The Portland City Council, Merritt Paulson, and the Trail Blazers' recent proposal to raze Memorial Coliseum in favor of a AAA baseball park as part of a larger Rose Quarter redevelopment has many opponents coming out in fervor. Many people do not want the Coliseum razed. However, in spite of all that I've read from these detractors of the plan, I still do not find a compelling reason to keep the building. All the evidence states that we're better off without it. So I've started this site to set the record straight, and not only give my reasons why I favor this proposal, but why the detractors are wrong.
If you've been to the Coliseum lately, you know its a dump. The roof leaks. The seating bowl is falling apart. The system that preserves the hockey ice needs to be replaced. The heating system needs to be replaced. The veteran's memorial is in disrepair. The concessions stands are outdated. So, we have three options: we could keep the Coliseum as in, leading it into a further state of disrepair. We could embark on a very costly renovation of the faciltiy (A facility that's completely redundant as the Rose Garden stands next door), or we can tear it down in favor of new development, in this case, a ballpark. The big criticism of the Rose Quarter is that there's nothing to draw people there without a Blazer game going on. A ballpark that will draw people to 70+ games a year is a good start toward creating a major destination in the city.
Here is another fact. We have a chance to get an MLS team to Portland. I know its not baseball or football, but MLS is building huge momentum. Just look at the Sounders' debut in Seattle and you can tell its about to blow up big. This is no NASL. I'd love MLB here, but I don't know where we're going to find $500 million to build a MLB stadium without a committed owner and a realistic shot at a tema in the near future. MLS is about to get big, but its still young enough that we can get in for realtively cheap. But PGE Park has to be renovated into a real soccer pitch and a real stadium (a move that will also be a big boost to Portland State Football, by the way), for this to happen. Thus, the Beavers need to be moved. As the Rose Quarter is already on the transit line and has several parking structures to accomodate big crowds, and is nestled in the urban core (a must for a successful ballpark) its the logical choice.
What are the reasons I've heard for keeping the MC? They aren't very compelling:
1. We need to save the Coliseum because we have so many memories there!
Your memories aren't going away just because the building is. Nobody can take those away from you. But the Blazers aren't moving back, nor would any of us want them to. I love Mac Court and have many memories there, but also recognize that the place is a dump and isn't really suitable for its use anymore.
As I've said, to keep the Coliseum would mean a very costly renovation. If we want the MLS team, the money for this renovation would come on top of ballpark and PGE renovation costs. Much of the costs for those projects will be repaid in ticket taxes, and Paulson has agreed to pay for any overruns. How are we going to pay to renovate the Coliseum (a tax on high school graduation and wrestling tickets?) Its a catch-22. Its falling apart as is, but taxing tickets on events to pay for a renovation would price out many of the events that are currently there. Big money events aren't coming to the Coliseum, because they'll be in the Rose Garden. There is a mechanism in place to pay for much of the soccer and baseball stadiums. No viable alternative exists for the Coliseum.
And it would be expensive. You'd have to knock out and rebuild the seating bowl without damaging the glass box. That won't be cheap. Do we want to spend that kind of dough on an arena that is redundant and obsolete?
2. But what about the Winter Hawks?
I'll admit that this was by big concern when I first heard the proposal. Would the Winter Hawks be steamrolled and forced to moved? Now it appears that the Blazers and Winter Hawks are talking, and that those talks will eventually result in a permanent move to the Rose Garden for the Winter Hawks. That's a big upgrade for both the team and hockey fans.
3. But the Coliseum is iconic architecture!
Its a glass box that my son could build a replica of with any standard lego set. Its neither revolutionary, unique, nor iconic. In fact, many people think its rather ugly and pedestrian.
4. This would ruin any chance we have of getting MLB in the near future, as a stadium on the Coliseum site would not be expandable to MLB standards.
MLB isn't coming here. The only team without a new ballpark or an approved plan for one is Oakland. Do we spend $500 million on a stadium for a chance to get a team that is no guarantee? That's a lot of money. In the meantime, the Beavers have left twice and have wanted a new park since Vaughan Street burned down. We get an MLS team, and make sure we have AAA ball for a long time with this deal, and at less than $90 million, most of which will be repaid (a major bargain by comparison). For another big league team, we already have a building capable of hosting an NHL franchise. Perhaps we should focus on that--a lot of NHL teams are struggling and ripe for a move.
5. But the Coliseum is already paid for! Why should we finance a new park when we have an old arena paid off?
It won't be after we finance a costly renovation. Should you not get a newer car just because your '83 Tercel is paid off?
6. It would be disrespectful to our veterans to tear down the memorial.
Its disrespectful to our veterans that we let it get in this bad of shape to begin with. Or that you can hardly find the actual memorial without searching for it. The memorial itself is in a bad state of disrepair. It would be much more honorable to build a new memorial and give it a prominent place in the middle of the Rose Quarter. Where, you know, people can actually see it.
We have a chance to take care of all our sports infrastructure here for a long, long time. Or we can get ourselves into a costly boondoggle based on misplaced nostalgia. Portlanders are traditionally very resistant to change. But we can make sure that our kids will get to have sports in this city for a long, long time with this deal. The Coliseum has served us well, but it is time to let her go.
