I have a few suggestions/ideas for the new ballpark WHEN Portland gets the Expos or another team. I'd like to see something new and creative. After seeing pictures of St. Louis new ballpark i've come to the conclusion HOK is running out of ideas. St. Louis new park looks exactly like the Great American ballpark only it has a view of the arch(which is the only nice part). While HOK has made some gems like PNC, Pac Bell and Camden Yards i fear that in time most of the other new ballparks will be view the same way the cookie cutter stadiums were viewed. So i'd like to see some of these following ideas in a Portland ballpark
1. I'd like to see a chain linked fence in right field like Ebbets Field had. Ballhawks could line the streets like at Wrigley. I would have the fence filled with adds like the one at Ebbets field was but i'd leave one peep hole(ala Pac Bell)
2. If possible i would have a red rose garden beyond the center field fence
3. Maybe bring a past ballpark back from the dead. For example Forbes field. A few years ago in Minnesota a senitor talked about making an exact copy of Ebbets Field in Minnesota. I guarantee a Forbes Field or Ebbets Field exact replaca would be much more popular than a Great American ballpark replica. Even if you don't copy the whole Forbes field at least have some ivy on the left field wall like Forbes Field did.
4. In center field have a deep square box like the Polo Grounds had.
5.Avoid having a fake miniture green monster copy like at Jacobs Field/Texas/Minute Maid Park.(Its not unique anymore)
6. Have left field made out of brick and tall like right field in Pac Bell Park. But cover it with ivy and give the wall an odd shape(but don't copy the exact shape of Pac Bell)
7. In center field beyond the rose garden i'd consider having one huge water foutain.
8. Even if these ideas don't work just come up with something more than just a brick exterior.
The great parks like Wrigley(the ivy), Fenway(the monster), Yankee(Monument Park) and Pac Bell(the water) all have a special feature.

Sorry for such a negative sounding post but i'd be disappointed if Portland ended up a boring park that just about everyone else has. While i think MLB can be a huge sucess in Portland its very very important to have a unique park. I lived in Chicago for a while and i'd hate to see Portland get stuck with a mistake like the White Sox did. You only get 1 chance to do it right.

Well have a Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for all the hard work you've done this year.

I don't think it's negative at all. I think that when you see the next interview (possibly today) that this subject has been on my mind, and it's one of the questions.

Here is the question that I asked the interview subject:

Question: What kind of stadium would be a "Portland Stadium"? Is it a matter of moving beyond the "Camden Yards" model of brick façade, and retro nuovo and moving into something a bit different?

"PLAY BALL!"

I love the fountain idea. Or maybe a falls similar to Multnomah Falls, or Widmere falls! Sorry, my marketing snuck out on that one.

What would make it a Portland, or Oregon, ballpark for you?

Regardless of what is done to the park, either inside or outside, it has to "fit".

Doing a Green Monster, because it worked in Boston does not mean it will work here.

Since Portland is a "green state" I think that exposed timbers might be cool in a number of locations in the park.

Anything but a slide, or train in centerfield. Something tacky like that will kill the park. Like Joe here said, something "natural" would be good.

As for the playing field...

I hope that seating is as close to the field as possible. While I cringe at what a new market fan would do if a ball comes into the stands near the foul area (yes, let us all remember poor Steve Bartman at Wrigley in the playoffs), it adds a lot to the game experience I think.

Less steel, minor amount of brick (or at least let's not make Great American II).

"PLAY BALL!"

I love the idea of exposed timbers, even if they are really just wrapped around steel beams.

What I liked about the PPS site design that is on this site is that it uses field dimentions from Vaughn street park and Civic Stadium. It that way it ties into the History of baseball in Portland. I beleive it also had planter boxes with roses growing along the tops of the wall in places where there were no seats , I think it also had an outfield forest with a street car stop.

Regardless, the Jantzen woman needs to be at the new park. She is a big part of the history of Civic Stadium at least for me.

--Tim Chamberlin--
--OSC Volunteer Coordinator--

In the mayor's press conference in August, I believe the HoK rep said that it would take around a year to do all the research into different locations and ballpark planning. I am sure that they are taking into consideration some of these issues too.

We definitely need to make it a Portland/Oregon park.

What would really make it Portland would be to have MAX running throung left center so it can be seen from the Ballpark. It will be original, and it wont be like the dumb train in Huston. There could be a deal with the MAX like in San Fran with the Giant glove, u hit a ball in the glove u get a car, well if you hit max with a ball than the some lucky fans get a car or something like that.

I think MAX in the outfield would look really cool, it would be better than just hearing the train like in Seattle. And also there should be Timbers all around the park, these are all good Ideas, if the HOK wants to be successful in the design of this park they should consult Oregonians like us first.

-----------------------------
MLB2PDX
-----------------------------

How about instead of having a suite level, which makes the upper deck that much farther away, and adds to the bulk of the stadium having a block of suites.

In the pictures of the possible stadium on this site, there's a moderately sized tower as a part of the stadium, it'd be great to see the suites put into such a building, almost like they are currently in PGE Park, but along the left field line. The tower could be part of the signatures of the park, and could also be used for other events at the park.

The tower is designated for mix use office space, possibly the team offices.

As to the suite level... It is very possible that the park would be three-tiered with the middle tier being a Club Level.

"PLAY BALL!"

One of the designs had this as a cross section



This is different than Safeco because above the Suites there is a small deck that is the club level, then above that is the third deck.

Also in Safeco from behind the 100 level you can see the field....
--Tim Chamberlin--
--OSC Volunteer Coordinator--