The Timbers are "still in the early stages of putting together a blueprint for substantially expanding seating capacity at Providence Park," according to Jamie Goldberg of the Portland OREGONIAN. However, the club has "yet to decide whether it will ultimately be feasible to move forward with the plan." The Timbers are "looking at the possibility of renovating Providence Park, which currently seats 21,144 fans, to add between 1,000 to 2,000 more seats to the south end of the stadium" by '18 at the earliest. The Timbers are "hoping to receive a final design from their architects in the coming weeks." After reviewing the final design, the club "will make a decision as to whether it makes economic sense and is feasible to move forward with the renovation plans." The team's general plan includes "building up the south end of Providence Park to turn the stadium into more of a contiguous bowl." The Timbers would also "add more concessions, restrooms and other amenities to the south end to maintain the fan experience." To accommodate the renovations, the Timbers "would likely need to move their scoreboard to another part of the stadium." The Timbers have "sold out every single one of their regular season and playoff matches at Providence Park since joining MLS" in '11 and have "more than 12,000 people on their waitlist for season tickets." The Timbers over the last five seasons have "managed to incrementally increase capacity at Providence Park by finding ways to create a few dozen new seats" each year (Portland OREGONIAN, 1/6).
