Katu video
KGW video

We would love to host all fans at the Bitter End at 11:30 Friday morning following the MLS Press Announcement.

The first 200 fans will receive a Portland MLS T-shirt and a pass to our employee store where they can receive 50% off all merchandise.

Plus – the first round of drinks is on us!

If that doesn’t cure you, there is also a game this evening against those Red Bulls of New York at Merlo Field.

Celebrate. That is all.

The vote was not an actual agreement. It is not even legally binding. It represented “an outline of business terms,” according to special legal counsel Steve Janik. For supporters of a Major League Soccer franchise in Portland, gaining City support was a critical step. With the City supporting the request for approximately $60 million in loans to renovate PGE Park for MLS soccer and to build a new baseball stadium in the Rose Quarter for the Portland Beavers, Paulson said he would be in consultation with MLS regarding the significance of the vote. There are two expansion franchises available for 2011. The other three cities in contention are Ottawa; Vancouver, B.C.; and St. Louis. Key to the deal was an amendment by Commissioner Dan Saltzman to remove $15 million dollars of urban renewal district funds from the proposal. The amendment passed unanimously. It was not known how that shortfall would be funded.

The meeting itself played out like a match in many ways, with slow build-up through the middle from the commissioners, some outlet play from the lawyers and eventually some hard challenges from Multnomah County chairman Ted Wheeler. Despite some testy play, nobody was carded and action continued with a lengthy list of substitutions–er, I mean speakers–that didn’t dramatically change the complexion of the match. You were for the proposal or you weren’t for the proposal. With a vote anticipated at 1:30, the proverbial fourth official never indicated that there would be an additional 120 minutes of extra time. Still scoreless, the vote went to a bureaucratic form of penalties. Most footballers believe that penalties are a crap shoot, a kind of dire way to end a game. After six hours of City government in action, I got the impression it was a blessed relief.

First up, Commissioner Amanda Fritz: High, wide and handsome.
Second shooter, Commissioner Nick Fish: He loves the game, but his shot slams off the post.
Pro-MLS is down 0-2.
Commissioner Saltzman steps up, spots the ball, and steps back. He stutter-steps on the approach but his shot slices just inside the post. GOAL! The crowd goes wild.
Commissioner Randy Leonard: Automatic.
Mayor Sam Adams: Nothin’ but net.

Much like the Champion’s League, Portland can’t hoist a trophy just yet…but they do move on to the next round. By the way, for a genuinely hilarious recap of the meeting, have a look at the Oregonian’s Ryan White live blog transcript here.

1. Miami bows out of the expansion race, citing “adverse market conditions.” This leaves four candidate cities for two expansion franchises: Ottawa; Vancouver B.C.; St. Louis; and Portland.

2. Last Friday, negotiations between the City and Timbers owner Merritt Paulson appeared to hit a snag. According to Commissioner Randy Leonard, Paulson “stormed out” of meetings when it was suggested that he personally cover any cost overruns. Or maybe he didn’t storm out. The following day, Paulson appeared on KGW’s “Straight Talk” program and dismissed the incident. Click here for KGW’s link to the broadcast.

3. Also Saturday, the Oregonian’s Ryan White covered the topic in his column, “The Tailgate.” Essentially, he said there was risk involved. And that after the vote on Wednesday (if there is a vote), there will be more to argue about. And that “soccer fans are nothing if not passionate and, based on e-mails, literate.” We’re literate. Sweet!

4. Late Monday, Commissioner Fritz indicated she was voting against the plan.

5. But wait, there’s more! Weekend negotiations appeared to have smoothed out the issue of cost overruns. A deal has been reportedly been struck. Again from KGW: “In the deal, the Paulson family has reportedly agreed to personally guarantee to pay any cost overruns the city may accrue to convert PGE Park into a Major League Soccer stadium.” Scrolling down through the posted comments on the topic, I see that opposition to the proposal appears to fall into one of three main categories:

A. I don’t like soccer. Fair enough. I noted on a news site somewhere that someone thought soccer was a “sissy girl sport”, which is an unfair characterization, to say the least.
B. I’m concerned about the economy and the cost impact to the city and taxpayers. Also legitimate concerns.
C. Paranoid, racist rants about the multi-cultural appeal and passion for the sport. I’m not even going to touch this drivel…

When I went to other local news websites to try and confirm these sentiments, I just found a lot of stories about the bear attack at Wildlife Safari. In all fairness, people do like to read about bear attacks.

Or, failing that, an occasional Timbers-themed word jumble.

About two hundred Timbers supporters showed up at the Salmon Street Fountain earlier this afternoon for a rally and march to promote Portland’s MLS expansion bid. The multi-generational crowd was full of enthusiasm and strong of voice as they paraded through the downtown area to City Hall. Flags, banners, kilts, drums, trumpets, an oversized soccer ball and yes, a chain saw were all part of the pageantry. The response from passing vehicles, based upon an unofficial count of supportive honks, was favorable and well-received by the group, which included the Timbers Army, season-ticket holders, and other supporters. The only downside to the event was the lack of a decent megaphone/PA system, making it almost impossible to hear most of the City Hall speakers. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that their words of encouragement went along the following lines:

1. Portland is getting very close to claiming one of the two 2011 expansion franchises, but with two City commissioners (Saltzman and Fish, I believe) undecided as to how they will vote on the MLS proposal, it is critical for fans to write or email them and make them understand how important this is to Portland;
2. MLS soccer is not only good for Timbers fans, but for youth soccer in general because of the level of talent that is brought in to play would inspire younger players and keep them involved in the game;
3. An MLS team is an investment in the city for the city.

There was a KGW news van parked at the City Hall, so it will be interesting to see how the local media report the event. Or, at the very least, see if you got to be on television. There was a block of letters to the editor in yesterday’s Oregonian questioning the wisdom of the expansion proposal during these difficult economic times and I’m certain that refrain will be echoed in any coverage of the rally.

Personally, I want to see MLS in Portland for a lot of reasons–probably most of the same reasons you do, too. Portland Timbers supporters may number in the tens of thousands, but our football tribe is several billion strong. I can’t think of another sport that brings together entire continents the way soccer does. It would be a shame not to promote the Beautiful Game to the highest level possible here, not only for ourselves, but for our kids, too. It crosses cultures, generations, social classes. I mean, we are Soccer City. If that doesn’t cry out for MLS, I’m at a loss as to what does.

Plus, it breaks my heart to look at the fixture list and not see a Timbers-Sounders derby match there.

Here are a few organizations to check out regarding the MLS expansion movement if you aren’t familiar with them already:
MLS to Portland
MLS to PDX

Rose City ’til I die…

* Steve Cronin was paid $75,000 by the LA Galaxy last season. There is no way that he’ll make anything near that with Portland this season. It will be interesting to read the details when his signing is announced. Could it be a loan where the clubs split his salary or will it be structured some other way? Either way the Timbers will likely end up paying more for the keepers this season then they did last year when MLS clubs picked up the paychecks for two of the four keepers.

* A Byron Alvarez sighting in the NISL (La Raza). Apparently he brought Steve Reese south of the border to carry his bags or play keeper or whatever it is Steve Reese does to always show up on a roster somewhere (Wikipedia).

* Mike Randolph was waived by the Galaxy. Remember how good he looked in a Timbers’ kit during that dismal Agnello year? Let’s fit him with a 2009 version ASAP (Soccer Insider).

* Heard some rumors that a former USL-1 Defender of the Year may be headed this way.

* Lotsa juicy stuff from the recent Timbers Army/Timbers front office pow wow. I have to say that I am especially excited about having a PDL squad. Last year we had a PDL team but they unfortunately played in USL-1. (Soccer City USA).

* Merritt Paulson working the halls in Salem (Oregonlive)

* That MLS task force is crunching the numbers (Portland Tribune)

* Miami FC may be this year’s Virginia Beach/Calgary/Edmonton (Miami Herald)

* Today’s your chance to testify if you support having an MLS team in Portland (Soccer City USA)

It is hard to capture everything that happens during a live event, especially when you type with two fingers like I do. A few additional thoughts to add to the liveblog:

* I’m struck by the organization of the MLS to Portland effort. I’m sure Merritt Paulson is paying the Gallatin Group a pretty penny to coordinate all this. Everything at today’s press conference was well orchestrated right down to turning on the MLS to Portland and Better Beavers Ballpark sites right before the event started. Having lived through previous ownership groups that couldn’t even get Timbers pocket schedules out on time even with months of planning, it is clear that professionals are at work on this thing.

* While there was nothing really new said at the press conference, that really wasn’t the purpose. The purpose was to draw attention to the efforts. Many of us have been plugged into this for months. The vast majority of Portland has not been. This will draw some attention to the plan. Again, what I have seen to this point is a calculated public outreach and media plan, while the backroom dealings are still in progress.

* It is worth noting that no money totals were mentioned. In the handout to the media there is mention of something in the $75 million range. Randy Leonard made a point of saying that there are ongoing negotiations between Paulson and the City.

* It is clear that Leonard is much more gung ho about baseball in Lents than MLS at PGE Park. He is a politician after all, and he knows that outer SE is his constituency. He did mention Portland as a soccer city but for him this is about baseball in Lents. If that is what it takes, so be it.

* How will this all play out at City Hall? That is the 75 million dollar question. I thought it was interesting that Leonard mentioned Mayor Potter’s role in derailing Major League Baseball in the past. He also indicated that the current Council would be much more willing to help pay for all this through revenue generated through ticket sales. I think that is an easier sell to the public than having money diverted from other programs (something that has never been suggested as a possibility, but undoubtedly will be how the opposition frames it).

* In the list of cities competing for an MLS spot Paulson might have mentioned St. Louis. I was stunned to hear San Diego but I think his point was that a lot of cities are interested in MLS and that there is a tight time frame to get this all done.

* That letter supporting Portland as an MLS city from a unanimous City Council, including Tom Potter, has been sent to MLS commissioner Don Garber.

* In something like this it is all about building coalitions to show widespread support. That’s why Paulson had a group of citizens – fans, business folks, PSU, neighborhood association types, Little Leaguers, etc – standing in front of the media. Smart move.

Your thoughts?

UPDATE: Media coverage

Paulson pushes for Major League Soccer franchise (Portland Business Journal)

Portland launches campaign to lure MLS (Associated Press via SI)

Portland Pushes for Major League Soccer (KOIN)

Campaign launched to lure major league soccer to Portland (KATU)

Portland talking about $75 million deal to attract Major League Soccer (The Oregonian)

Portland Expansion Miscellany (The Offside Rules)

Portland, hello (USA Today)

New push for major league soccer in Portland (KEX)

Nooooooooooooooo! (From the Beer Garden)

Portland talking pro sports stadium again (Jack Bog’s Blog)

BringASport2Portland.com: MLS edition (Oregon Live)

Portland Timbers announce major-league soccer move (Asian-American Sports Examiner)

Major League Soccer? (Portland Business Journal)

Podcast: City Council throws support behind bid to draw a Major League Soccer team to Portland (Oregonlive)

Paulson, Leonard pitch PGE Park renovation (Portland Tribune)

Timbers Today! (Portland Mercury)

Big Time Sports Means Big Time Investments (David Burn)