I suspect that the Timbers might be able to get some free land out of the city with the success of the team. But yeah, I don't think anyone in the city is going to vote to give money to Hank Paulson's kid to build a professional sports stadium. We'll see where the Timbers and MLS are in 10 years. Kind of early to start talking about major retrofits at this point in time.
Nice thoughts but I don't think this will materialize soon (like previously said, possibly 20 years). But we need a bigger stadium indeed.
We are 3 games into year 2. Give it a few years of continual sellouts and then we can have this discussion.
Known: 14,750 season ticket holders 20,400 capacity at Jeld-Wen Guesses: 200-500 in corporate and charitable giveaways [Burgerville is selling some this year!] 150 set aside for away team tickets, unsold released two weeks before matches 1000 available for group sales, sold out 1000-3000 per game for Season ticket holder advance sales, gone within hours 2000-4000 Or whatever is left for single game sales, gone within hours of public sale
That's awesome stuff to read. That is great that Portland has a supportive culture. Thanks for the info. BTW, is Burgerville any good?
Yes, if I ever wanted to go and ask my dad, "Now which building on campus did you chain yourself to protesting the draft?"
Meh. Burgerville has gone down hill in the nearly 5 years i have lived in the Portland area. Milkshakes are still delish though.
Burgerville is my favorite readily available fast food burger in Oregon. Five Guys has better burgers, but there are too few of them around. Steak 'n' Shake is, in my opinion, a bit better, but have none in Oregon.
Definitely yes for the milkshakes. Their seasonal offerings are decent. What I've found pathetic is their regular cheeseburger. It taste stale and the buns are dry. I could've gone for McDonald's for flavor and texture.
I usually get the Tillamook cheeseburger. The $3.79 one i think? Has been going downhill ever for awhile. Last time my cheese wasnt even beginning to be melted. Since i buy two i might as well just go to Slow Bar every time and spend the extra money for the best burger i have ever had that is not homemade.
Oh for sure at Slow Bar's Burger! I don't mind spending extra dollars or ten when it is worth it. How I also wish that local breweries would sponsor the Field so their names would be plastered there instead of piss poor Budweiser drinks.
Seattle averages 38,000+, but you guys and your 20,438+ blows them away. Can the stadium be expanded anymore, there is that one section that's tarpped off. Are there any plans to expand and if so how much and when?
Thanks a lot. The area behind the timbers army that is tarped is section 201 is right behind a elevator shaft. A lot of the field is blocked. Most of the tarped sections is for this reason. The stadium had its quirks. Expansion is hampered by the size of the place and how close the streets are to the stadium.
To expand on what Kejsare said a bit more which is good info. Everything that is currently tarped off are extremely limited view seats. The older part of the stadium, before the renovation going into MLS, would require extensive work, time, and money. It is older completely concrete construction. As for the newer parts im sure they planned ahead a bit. I see no reason why an upper deck couldnt be put on the new east side with relative ease. Either that or add more seats to the south deck and move the video board to on top of the Providence clinic that is in the southeastern corner. The video board would have to be moved to accommodate the MAC club which sits to the south of the stadium. They have their own viewing platform that can not be blocked. The only other hurdle is if the city would be willing to pony up more money in the relative near future. We have to pay for the 2011 renovation costs and i believe we are still on the hook for a bit of money from the 2001 renovation. I am not sure about the latter though.
You are correct, Paulson assumed the 2001 renovation debt. At least the portion that the City of Portland is not on the hook for.
If the press box/luxury suite block in the corner was removed, that would add close to 4K im guessing. Remove the current tiny newly added section and completely enclose the stadium. Would be looking at a capacity of around 35K. And yes I am aware that would be essentially throwing 31 million dollars away, but in my opinion, it was thrown away when it was stupidly spent.
Not exactly. The city will get Paulson's portion in the future in seat and concession taxes. Paulson just had to guarantee a security that the money would be there.
Could Portland do something like what Athletico Madrid did with Vicente Calderón Stadium where they build a stand over the road? http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/480212996_e0589cfc86_o.jpg Purely going buy google maps it looks like there is possibly a bit of room on 20th Ave
20th Ave is the historic side of the stadium, meaning that it would be much more costly to construct on that side. If the Timbers were to do something like what you're proposing, it would have to be over 18th Ave. I've been wondering if that is in their future plans. I think it would be pretty cool if it's done right.
Kejsare was right about them being "elite" Those are some rich puppies up there. I assumed by the name that it was just a health club but it's more like joining a country club. Check this out: http://www.themac.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=282091&ssid=158064&vnf=1 And on top of that, you have to be nominated for membership. But because it's Oregon, they do have a diversity program. With that price tag, they deserve to be able to watch games for free. It's one of the perks.