August 17, 2010

I have received a lot of questions about baseball recently and wanted to share my view publicly:

I share the public's frustration that Portland may once again lose the Beavers.

I am a baseball fan.  I was lucky enough to see some of the greats: Yaz playing balls off the Green Monster in Boston, Tippy Martinez catching 3 runners off base in one inning in Baltimore and Hall of Famer George Brett in Kansas City.  I understand the joy of a sunny day at the ballpark with family and friends.

When this matter first came before council, I advocated for a dual use of PGE Park.  Why not play both baseball and Major League Soccer (MLS) in our venerable ballpark?  Mr. Paulson, who owns both the Beavers and the Timbers,  and MLS said no. 

Alternatively, I would support leasing city property to Mr. Paulson at no cost if he builds a new stadium.

Mayor Adams and his team have been tireless in their search for potential baseball stadium sites.

The core problem, however, is that Mr. Paulson requires that the City of Portland contribute $30-40 million to build a new stadium.  In these tough times, I can’t justify such an investment of tax dollars. New stadiums are wants, not needs.

I hope we can keep the Beavers in Portland and that Mr. Paulson can be a willing partner. Should we lose the Beavers, I will continue to look for ways to bring baseball back to the Portland area in the future.

For more information check out Anna Griffin's article on Oregonlive.

Thank You.