News As the countdown toward the death of Triple-A minor league baseball in Portland continues, there's at least one long-time Portland baseballer with the germ of an idea to keep pro baseball here in the summer months. Big League Chew inventor Rob Nelson, who pitched for the endlessly entertaining single-A Portland Mavericks in the mid 1970s, wrote Oregon Sports Authority CEO Drew Mahalic last week ...   More

News Glum Portland Beavers fans today saw Portland City Council vote to turn PGE Park into a soccer (and football) only stadium, which means the century-plus old baseball team will join the ranks of the city's homeless after it plays the 2010 season. But out in Washington County, Beaverton city officials —who made an unsuccessful run at landing the Beavers last year— are exploring the ...   More

News The final financial deal is not without some risk to the City of Portland's general fund, but this afternoon Mayor Sam Adams and three city commissioners said they would support the terms of the renovation project at PGE Park for Major League Soccer. Adams and Commissioners Randy Leonard, Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman have all said they'll vote "yes" next week when the $31 million project goes before ...   More

News This afternoon at 2 pm, Portland commissioners will discuss the city's deal with Merritt Paulson to renovate PGE Park for Major League Soccer in 2011. They'll vote on the deal next week. Meantime, here is a summary of the deal from the budget gurus at the Office of Management and Finance, with the bureau's acknowledgment of the plan's risk (as has been pointed out elsewhere) to the general fund: The ...   More

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News At today's City Club debate with city Commissioner Dan Saltzman and candidates Jesse Cornett and Mary Volm, the two challengers went after Saltzman for being the third (and therefore decisive) vote approving Merritt Paulson's proposal to bring Major League Soccer to Portland. The underlying theme of the campaign is that Saltzman, who is seeking his fourth term, has outlived his usefulness. The ...   More

News The political action committee supporting a proposed $72.4 million Portland fire bond (PDF) that recently got put on the fall ballot has picked up a little seed money for its campaign. Portlanders For Public Safety today recorded a $1,000 contribution from city Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who had weighed in with some changes to the bond proposal, and a $2,500 donation from Portland Timbers/Beavers ...   More

News Attendance at yesterday's final Beavers baseball game at PGE Park rose to 15,639 from a season average of 4,098, according to the Triple-A team. The nearly two-year-long debate about baseball that preceded the team's exit from PGE Park Monday had one overarching theme that came to mind while I was sitting in the general-admission section yesterday: Merritt Paulson, the Beavers' owner, said PGE ...   More