New Portland Ballpark
Encyclopedia
Portland Beavers Ballpark was a description of a new stadium
in Portland, Oregon
, or in an outlying city
that was being planned for the Portland Beavers
of the Pacific Coast League
of Minor League Baseball
. The ballpark idea was abandoned in October 2010
, with no location ever determined for it; several locations were rejected due to public criticism.
, the Beavers played in PGE Park
and shared it with the Portland State Vikings
college football
team and the Portland Timbers
soccer team, which played in the USL First Division
, the second division of American soccer.
In 2009, the city of Portland was awarded a Major League Soccer (MLS)
expansion franchise for 2011, also to be named the Portland Timbers
. Due to MLS requirements about the playing surface, seating configuration, and scheduling, PGE Park was to be renovated as a soccer- and football-only stadium and a new stadium was to be built for the Beavers. Merritt Paulson
, whose Shortstop LLC organization owned both the Timbers and the Beavers, estimated that a new baseball stadium with a capacity of 8,000 to 12,000 seats, along with the renovation of PGE Park for MLS, would cost about $85 million.
On February 3, 2010, the Portland City Council approved a $31 million agreement with Beavers' and Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson to renovate PGE Park, meaning that the Beavers had to find a new place to play their home games by 2011.
area north of Memorial Coliseum, which proved to be too small.
Attention then turned to a third site, Lents Park in the Lents
neighborhood in southeast Portland, which had been considered in the early planning stages but rejected due to less-accessible location. After a series of contentious public hearings in which neighbors objected to construction of the stadium in a city park, the Lents site was removed from consideration.
On June 24, the Portland City Council voted to separate the soccer and baseball projects, allowing renovation of PGE Park to proceed without completed plans for a baseball stadium in place. Other locations that were considered included a vacant terminal at the Port of Portland
, Delta Park
, the Portland Expo Center
, Portland Meadows
, the Westwood Corporation Heliport
site, and a building owned by Portland Public Schools near the Rose Quarter.
Other locations outside the Portland city limits were also under consideration. In Beaverton
, preliminary plans included building the park next to the Beaverton Central MAX station. Clackamas County
promoted a location near the Southeast Fuller Road
station on the recently-completed MAX Green Line
light rail,
and Vancouver
mayor Tim Leavitt
indicated interest in bringing the team to his city. None of these proposals gained enough momentum to proceed to the planning stage.
, found a home for the team, now called the Tucson Padres, in Tucson, Arizona
until the 2013 season, when they would move to a new stadium in Escondido, California
, a San Diego suburb.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, or in an outlying city
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
that was being planned for the Portland Beavers
Portland Beavers
The Tucson Padres are a minor league baseball team, representing Tucson, Arizona, in the Pacific Coast League . They are the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team was formerly known as the Portland Beavers and played its last home game at PGE Park on September 6, 2010...
of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
of Minor League Baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
. The ballpark idea was abandoned in October 2010
October 2010
October 2010 was the tenth month of that year. It began on a Friday and concluded after 31 days on a Sunday.-Portal:Current events:This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from October 2010....
, with no location ever determined for it; several locations were rejected due to public criticism.
Background
Until 20102010 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champions - San Francisco Giants**American League Champions - Texas Rangers**National League Champions - San Francisco Giants*Postseason - October 7 to November 4...
, the Beavers played in PGE Park
PGE Park
Jeld-Wen Field is an outdoor sports stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States that is used primarily for soccer and American football...
and shared it with the Portland State Vikings
Portland State Vikings
Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon...
college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team and the Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers (USL)
Portland Timbers was an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 2001, the team played in various leagues at the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, including the USL First Division and the USSF Division 2 Professional League, until the end of...
soccer team, which played in the USL First Division
USL First Division
The United Soccer Leagues First Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....
, the second division of American soccer.
In 2009, the city of Portland was awarded a Major League Soccer (MLS)
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
expansion franchise for 2011, also to be named the Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011....
. Due to MLS requirements about the playing surface, seating configuration, and scheduling, PGE Park was to be renovated as a soccer- and football-only stadium and a new stadium was to be built for the Beavers. Merritt Paulson
Merritt Paulson
Henry Merritt Paulson III is the majority owner of Peregrine Sports, LLC which owns the Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer team based in Portland, Oregon.-Personal:...
, whose Shortstop LLC organization owned both the Timbers and the Beavers, estimated that a new baseball stadium with a capacity of 8,000 to 12,000 seats, along with the renovation of PGE Park for MLS, would cost about $85 million.
On February 3, 2010, the Portland City Council approved a $31 million agreement with Beavers' and Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson to renovate PGE Park, meaning that the Beavers had to find a new place to play their home games by 2011.
Location
In the initial proposal, funding for the new soccer team was dependent on a replacement Beavers stadium being found in Portland. Initially, the ballpark was to be built at the site currently occupied by the Memorial Coliseum, which would have been torn down. But public outcry about demolishing a Portland landmark led Portland mayor Sam Adams to propose a second site in the Rose QuarterRose Quarter
The Rose Quarter is a 30 acre sports and entertainment district located in Portland's Lloyd District on the east bank of the Willamette River, just east of downtown. The Rose Quarter is bounded on the west by NE Interstate Avenue, on the north by NE Broadway and NE Weidler Streets, on the...
area north of Memorial Coliseum, which proved to be too small.
Lents, Portland, Oregon
The Lents neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon is bordered by SE Powell Blvd. on the north, the Clackamas County line or City of Portland line on the south , SE 82nd Ave. to the west, and roughly SE 112th on the east. The NE corner overlaps with the Powellhurst-Gilbert...
neighborhood in southeast Portland, which had been considered in the early planning stages but rejected due to less-accessible location. After a series of contentious public hearings in which neighbors objected to construction of the stadium in a city park, the Lents site was removed from consideration.
On June 24, the Portland City Council voted to separate the soccer and baseball projects, allowing renovation of PGE Park to proceed without completed plans for a baseball stadium in place. Other locations that were considered included a vacant terminal at the Port of Portland
Port of Portland (Oregon)
The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States....
, Delta Park
Delta Park
Delta Park is a public municipal park complex in north Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It straddles Interstate 5 between the Columbia Slough on the south and the Columbia River on the north. The section east of the Interstate is known as East Delta Park, and to the west is West Delta Park...
, the Portland Expo Center
Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center
The Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center, usually referred to as the Expo Center, is a convention center located in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Opened in the early 1920s as a livestock exhibition and auction facility, the Expo Center now hosts over 100 events a year, including...
, Portland Meadows
Portland Meadows
Portland Meadows is an American horse racing venue in Portland, Oregon, owned by MI Developments Inc. since 2001. Built by William P. Kyne, who also built Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California, the facility opened on September 14, 1946....
, the Westwood Corporation Heliport
Westwood Corporation Heliport
Westwood Corporation Heliport is a private heliport located 1 mile south of Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon, USA....
site, and a building owned by Portland Public Schools near the Rose Quarter.
Other locations outside the Portland city limits were also under consideration. In Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, preliminary plans included building the park next to the Beaverton Central MAX station. Clackamas County
Clackamas, Oregon
Clackamas was a census-designated place in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Portland, Oregon.It is the location of Camp Withycombe, a military base...
promoted a location near the Southeast Fuller Road
Southeast Fuller Road
The Southeast Fuller Road station is a light rail station on TriMet's MAX Green Line in Portland, Oregon, located between SE 82nd Avenue and Interstate 205. It is the 7th stop southbound on the Interstate 205 MAX branch...
station on the recently-completed MAX Green Line
MAX Green Line
The MAX Green Line is a light rail route in the MAX Light Rail system in Portland, Oregon, United States, extending to Clackamas, Oregon. Construction began in early 2007, and the line opened on September 12, 2009. The average daily ridership in June 2010 was 19,500 increasing to 23,200 by April...
light rail,
and Vancouver
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
mayor Tim Leavitt
Tim Leavitt
-Personal life, education and career:Leavitt was born in Yakima, Washington and has lived in Clark County since 1980. He graduated from Fort Vancouver High School, then attended Clark College and Washington State University, where he received a masters degree in environmental engineering...
indicated interest in bringing the team to his city. None of these proposals gained enough momentum to proceed to the planning stage.
Abandonment of project
Unable to find either a suitable site, public support, or a source of funding, and with time running out before the start of the next season, Paulson sold the Beavers in October 2010. The new owners, the San Diego PadresSan Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
, found a home for the team, now called the Tucson Padres, in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
until the 2013 season, when they would move to a new stadium in Escondido, California
Escondido, California
Escondido is a city occupying a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills, just north of the city of San Diego, California. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city had a population of 143,911 at the 2010 census. Its municipal government set itself an operating...
, a San Diego suburb.