Deal at Lents Close, Maybe Imminent

[Paul Schmidt]

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/05/lents_baseball_deal_still_in_t.html

Will it have 3 votes at City Council?

Or will the tide turning against the supposed "saved" Coliseum wash over in time?

[Paul Schmidt]

Randy Leonard mentioned last night on 95.5 in Portland that a deal could get done by the end of the week. The city's hired stadium consultant and the city's Office of Management and Budget are apparently sifting the numbers.

Of course, you will note that this was originally teased two weeks ago. YMMV.

[Unak78]

I hope this deal goes through. I have become a fan of Timbers USL games. Outside of Voyageurs Cup games, theirs are the USL games that I most enjoy watching.

Fortunately it looks like the city, at least, is ready to greenlight the PGE MLS renovation with or without a Triple A park for the Beavers. It all depends on whether Paulson wants to find them an interim home once their forced out of PGE or if he'll call off the entire deal for the sake of his minor league ball team. I'd like to say that I doubt that he would, but his dad did work for W, so anything is possible.

Article here: http://www.fieldofschemes.com/news/archives/2009/06/3724_portland_well_d.html

[gstommylee]

Na meritt pulled the proposal to put the beavers at lent citing lack of community support.

[Unak78]

Na meritt pulled the proposal to put the beavers at lent citing lack of community support.Yeah, just read about that. Apparently people were throwing things at him. Doesn't help that his last name is Paulson either.

[RevsFanDan]

Hey this City Commissioner Randy Leanord is trying to BLACKMAIL the timber's owner...!!

C'mon PORTLAND you guys need this MLS deal..!!

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_062109_news_beavers_timbers.12a565fa.html

Everyone should be e-mailing and/or calling the City Commisioner's office!!

[Paul Schmidt]

Blackmail?

CHILL. Some of you just chill.

E-mails, positively placed, are good. Panic is never good.

BTW, it's not blackmail. It's negotiation. That's been going on the whole time, Randy Leonard loves to engage in it, and there are reasons he should. However, I believe he well knows that he threatens to lose two teams from PGE Park, with some nasty consequences for the city, by holding firm to his threat...

...which means it wouldn't be the first time he's taken the dramatic route with a specific end in mind. Barring something completely off the wall happening, we'll get there.

[gstommylee]

Yea I don't think the City wants to deal with empty PGE Park and the debt on PGE Park earlier renovation.

[Omar]

Blackmail?

CHILL. Some of you just chill.

E-mails, positively placed, are good. Panic is never good.

BTW, it's not blackmail. It's negotiation.
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2009/06/19/leonard-cant-now-support-mls

I am requesting that you recant your announcement to withdraw from Lents and respect the URAC’s process, which includes allowing them the opportunity to vote on the stadium proposal.

If you cannot do that, I cannot support the resolution next week agreeing to bring Major League Soccer to Portland.
That sounds like blackmail to me...

[Paul Schmidt]

BTW, Sam Adams has been cleared of charges by the Oregon Attorney General.

While the recall effort will certainly go forward, I think the sting is taken out of it. The question is whether a politically motivated group can get the countermotivated of Portland to sign the petition.

The MLS likely will get more focus from City Hall now.