Soccer task force takes its shot at goal

Update: Vote next week

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Feb 24, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (19 Reader comments)

Merritt Paulson, owner of the Portland Beavers and the Portland Timbers, hopes a city task force will recommend Tuesday that Portland moves ahead with plans to bring a Major League Soccer team here.

Tribune File Photo

A citizen task force studying whether to bring a Major League Soccer team to Portland ended a 3 and 1/2 hour Tuesday hearing by agreeing to vote on its recommendation next week.

Dozens of people spoke for and against the city spending millions of dollars to help bring a MLS franchise to town.

At the end of the hearing, Commissioner Randy Leonard, a strong soccer team promoter, said he'd been impressed by the testimony.

"I have been very inspired by what I heard," he said.

The hearing was held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Portland Building. A draft recommendation in favor of the move notes that the plan is $20 million to $40 million short of its required budget, and urges the City Council to identify a source for the money that does not require higher taxes or cuts in existing agency budgets.

The city is studying the issue because Major League Soccer is scheduled to award two expansion team this year.

Merritt Paulson, owner of the Portland Beavers minor-league baseball team and Portland Timbers, a United Soccer League First Division team, is willing to put up $40 million to secure the franchise for Portland. His company — Shortstop LLC — wants the city to chip in, however, by upgrading PGE Park and building a new stadium for the Beavers, possibly in the Lents area.

Renovations and a new stadium could cost $75 million or more. Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard formed the committee last year to help determine whether the city could afford the projects.

Funding options being considered by the committee include:

• Using a portion of the ticket prices to underwrite city-issued revenue bonds.

• Using urban renewal funds to underwrite such bonds, either by creating a new urban renewal area or siting the stadium in an existing urban renewal area, such as the one that includes Lents.

• Asking the 2009 Legislature to dedicate a portion of the professional soccer player salaries to underwrite such bonds.

The Timbers would move to another city if Portland obtains a major league soccer team.

The draft recommendation is:

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