Okay not much of a match report, and 4 lousy photos. Vancouver wins 2-1. http://newheads.tripod.com/swangardsouth/id1.html
Thanks Krammerhead for the information on another Portland stinker in the month of May. Once again the Timbers radio and Web broadcast did not happen. Tomorrow's game will be taped delayed for SF Giants baseball. Apparently there are Giants fans in Portland????? I haven't been this depressed since last year's 0-5 start.
You think your depressed? On a very sunny Sunday we could only draw 4124 fans. We drew 5075 against Calgary on a drizzly day last week yet less on a good day this week. Not to mention only half of our hardcore showing up. The southside was very quiet. I have to say that Portland was disappointing. Aside from their one goal there was very little offence from them. It's too bad no Portland supporters were here, it may have woken up some southsiders.
At least your team is off to a good start. I think you will get bigger numbers further into the season, especially if your team stays on form. Unfortunately no one from Portland could make it up this time. Many of us will be going to Seattle next Sunday and Calgary the following weekend so it came down to time and resources. Hopefully I'll make it to the game there in August and by then the Timbers will be more competitive.
So Krammerhead, Did we look like total shite? I mean were there some players who stood out more than others for both their good and bad play? I am getting both anxious and really depressed about another ****************** start. If we lose to Calgary tonight, I do not want to hear a single excuse, changes will have to be made.
What kind of stadium does the Whitecaps play in? Intimate? Grass pitch? If so, the future couldn't be bad. As far as Portland goes, just another slow start. We'll be there by playoff time, just like last year.
I can't answer to many questions on what happened in the second half. You see Portland chose to attack the southside in the second half, so we had to get our drinking in and taunting of the keeper during the first half. We can no longer go to the North side to watch the game if this happens (it's a rich persons section now) so basically the second half was kind of a haze. From what I can remember Portland didn't pose much of a threat. Interestingly Vancouver played with an all Canadian lineup including subs. Joe guy, Vancouver plays in a intimate 7100 capacity stadium with an full international sized grass pitch. Unfortunately it is surrounded by a track. If you check my site (I'll post the link again) I have some photos that give an idea of the stadium layout. http://newheads.tripod.com/swangardsouth/
I saw the stadium on Fox Sports last year and it looks very nice. Something to build on despite the running track and I'd trade that for an overly large stadium with artificial turf. I sure 6000 Whitecaps fans can make that place rock. Our U of Portland's Merlo Field (seats 6000) would be a perfect venue with lights, decent off street parking and a cooperative neighborhood. I don't think PGE Park lends itself to the A-League but we have to make due with what we have. Props to the Whitecaps.
its good to see vancouver at least in the 4-5k attendance arrange. As some others have said, you gus will probably be above 5k consistantly a little later into the season.
Problem with Swangard is that when there's more than 5000 people in there it's pretty jammed. Trying to buy food is horrible. I saw both the mens and womens game there yesterday. During halftime of the womens game I waited in line for 20 minutes trying to get a bag of mini-donuts (and that was because it was the smallest lineup of all the food services) At that time there were no more than 3000 people in the stadium. Swangard would be perfect if they could add another grandstand on the east side opposite of the one they have now, complete with concourse and places to buy food. Unfortunately the city of Burnaby won't allow that.
Merlo will never happen because it doesn't have lights, doesn't sell beer, doesn't have luxury boxes and the neighborhood would never want the nightime traffic. I agree the pitch is one of the best in the country, but someone would need to invest some capital to expand it because we do average 6,000 a game already. PGE Park is actually a great place to watch an A-league game. The turf does suck but the covered stadium makes the place loud. Also, it is located downtown right on a light rail line which makes it feel like you are going to a professional sporting event. Now, if they could get rid of baseball and PSU football it could become one of the best soccer venues in the country. I don't think we have to worry about our stadium. We just need to worry about getting big crowds.
The main problem with University of Portland is Beer sales. That and it has no roof which really adds to the atmosphere. IMHO PGE Park is a great venue except for the fact we have to share it with the stupid Baseball team (I know that is a BIG except). I love it's central location, easy access to public transportation and it's retro/historic feel. While Merlo field is certainly a quality venue, i think that if we moved up there we would run the risk of looking more "minor league" then we already do. The solution? Hope MLB comes to Portland and builds a new stadium. Then PGE Park can be converted into a premier SSS with the fake stuff getting tossed out and real grass being layed. The problem with that is that I don't know how any organization can live without the revenue that a 80 game minor league baseball season brings. It would require a new ownership structure and rent payments to the city.
Apparently I didn't make myself clear on Merlo Field. I'd rather see a park like that elsewhere in the Portland vicinity. PGE is too big for the A-League. A park like Merlo that could eventually be expanded as the Timber franchise grows would be far better. The politics, the outrageous rents and PSU football would kill any decent venue at PGE. Remember, the original Multnomah Stadium could hold 38,000 for gridiron games and in its present shape holds 20,000 too far from the pitch. Part of the problem is the beer garden, but even so the stadium is too big IMO (you should investigate the nice sized Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale). Swanguard could be improved, Burnaby politics nothwithstanding. But maybe Candian politics are worse than American (geeze I hope not). At least it is intimate and has a full sized grass pitch, something PGE Park lacks.
Swangard stadium is built in Centennial park. The city of Burnaby are not going to let any expansion into their park land, hence no expansion of the stadium.