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Civic Stadium is owned by the City of Portland but operated by the Metropolitan Exposition-Recreation Commission, an arm of Metro.
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Two new MAX stops near the stadium contrast the inadequacy of the 71 year-old stadium. |
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Civic Duty |
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Last month, Tri-Met opened a new light-rail stop adjacent to Civic Stadium. Last weekend, the stadium hosted World Cup soccer. Both were cause for great celebration. But neither fancy transit plazas nor rabid fans can camouflage the disrepair into which Civic Stadium has fallen over the years. The restrooms are crappy. The bleachers are falling apart. The concourse needs a remodel. The concessions are overdue for a facelift. The turf is shot. And the entire stadium needs an upgrade to meet new seismic standards and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If the stars were in alignment, City Hall this week would be issuing plans to rehabilitate what is perhaps the most neglected public space in downtown Portland. Instead, unless something changes, this long overdue development is a least a year away. The long and slow demise of Civic Stadium is a tale of politics, misplaced priorities and the juggernaut of big-time pro sports. Civic Stadium, 71 years old, occupies prime real estate in a city that values downtown public spaces. The 28,000-seat arena is an ideal size for minor-league baseball, college and high-school football and perhaps even major-league soccer. But in the big-money reality of pro sports, Civic is too small to attract an NFL franchise or a major-league baseball team. For those Portlanders for whom pro sports has become a curse, that may be a blessing, but it's also the reason Civic Stadium has become an orphan. For many years, Civic Stadium's modest annual losses were covered by the City Parks Bureau. In the late '70s, the stadium's operations were underwritten by profits from Memorial Coliseum, the glass box that hosted Blazer Games, truck pulls and rock concerts. Civic Stadium lost its fiscal umbilical cord when Paul Allen built a new home for his Blazers. The city structured a complicated deal in 1993 that gave Allen the right to manage the coliseum along with his new Rose Garden. As a result, the Metropolitan Exposition-Recreation Commission was out more than a million dollars a year in net income. Civic Stadium was cast adrift. Maintenance was deferred. Costs were cut. What ought to be a source of public pride has become instead a civic blemish. Fifteen months ago, MERC issued a study called the "Civic Stadium Business Plan." The report recognized the value of a community-oriented general purpose outdoor venue, and called for an investment of $15 million to preserve this community asset. The report has been gathering dust at City Council. Last week, the effort began anew. A new task force, called the Civic Stadium Advisory Committee, convened in an effort to figure out what to do with Civic Stadium. Actually, it's very clear what to do with Civic Stadium--many of the details are provided in the last report. With a modest upgrade (including tearing out the stadium's AstroTurf and replacing it with grass), this city could reinvigorate its downtown stadium, preserve the venue as Portland State's football site and, perhaps, attract a Triple-A minor-league baseball club and a major-league soccer team. The question is not what to do--it's who will lead the way. |
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