There’s always been a sizable community of baseball fans here in Portland, even though the game has, especially over the past 20 years or so, had a very checkered history in Puddletown. The Portland Beavers, which back in the day were a AAA farm team for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (and my beloved Minnesota Twins), among others, left for greener pastures in Salt Lake City (WTF??). The Beavers were replaced by the Class A Portland Rockies, only to be replaced by another iteration of the AAA Beavers, this time as a farm club for San Diego. And then the fun began….
When MLS granted a franchise to Portland, it was with the proviso that PGE Park (now Jeld-Wen Field) become a soccer-only facility. The dimensions will allow use of the field for American football, but there was no way to configure PGE Park into a one-size-fits all solution for soccer and baseball. That the same person- Merritt Paulson- owned both the Beavers and the Timbers reduced the equation to something of a “Sophie’s Choice”. Ultimately, the Beavers were the odd man out, and thus began an odyssey which, at various times, had them moving to new digs in Beaverton, the Rose Quarter, and Southeast Portland’s Lents neighborhood. The inability of Portland city government to lead on this issue meant that ultimately the process was held hostage by small numbers of vocal interests who managed to generate enough heat and noise to derail any and all options. In the end, the Beavers moved to Tucson, AZ, for this season, and from there they’re destined for Encino, CA. This is what happens when leaders can’t seem to find the wherewithal to lead. No balls, no baseball.
It’s against this backdrop that the prospect of bringing Major League Baseball to the Rose City comes into play. The Tampa Bay Rays, who play in a stadium that would embarrass most AAA teams, may be in the market for a new home before long…and Portland keeps coming up in these conversations. I can’t help but wonder if those who seem to think that Portland is serious about baseball have ANY idea of the game’s checkered history here. Hey, if city government can’t generate anything resembling consensus on a AAA-size stadium (12-15,000 seats), how in the world will they be able to get their act together long enough to locate a MLB-sized stadium of 35-40,000 seats? Beyond that significant (and as yet unanswered) questions, how will a metropolitan area of perhaps a million people be able to support a Major League ballclub?
Personally, I’d love to see an MLB team here. There’s the obvious built-in rivalry with Seattle, and my Twins would be in town at least twice every season. That aside, though, I have a difficult time believing that Major League Baseball could be successful here in Portland. Of course, you could argue that if it can work in Baltimore, it can work here. That’s a tough argument to refute, but I still remain skeptical about whether the numbers will pencil out. And don’t even get me started on the whole stadium issue again. Backbone and resolve are not things Portland politicians are noted for, so you can count me among those who will believe it when I see ground being broken.
In the meantime, Paulson’s Portland Timbers are wildly successful in their first MLS season…but then this town has always been soccer-crazy. And there’s always the Trailblazers, Puddletown’s borderline-unhealthy pride and joy cum obsession….
