Sports Sep 3, 2008 at 4:18 pm

Comments

1
For the Rose City, stand up! Go Timbers!
2
Bread and Circuses for the hoi-palloi. Ex-cellent!
3
About time the Merc got someone to cover the Timbers who actually knows soccer!
4
Beautiful.

Thanks Mark.
5
Well, I say, chaps. Just got back in town after a well-deserved holiday. Quite refreshing, you know, bathing in the North Sea. Brisk, brisk indeed. Now to work.

Not funny!

Next.
6
While you're at it, Randy and Sam, how about $100 million for Rumsfeld's and Cheney's kids, too?
7
I wish they would stop pretending they care about building a ballpark in Lents. This is about charging more for soccer...
8
Woo hoo! MLS to PDX!!!
9
Portland Timbers, here we go! *clap clap*

I have no idea who this guy is, but with all due respect to Ezra, I appreciate having a sports correspondent that actually likes the sports he covers.
10
Let's be clear - no new taxes. No revenue stream diverted to pay for the remodeling of PGE Park and the Beavers Baseball Park. The Approx $80 Mil will come from bonds backed by the City of Portland but they WILL be paid back through increased rents, revenue and taxes on Players salaries. Combine that with the URD potential in Lents and this is a win - win - win for everyone combined.

Bring on World Class Soccer in the best stadium in the Country!
11
Win, win, win! Especially for Merritt!!! Go Henry Merritt Paulson III!!!! Yay!!!!

No new taxes -- just more debt!!!! Yay!!
12
Mark - On Thirsty Thursdays (only chumps drink Miller - drink local!), taps get shut off at the _60th_ minute. Trust me, wasted 15 minutes of a game to learn the hard way.
13
Come on Portland, support our Timbers and get PGE Park renovated so we can become a true world-class city with a world-class soccer club!
14
No
15
Apparently when some people get an opportunity for something great and International, they turn a blind eye. Too bad. MLS in Portland isn't just about MLS, it's about Lents, it's about the Beavers, it's about increasing the International footprint of our city though potential participation in the CONCACAF Champions League. While some may not like it. It's not too often a deal like this comes around. There is nowhere else that $75 million bucks can draw a pro-sports club in this country. Not to mention the improvements to Lents and the Beavers baseball experience. Like sports or not, Lents is worth it. I don't even live there, but I know that any neighborhood that has struggled like Lents has, and with an undue reputation that Lents has deserves $75 million. We just reap the benefits in so many other ways.
16
"I have no idea who this guy is, but with all due respect to Ezra, I appreciate having a sports correspondent that actually likes the sports he covers."

I agree. Mark is fantastic and ever since he started blogging for us, people have stopped kicking soccer balls through my windows. It's a win-win.
17
Actually, the beer sales get cut off at the 60th minute. But, yeah, RCTID!
18
If they estimate $75 million, you can count on the final price tag being at least twice that once roads, other infrastructure, and poor planning are accounted for.

The "leverage the "full faith and credit" of the City of Portland" hook means Portland, as the co-signer on this debt, pays this bill when the tenants leave or go out of business.

They are telling us that they will nearly sell out two stadiums every time they play a game, yet the existing park now is mostly empty for most games, and many of the filled seats are freebies. But if Portland spends $100 million or more on one guy's business idea, he might pay some of it back.

The track record indicates that we will be stuck with the entire bill after this thing doesn't succeed.

Please wait...

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