Friday, August 27, 2004
Portland Keeps Hopes Alive
The word is, the Expos will not be coming to Portland. But our fair city is moving ahead with a $350,000,000 plan that would get us a stadium if some other team, such as the A's or Twins, feels compelled to move in the next few years.
They won't build the stadium until they're sure a team is coming. But at least we're forging ahead. Portland is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States with as few as one major league sports team. And it's about time we got another one, whether it be baseball or hockey.
A lot of people I've talked to say they don't think the people of Portland and surrounding towns would support a baseball team, but I think they're wrong. We're kind of blase in Portland, because we only have the Blazers, so I guess we just figure we're not big enough for a baseball team in a big stadium. We've had a Triple-A team here for a long time (save for the few years we had the Rockies' A team), and obviously it isn't nearly as big a draw as Major League Baseball. I guess they just see the small crowds and think, see, we don't really like baseball here. But the difference between AAA and MLB is enormous. Are we really thinking that 6,000 fans would show up per night for major league baseball, especially since a new stadium would be built on the waterfront and look fantastic?
Anaheim, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, Oakland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Tampa all have smaller populations than Portland does. And although a few of those cities have neighboring cities which add to the fan base, I think this is a good fact to lean on. But anyway, we'll wait for the Marlins in 2008.
They won't build the stadium until they're sure a team is coming. But at least we're forging ahead. Portland is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States with as few as one major league sports team. And it's about time we got another one, whether it be baseball or hockey.
A lot of people I've talked to say they don't think the people of Portland and surrounding towns would support a baseball team, but I think they're wrong. We're kind of blase in Portland, because we only have the Blazers, so I guess we just figure we're not big enough for a baseball team in a big stadium. We've had a Triple-A team here for a long time (save for the few years we had the Rockies' A team), and obviously it isn't nearly as big a draw as Major League Baseball. I guess they just see the small crowds and think, see, we don't really like baseball here. But the difference between AAA and MLB is enormous. Are we really thinking that 6,000 fans would show up per night for major league baseball, especially since a new stadium would be built on the waterfront and look fantastic?
Anaheim, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, Oakland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Tampa all have smaller populations than Portland does. And although a few of those cities have neighboring cities which add to the fan base, I think this is a good fact to lean on. But anyway, we'll wait for the Marlins in 2008.
