Council approval puts soccer goal in reach

Mayor Sam Adams needs to find another $15 million

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Mar 11, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (24 Reader comments)

The Portland City Council narrowly approved a plan to bring professional soccer to town Wednesday afternoon after a lengthy and occasionally acrimonious hearing.

The audience that included many soccer supporters broke into applause when Commissioner Dan Saltzman announced he would provide the third vote to pass the resolution that outlined the complex plan.

Saltzman was joined by the Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard to pass it on a 3-2 vote.

The resolution was opposed by Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish, both of whom complained that the city should not be spending money on sports in a recession. Fritz went so far as to say the recession could become a depression that will last for many more years.

Despite the vote, the plan is far from complete. After much discussion, the council amended the resolution to remove one source of city funding for the project – the creation of a new urban renewal area around PGE Park that would contribute $15 million to its renovation.

Instead, Adams said he must now come up with a new plan for raising $15 million to pay for the renovations. Adams promised to meet with other government leaders in the region and potential private partners to develop the plan by the time when the deal must be finalized later this year.

The idea of bringing professional soccer to town is being pushed by Merritt Paulson, the Portland businessman who owns the city’s two amateur sports teams, the Portland Beavers baseball team and the Portland Timbers soccer team.

Paulson is scheduled to apply to the Major League Soccer governing body for one of two expansion franchise teams it will award later this year. The deadline in March 19.

Paulson has agreed to spend $40 million of his own money for the franchise. He has also promised to raise millions more from private investors to make the move work.

In exchange, he wants the city to help remodel PGE Park to meet MLS standards, and to build a new AAA baseball stadium for the Beavers.

Adams, Leonard and Saltzman all praised Paulson’s commitment to Portland and said such a deal would not be possible without him.

The original plan outlined in the resolution called for spending just under $129 million to bring an MLS team to town. The city agreed sell $64.5 million worth of bonds on the two stadiums. Paulson would be responsible for the rest of the money – and for any cost overruns beyond the first $2.5 million, which the city would cover from an existing capital construction fund.

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