Albina Vision / Rose Quarter Redevelopment

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by RainDog

I'd take a NHL team over a MLB team any day. Baseball is the sports equivalent of Ambien.

You are going with the wrong people.

But seriously, are there any actual chances of an MLB team?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by subterranean

You are going with the wrong people.

But seriously, are there any actual chances of an MLB team?

Not that I know of, I am sure there is still someone in MLB talking about moving a AAA team here, but I don't think there is any real push for moving a team here or expanding the league. Heck, for the most part, MLB has to figure out to get people to show up to the teams they already have.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Not that I know of, I am sure there is still someone in MLB talking about moving a AAA team here, but I don't think there is any real push for moving a team here or expanding the league. Heck, for the most part, MLB has to figure out to get people to show up to the teams they already have.

Damn. I miss going to Tigers games a lot. I can't get into the Blazers and even though soccer is fun to see sometimes, I didn't grow up with it, so it feels a bit weird. Baseball is so chill. Perfect for summer. I guess I'll just have to settle for the Hillsboro Hops...

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Not that I know of, I am sure there is still someone in MLB talking about moving a AAA team here, but I don't think there is any real push for moving a team here or expanding the league. Heck, for the most part, MLB has to figure out to get people to show up to the teams they already have.

Portland on short list for MLB expansion, commissioner says
Jared Cowley, KGW 11:15 AM. PDT September 21, 2017

http://www.kgw.com/sports/mlb/portla...says/477597839

SEATTLE — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned Portland as a potential city for an MLB expansion team in the future.

Speaking Wednesday in Seattle, Manfred said ongoing stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa Bay will need to be resolved before baseball considers expansion.

Once MLB expands from 30 to 32 teams, baseball will require a city in a West Coast time zone, Manfred said.

"Portland would be on a list," he said. "I think Portland is a possibility. You can think of the prospects on the West Coast probably as effectively as I can."

...

The Portland Tribune reports $150 million in funds are available for construction of a new stadium, still available from the passage of House Bill 3606 in 2003 when a group tried unsuccessfully to bring the relocating Montreal Expos to Portland.

...(continues)

[justrmor]

The league is using Portland to extort Oakland and Tampa into ponying up money to pay for new stadiums.

We are only a serious contender if we agree to spend 100's of millions of dollars on a new ballpark.

I enjoy baseball. And I would love to watch an MLB game in Portland. But billionaire owners need to pay for their own fucking stadiums.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by subterranean

You are going with the wrong people.

Come again?

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by RainDog

Come again?

You are going to baseball games with the wrong people if you are falling asleep. Games are as much about who you go with to watch as they are about what's actually happening.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

Portland on short list for MLB expansion, commissioner says
Jared Cowley, KGW 11:15 AM. PDT September 21, 2017

http://www.kgw.com/sports/mlb/portla...says/477597839

I just saw that today, it's as if someone has been spying on my thought. Good to know that Portland is being considered for a MLB team in the future. I personally would love to go to Portland Beavers games.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by justrmor

The league is using Portland to extort Oakland and Tampa into ponying up money to pay for new stadiums.

We are only a serious contender if we agree to spend 100's of millions of dollars on a new ballpark.

I enjoy baseball. And I would love to watch an MLB game in Portland. But billionaire owners need to pay for their own fucking stadiums.

Actually it sounds like there are two options, either one of those two teams end up moving to Portland or Portland gets one of the two expansion teams.

Also, Portland still has $150 million set aside for a new baseball stadium thanks to Mayor Vera Katz over a decade ago to secure funds with Oregon to help finance a stadium. From what I hear, that would still apply today.

[subterranean]

Wow, the timing of that article is eerie/weirdly coincidental.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by subterranean

You are going to baseball games with the wrong people if you are falling asleep. Games are as much about who you go with to watch as they are about what's actually happening.

That is essentially my point. The only way to make it entertaining would be to focus my attention on something else. In this case the friends I bring along. But why not just remove baseball from the scenario entirely and have a good time with my friends at one of our cities many other actually entertaining events. Or if I'm just looking to socialize there are plenty of bars that could facilitate that much more comfortably.

If I am going to pay for an entertainment event (sports,music or otherwise) I expect to be directly entertained by that event. But if sitting in hard seats for three hours watching a bunch of grown men stand around in a field while washing down some greasy popcorn with a $10 miller is how some people want to spend time with their friends... more power to them. It's just not for me personally.

[subterranean]

^ LOL, yeah. Well, I like the flow of a game, how it can go slowly and then suddenly get really intense. I have a similar feeling about soccer as you do about baseball, but evidently that's not how most of Portland feels about it given the Timbers Army and the planned expansion...

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by RainDog

That is essentially my point. The only way to make it entertaining would be to focus my attention on something else. In this case the friends I bring along. But why not just remove baseball from the scenario entirely and have a good time with my friends at one of our cities many other actually entertaining events. Or if I'm just looking to socialize there are plenty of bars that could facilitate that much more comfortably.

If I am going to pay for an entertainment event (sports,music or otherwise) I expect to be directly entertained by that event. But if sitting in hard seats for three hours watching a bunch of grown men stand around in a field while washing down some greasy popcorn with a $10 miller is how some people want to spend time with their friends... more power to them. It's just not for me personally.

Replace baseball with football and I would totally agree with you. Not every sport is for everybody.

[maccoinnich]

Foreseeing a district greater than entertainment



A group of business, civic and philanthropic leaders are proposing a long-term plan to remake the Rose Quarter by reintroducing housing, a street grid and open space into the Northeast Portland entertainment district.

Members of an informal group are pushing what they call the “Albina Vision.” The group set out to reimagine the Rose Quarter, assuming only that the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum would remain as anchors in the area. Everything else was subject to possible changes.

The group is presenting an early-stage conceptual plan to public officials, business leaders, community groups and media organizations. It imagines a sweeping future vision for the Rose Quarter that better integrates the 90-acre area into surrounding neighborhoods.

Urbanists have long complained that the Rose Quarter functions as an island that’s largely removed from the rest of Portland. On nights when there are no events such as a Portland Trail Blazers or Winterhawks game, or a big-ticket concert, the area can be empty and lifeless.

...continues at the DJC (temporarily unlocked).

[johnliu]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at the DJC (temporarily unlocked).

And every building will have a green roof!

[maccoinnich]

Albina Vision presentation [34 MB] to the Design Commission.

[Pavlov's Dog]

I see the grain elevators along the river are still in place in that photo. I would think that any comprehensive design for that neighborhood would look at moving them further downriver and activating the riverfront as well. Given the fact that it is prime real estate the business case should be pretty darned good.

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by Pavlov's Dog

I see the grain elevators along the river are still in place in that photo. I would think that any comprehensive design for that neighborhood would look at moving them further downriver and activating the riverfront as well. Given the fact that it is prime real estate the business case should be pretty darned good.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that elevator is going away anytime soon. I recall Louis Dreyfus stating that site was one of its busiest terminals in the NW, but Im not able to provide a reference. It really is a shame its there. That waterfront area between the Steel and Broadway bridges is quite complex, given the elevator and railway, but I'll keep my hopes up for development there someday!

Here is an article from 2016, which notes a $12M expansion to the elevator in 2012: https://fadedportland.wordpress.com/...ter-area-1977/

[hat]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Albina Vision presentation [34 MB] to the Design Commission.

Infill over the freeway from NE Multnomah to N Tillamook shown on slide 13 appears antithetical to the subsequent pictures based on ODOT IRQ project which includes only caps from N Hancock to N Weidler. Slide 21 is noticeably absent of any on and off ramps. Not sure if this is an indictment of the ODOT I-5 plan or a subtle surrender to them.

It always seems so bizarre to me when abstract proposals like this woo people. Everyone has their own vision of how it might be to walk around.

Imagine sitting down and looking at a newspaper in the 1960s. Here is what you would see: The New Minnesota Freeway! We now know what it is like walking/living there. It is awful. In the joint proposal the intersection of Broadway and Vancouver still has 6 lanes. There will be an equal or greater amount people driving through the neighborhood from the freeway. Both current and future Broadways are equally intolerable.

What would actually improve the neighborhood, make it walkable, equitable, diverse, safe? Slide 21: a 10 block cap of I-5 absent of any on and off ramps?

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by Pavlov's Dog

I see the grain elevators along the river are still in place in that photo. I would think that any comprehensive design for that neighborhood would look at moving them further downriver and activating the riverfront as well. Given the fact that it is prime real estate the business case should be pretty darned good.

I'd actually be really sad to see the grain terminals go away. They create a strong sense of place, with a visual reminder of why Portland grew up as a city in the first place. I love the sight of ocean going ships 100 miles upriver from the Pacific.

Even if they do ever fall into disuse I'd still advocate for keeping them and doing something like Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town.