Trying to Save Portland's Historic Stadium

Growth in Portland's professional sports due to the expansion of Major League Soccer is threatening the life of the city's iconic Memorial Coliseum. Historians and preservationists are teaming up to save it.

1 minute read

May 21, 2009, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"While its cultural history is impressive, that will not be enough to save the venue from demolition: The Memorial Coliseum has been threatened by a proposal to build a minor league baseball stadium in its place. But the structure's exquisite beauty and refined engineering has motivated a host of architects, sports fans, historians, artists, and design enthusiasts to join together in an attempt to preserve it.

...The demolition danger has arisen from proposed changes to PGE Park, another stadium across town. Merritt Paulson, owner of the Portland Beavers AAA baseball franchise and the Portland Timbers minor-league soccer team, has won initial approval from Major League Soccer to bring the sport to the Rose City. But MLS prefers its teams to play in soccer-only venues. That means Paulson's baseball Beavers need to vacate PGE Park so it can be converted for soccer, necessitating the need for a new home for the baseball team."

Thanks to ArchNewsNow

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 in The Architect's Newspaper

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