Portland City Council Finally Approves MLS Stadium Agreement
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Portland Will Fund $11.2M Of $31M Deal To
Upgrade PGE Park For Timbers MLS Debut |
The Portland City Council Thursday night by a 4-1 vote approved a "preliminary agreement and financing plan" with USL Portland Timbers Owner Merritt Paulson to "make upgrades to PGE Park" for the team's MLS debut in '11, according to Sickinger & Larabee of the Portland OREGONIAN. The city will fund $11.2M of the $31M deal by "borrowing against its Spectator Facilities Fund, which collects ticket taxes, parking revenues and other income from the operations" of PGE Park and Rose Garden. Paulson will pay $8M in cash, as well as an $11.1M upfront payment for "rent and ticket taxes for the years 2017 to 2033." In exchange for the $11.1M, Paulson will "avoid rent and ticket tax payment totaling" at least $38.4M over 18 years. However, the agreement "does nothing to find a new home" for the Triple-A Portland Beavers, which Paulson also owns, who will be displaced from PGE Park to make it a soccer-specific stadium. Some of the "most controversial elements of the baseball package" were removed from this agreement, including the "use of any urban renewal dollars and the transfer of the state income tax receipts from player salaries." It is "now likely that Paulson will move" the Beavers out of Portland, and he has held "preliminary discussions" with Beaverton, Oregon (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/24). The PORTLAND TRIBUNE notes in addition to Beaverton, "other cities in the region also plan to woo the baseball team if Portland can't find a suitable place for new baseball park" (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 7/24).
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