Comments

1
Weird...then why did everyone have such a problem with Memorial Coliseum? I mean, it was only a logical choice and a good one. City owned land, decrepit underused facility with no prospect for a realistic future, etc... Plus Paul Allen is going to rip it down anyway cause water is magic...remember? Brian Libby? Where you at man? You wanted to save an old arena but you're not stepping up for Lents.

Although I would point out that many of these stadiums in question are not like Lents at all. Many of them were built outside the city core. Like...WAY out. Imagine building a AAA park Cornelius. That's how a lot of these stadiums are that are used as examples.

Lents is a 10-20 minute drive from the city center on surface streets. I can bike there from my house in SE in 20 minutes and I'm on 42nd and Hawthorne.
2
it's a triple-A stadium. no one gives a shit.
3
@ Blackout

The fastest I've ever made it from lents to downtown is 35 minutes. I live in Lents and during evening rush hour the trip can take as much as an hour and a half. Mind you this is durring the summer with the evening heat. Drive a couple of those to see a baseball game in Lents and your motivation to see the games may dwindle.

Last night there was a great showing for the Friends of Lents Park. This group has allies with the Portland Parks Advisory Board and a variety of affordable housing advocates who will work against the big money interests trying to steal the Lents Urban Renewal area funding to build a ball park in one of the cities best used green spaces.

The group had a lot of energy, it seemed like one of those catalyst moments when you get a gut feeling we can beat city hall, somewhere between 150 and 200 people attended and they didn't want their tax money used to get some millionaire rich.

One of Paulson construction companies is lined up to get a no bid contract, paid by taxes from the Lents community, to build a Baseball park for a Team, Paulson owns, that already has a functional Baseball park. This is a sweet heart deal designed to line the pockets of a multi-millionaire.

Former Mayor, and mentor for Sam Adams, Vera Katz is a lobbyist for Paulson and has helped drive the back room deal for Paulson.

Sam Adams said the ball park would be an economic boom to the area. He commissioned a study from Econorthwest, a consulting firm with a history of endorsing madcap schemes like this, but low and behold the net effect of this project is a net loss of over 100 living wage jobs for Portland. Slick Sammy sat on that report until the Mercury dug it up. You got to admit Sam Adams raises political lying to a whole new level!

Sam has altered his language from a economic stimulus to an amenity. How does Sam justify spending money that was earmarked for affordable housing being spent on some millionaire get richer quick scheme. He doesn't bother, he just doesn't care.
4
@Dan Newth

I was at the Lents meeting Dan. There were somewhere between 150-200 people. Easily 20-30 of them were kids and I could count at least 14 people I recognized in favor of the project. Not counting the few that got up there to speak. The overwhelming viewpoint was that people didn't want to lose the park. My best guess was many of them thought they were losing the entire park not just a portion of it. Economic issues did come out but those reasons were dwarfed by the fear of losing the park entirely.

Also, I drove from I-5, stopped in my house to eat dinner, and still made it to Lents in 30 minutes. If it takes you 35 from downtown I think you need a new route.
5
BlackedOut -

A commute between Lents and downtown takes 25-30 minutes in the morning and 30-40 minutes in the afternoon, no matter if I take Foster/Powell, Holgate or 205/84.

As for MAX, according to TriMet's EIS, a trip from Lents Town Center to Pioneer Square on MAX will be 31 minutes (that, of course, doesn't include walking/driving time to stations). Gresham is at about 45, Kenton close to an hour, Beaverton more than an hour.
6
I can get to Lents from the South Waterfront in about 21 minutes...It usually only takes me about 15 after I get across the Ross Island Bridge. Most of the hold-up is on the west side.

Please wait...

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