Mayor Sam Adams will hold an open house Tuesday, April 14 at 6 p.m. to present the site options for the latest proposal to redevelop the Rose Quarter into an entertainment district. The mayor wants the public to review and comment on the plans before the City Council considers them on April 22. The City must finalize and approve financing for the project and sign lease agreements with Peregrine Sports by Sept. 1, 2009. No pressure, right?
For years, the City has wanted to make the Rose Quarter a lively entertainment district. This latest effort came about when Major League Soccer awarded a team to Merritt Paulson, owner of the Portland Beavers and the Portland Timbers. The award is contingent upon Portland providing a soccer only stadium for the team. Paulson wants to convert PGE Park to a soccer only stadium and build a new Triple-A baseball stadium in the Rose Quarter next to the Rose Garden.
At the April 22 council meeting, the City Council will also consider a predevelopment agreement with Paulson. The agreement defines the working relationship between the City and Paulson's Peregrine Sports, LLC.
Neighbors Raise Concerns About the Proposal
- The City will be committed to finance approximately $65 million of this project
- Most of that $65 million comes from bond sales in a difficult market
- A source for $15 million in public funding has yet to identified
- Lack of an earnest and thorough economic analysis of this proposal
- Lack of consideration of alternative uses for this debt
- The City Council is exempting the project from competitive bidding
- Memorial Coliseum will be demolished to make way for the new baseball stadium
- The Winter Hawks hockey team, which plays at Memorial Coliseum, has been left out of the process
The stadium project is on the fast track, which raises other concerns such as adequate time for public comment and attention to details in the agreements. Transparency and accountability are vital, but are they also being fast tracked in the rush to get the deal done?
The most recent example of the dangers of such haste is the Treasury Department's Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Billions in federal funds were distributed to bail out financial institutions. It was only after the money was distributed that we understood there were no conditions on how the money was used and no reporting requirements—there was no transparency.
Obviously, we're not talking about billions of dollars for the stadium proposal. But, at a time when Portland is facing huge budget shortfalls and cutting services to citizens, not paying attention to the details can leave the City exposed to the inevitable cost overruns associated with this project.
Related links
City could bypass bids for PGE Park, stadium projects
The coliseum is worth keeping
Winter Hawks wonder why they're left out in the cold on Memorial Coliseum discussions
Soccer decisions coming up fast
Goooaaaal! Major League Soccer coming to Portland
Let the City Council know what you think
Sam Adams, Mayor
Commissioner of Finance and Administration
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 340, 97204
Phone: (503)823-4120
Samadams@ci.portland.or.us
Amanda Fritz
Commissioner of Public Utilities, Position Number 1
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 220, 97204
Phone: (503)823-3008
amanda@ci.portland.or.us
Nick Fish
Commissioner of Public Works, Position Number 2
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 240, 97204
(503) 823-3589
Nick@ci.portland.or.us
Randy Leonard
Commissioner of Public Safety, Position Number 4
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 210, 97204
Phone: (503)823-4682
randy@ci.portland.or.us
Dan Saltzman
Commissioner of Public Affairs, Position Number 3
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 230, 97204
Phone: (503)823-4151
dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us
shooter: thanks for the heads up, but can this posted NN-wide? this is too big of an issue to be limited to LD only.
Timbuzz11, it's our policy to post stories by location when the story takes place in a specific neighborhood, in this case the redevelopment of the Rose Quarter. All posts however, appear on the home page of NN, and we find that most readers view NN from the home page. The other major way readersÂ’ access NN is via search engines. Our experience is that posting a story in a specific neighborhood doesnÂ’t impact its visibility. Thanks for you comment, we also think this is an important story.