From 96 ideas, the future of Memorial Coliseum is now whittled down to three concepts. Last night the Rose Quarter Stakeholder Committee voted to advance the Trail Blazers’ Jumptown, Doug Obletz’s Memorial Athletic and Recreation Center (MARC) and the Veteran’s Memorial Arts and Athletic Center (VMAAC) onto the next round. It will be exciting to […]
Build Out
Memorial Coliseum: Public Benefit vs. Public Cost
It only took two hours last night for the Rose Quarter development process to effectively narrow down the 96 ideas people submitted for how to reuse Memorial Coliseum to a slim top eight they are seriously considering. Memorial Coliseum roller coaster is looking like it’ll get the boot, folks. Public input and a straw vote […]
Museums, Gymnasiums, Surf Tanks, Oh My! Public Pitches Memorial Coliseum Ideas.
Zack Soto Hundreds of people squeezed into the small, chilly seats surrounding Memorial Coliseum’s ice rink tonight to get a quick snapshot of dozens of public ideas about how to reuse the historic building. BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST! Most importantly, I finally met the mysterious guys who want the city to build a massive roller […]
Tonight! Memorial Coliseum’s Underdog Ideas
Developer Doug Obletz sees the discussion over the future use of Memorial Coliseum as a David vs. Goliath scenario. Tonight Obletz will pitch his vision for the Coliseum, the Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center (MARC), just one of 100 ideas to be presented publicly along with the Blazers’ vision of the Coliseum as part of […]
34 Memorial Coliseum Ideas Submitted at Last Minute
What a bunch of procrastinators. On the last day of the city’s deadline, Portlanders submitted a whopping 34 proposals for how to redevelop Memorial Coliseum. The pitch that snagged headlines last Friday, of course, was the Trail Blazers’ proposal to keep the WinterHawks in the MC and build a Nike Museum close by. The 33 […]
Blazers’ Pitch for Memorial Coliseum: Keep Winter Hawks, Add Nike Museum
The Trail Blazers’ development team officially released its proposal to redevelop Memorial Coliseum this week, handing copies to City Commissioners and apparently to the Oregonian before the plan has been posted on the city’s website. The big news about their vision for Memorial Coliseum is its plan to build the rumored Nike Museum across the […]
“Cordish has done nothing for minorities.”
Jake Thomas over at the Portland Observer has some words of wisdom for Portland via a minority business group in Kansas City. When asked to comment on his group’s experience working with Cordish, the development company the Trail Blazers are partnering with to turn the Rose Quarter into Jumptown, Mid-America Minority Business Development Council President […]
Will “Jumptown” Out Muscle Other Coliseum Plans?
This week’s news section includes a round-up and analysis of some of the citizen-pitched ideas for Memorial Coliseum, like turning the building into a velodrome or museum. Profiling some of the 40-odd ideas culled from citizen submissions to the Rose Quarter development website begs the question: do any of them stand a chance? Mayor Adams […]
With All Due Respect: Adams Spars Over Sprawl
I rode the MAX to the end of the line in Hillsboro last night, departing on foot into a vast empty parking lot between a post office and a Taco Del Mar. OPB and Pamplin newspapers chose this scenic location, the Hillsboro Civic Center, to host a debate between Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Washington […]
What Portland’s Sky Looks Like from 120 Feet Underground
This afternoon I found myself standing on a narrow metal platform above a 120 foot pit outside the Portland Opera House. Standing next to me was the nonchalant Chris Gomez, a man who has spent seven hours a day, five days a week for the past two years tunneling beneath Portland to build the largest […]
Five Terrible/Awesome Ideas for Memorial Coliseum
In early September, Mayor Adams asked Portlanders submit their ideas via Twitter for what to do with Memorial Coliseum. In our blog poll, “giant shark tank” came in only seven popularity points below “year round farmer’s market.” Luckily for Portland, the Mayor’s office has extended the deadline for Memorial Coliseum makeover pitches to January 8th […]
Have You Seen the PDC’s Hot New Indie Flick?
Ok… so, uh… since when does the Portland Development Commission produce slick little videos setting discussion of development projects to indie soundtracks? Seriously, watching this new video about the resurrected Burnside Bridgehead made me feel like renting Garden State and smoking a clove. That’s not a bad thing. This is definitely the first city outreach […]
