchise profitable. we can fill the rosegarden most games but do you guys think the metro area is interested in baseball enough to make it a successful venture?

[joeplayer1989]

you bet your ass its ready :whip:

[sopdx]

There are over 2 million in the metro region, not counting Salem - and the draw would be greater than that. I am totally opposed to trying to build a stadium in the core. I think it is huge waste of valuable space including all the parking. I think that the Portland Meadows area would be good or even a suburban location.

[Sioux612]

I would put this stadium in the Lloyd District. It would be great to have this next to the RG arena.

That brings up a question, why is the Memorial Coliseum needed? It's past it's prime...20 years ago.

[PacificNW]

I can't believe there are people who bitched about the demise of the Rosefriends but don't carry whether M.C. is demolished...or not. It has been noted, by experts (not me) that the M.C. is one of the finer examples of the "International" style of architecture in the U.S. I think it deserves to be saved and upgraded.

[Sioux612]

I can't believe there are people who bitched about the demise of the Rosefriends but don't carry whether M.C. is demolished...or not. It has been noted, by experts (not me) that the M.C. is one of the finer examples of the "International" style of architecture in the U.S. I think it deserves to be saved and upgraded.

The interior needs a lot of major renovation and upgrades.

[PacificNW]

⤴⤴ I am aware of that...but the Davis Cup people seemed to be satisfied with the venue when selecting PDX for their upcoming matches. What makes this worth upgrading, IMO, is that it is a public venue....and there have been past proposals for this facility that would bring it back to life....a continued life it deserves, IMO.

[sopdx]

I agree, and another big hulking stadium in that area would only cut off the Lloyd District more from downtown, plus I believe studies suggested that there would not be adequate space in the MC space thats why they focused on the blanchard site.

It would be awesome if it could be redeveloped into something totally sustainable yet maintaining its overall appearance. Possibly something akin to what Hanna is proposing down by the Ross Island Bridge.

[Sioux612]

Speaking of the MC, I remember seeing a story on KGW about the Winter Hawks' owner wanting to upgrade the arena inside and out. The rendering showed the MC with some exterior mods, such as new, more reflective glass.

[MarkDaMan]

Expansion, not relocation, is Portland's ticket to MLB
Portland Business Journal - by Maury Brown

As a former member of the Oregon Stadium Campaign, and a current sports business analyst, I was pleased to read Andy Giegerich's article, ["Supporters hope stadium plan leads to big-league ball," Oct. 26].

In a city that continues to see rapid growth, the idea of having another big-league professional sports franchise would add value to Portland's entertainment options and bring in revenue from outside the city and the region.

However, as one who researches Major League Baseball as an industry, I found comments by Steve Kanter of the Portland Baseball Group regarding the possible relocation of an MLB team to be misleading.

Kanter states that "there will be a team moving," but events at this time point to quite the contrary. While matters could change, officials with Major League Baseball have placed the development of a new stadium for the Florida Marlins at the site where the aging Orange Bowl now sits as one of, if not the, top priority for the league.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has said that he wishes to keep the Marlins in the south Florida market, and believes that only the lack of a new retractable-roof stadium is preventing the franchise from garnering the revenue needed to be successful. This hardly seems like a team ready to relocate.

The same can be said of the current situation with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. While the team's current stadium, Tropicana Field, is a substandard domed facility for baseball, ownership has invested in capital improvements to make the "Trop" more attractive.

On top of that, the team announced this week its intent to work toward a new $450 million, 35,000 seat waterfront stadium

In Portland, a state-of-the-art stadium would require an orchestrated effort by the city and the business community -- neither of which seems doable at this time given the political leanings of Mayor Potter, who is against any tangible discussion regarding stadium funding.

Instead of talking relocation, baseball boosters in Portland should mention the possibility of MLB expanding from the 30 teams it currently has. While this may still be remote in the near term, the odds are better than a team relocating given MLB's extremely rosy financial standing as of late -- gross revenue is projected to be in excess of $6 billion this year.

I'm grateful for civic-minded individuals such as Steve Kanter, Beavers and Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, and those who are involved in the Portland Baseball Group and the Oregon Sports Authority. Portland should be prepared for professional sports opportunities that may arrive, and these groups work to monitor the professional sports landscape.

An ongoing evaluation of possible site locations and a keen eye toward the costs of a major-league facility should be the primary focus to allow realistic and responsible decisions to be made by local, regional and state government as it pertains to funding.

While Major League Baseball is not looking to relocate any franchises in the future, the Portland market should be seen as an attractive location should MLB decide to expand beyond its 30 teams in the future. That should be the message sent to those who have an interest in seeing big-league baseball in Portland in the future.

Maury Brown is the president and founder of the Business of Sports Network, which reports on professional sports as an industry. He is also a sports business analyst and author for Baseball Prospectus. Brown is a former member of the Oregon Stadium Campaign.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/11/19/editorial3.html?t=printable

[joeplayer1989]

effing mariners aint cutting it man, I NEED A HOME TEAM!!!!!

[zilfondel]

didn't they have an article about MLB in the Portland Monthly mag? I didn't pick it up, tho.