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It's not a handout, and I'm not playing semantics here. A handout is something that is given where there's no expectations for it being paid back, and the receiving party isn't expected to do anything.

This situation is a partnership and an investment in refurbishing a stadium and building a new one for a baseball team. Sports are indeed a viable business, as long as the terms and conditions of the market and agreements with all the parties make sense. Granted, there are very few places where perfect economic conditions exist outside a vaccuum, but when it works, it works well to bring dollars to a community, visitors to events, and bring pride and a sense of ownership to the residents. Some cities have been held hostage in stadium negotiations, but I believe that in this case, both the city and Mr. Paulson are negotiating a deal that works on both sides, which can be a give and take process.

Besides, of all the major sports, MLS salaries are probably the most reasonable if you simply looked at the numbers. If you are a player not named Beckham, most players are making less than $100,000, and in most cases, it's even more in the $25,000 to $30,000 range. MLS keeps salaries in check as much as possible to keep issues like what other leagues suffer with salaries.

and besides, this endeavor is using public funds to refurbish a public facility that is being used by a private party who is bearing much of the risk, and the benefits are for everyone in the city that comes to PGE Park and enjoys sports, concerts, and other events.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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And if you can name any stadium for a top 5 sport (MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLS) in the US that has been built completely with private money within the past 20 years, I'd love to hear it because it hasn't happened in a while.

The risk here is minimal, and by having the city and the team work together to come up with a plan, you ensure the teams are here for a long time with a deal that benefits both sides.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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Uh, really, so I suppose you failed to mention the $30 to $40 million dollar investment the city made to help the Rose Garden get built, for infrastructure. Yes, he pays his taxes, but he also called the "economic model" here broken and put the team up for sale when he tried to get better terms for the stadium deal he financed.

I would never advocate building a stadium versus paying for schools or roads directly, but I also understand that it's important that teams and cities work together to address stadium needs. This way, the situation protects both sides, as we are talking here about a CITY asset (PGE Park) that they don't want to sell but their rentor (Paulson) wants to refurbish to bring in MLS and other events.

And I suppose you find no real benefit to having sports in town at all? There are plenty of other Portland residents that realize the benefit here.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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So I suppose you have no concerns about the long term stability of the USL and even having a league to play in, based on the situation in California, Miami, Virginia Beach, Calgary, Edmonton, losing Seattle as a rival directly from the USL and now potentially losing our other West Coast rival in Vancouver.  Look, I get people that don't want things to change because they are good now, but you have to ask yourself if you are satisfied with the status quo or are there enough questions about how things are to make a change.

Take the stadium funding out of the question, and simply ask yourself "Do you think the USL will have a Division 1 presence in 5 years from now?" I believe that answer to be no, and I also feel that we will support MLS fabulously.

And yes, I'm a die hard TA member as well, and while I get annoyed at the t-shirt hucking, loud speaker blabbing, I realize that the game atmosphere needs to be tailored to all fans, not just TA, and most of the time, I'm too busy chanting or watching the match to notice what's going on.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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I enjoy a spot of tea as much as the next guy, but as my fellow colleagues pointed out, the MLS proposal isn't touching the limited resources that Portland has. I don't think many of us soccer fans would sit by and watch money be taken from basic needs just to build a soccer stadium, which is why this idea works.

The money comes from the bonds issued by the city, backed by Paulson, and paid for through the Spectator fund (dedicated fund where stadium revenues are put from ticket sales), plus other streams like merchandise sales, television contracts, and taxes on player salaries. The bonds are backed by Mr. Paulson in exchange for making the upgrades to a city owned facility, and for building a new home for the Portland Beavers. This is a great urban renewal project, bringing jobs here. And with an improved tax base with improved stadiums, this could help fund schools and other basic services.

And apparently, you haven't been to a Timbers game before. The lions only come up later after the game to scare away stragglers.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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