Dear Mayor Adams and Commissioners Leonard and Saltzman,

Hello, my name is (The Cactus Leaguer). I am the CFO of a large physician group in Beaverton, and in recent years I have volunteered to perform research on behalf of the Oregon Stadium Campaign.

First of all, I wanted to thank you for your courageous vote on behalf of the city for MLS and for a new AAA stadium for the Beavers. I have analyzed dozens, if not hundreds, of stadium deals over the years and this is one of the fairest deals I have ever seen. This deal will have a positive impact on the region for decades to come, and I know that I speak for many Washington County residents in saying that I will be spending far more discretionary dollars within the city of Portland as a result of your vote.

More importantly, I wanted to write to you to consider a proposal that would address the needs of several constituencies who may be feeling marginalized as a result of your vote:

• Multnomah County and the Portland Public School District, both of whom are concerned that the city is emphasizing redevelopment dollars over basic services in the community;
• The Portland Trailblazers, who expressed concerns over the loss of potential redevelopment dollars and/or land that they feel is necessary to complete their plans for a year round entertainment district in the Rose Quarter; and
• The Lents community, which may be upset over the decision to put the Beavers in the Rose Quarter, and also by missing out on a development project.

In order to address these concerns, I think that the city should move forward as follows:

1. Advocate for the use of urban redevelopment dollars in the Lents District to build a new mixed use development, anchored by a new Portland Public Schools administrative building, in the Lents community (preferably near the new light rail stop);
2. Swap this land with the school district in exchange for their current administrative building which is located at the “Blanchard” site, across the street from the Rose Quarter on the north side of Broadway Avenue.
3. To the extent necessary to make all parties whole, trade land and/or development rights on city property at the “T-1” site (the alternate site for a new AAA stadium in Northwest Portland, which is currently a staging area for the “Big Pipe” project) to either the county and/or the school district so that they aren’t harmed by the use of urban redevelopment dollars at PGE Park. Other parcels could be identified as well (such as the downtown post office site that may become available for development in the near future).

This type of land swap, while a bit complicated, is not unprecedented. Charlotte recently performed a similar land swap with their local district in order to secure land for a downtown AAA baseball stadium.

Here are the reasons why this transaction would make sense for all concerned parties:

• Portland Public Schools – the school district would get a new facility in an ideal location for their needs (easy transportation access, and closer to the geographic center of the city). They would also be made whole for the loss of land at Blanchard and the Westside URD.
• Multnomah County – the county would be made whole for any lost revenue as a result of the Westside URD.
• Portland Trailblazers – the Blazers would free up more land for their entertainment district while still retaining the benefit of having 6,000-10,000 baseball fans visit their new district an additional 80-100 days per year.
• The Lents community – By constructing new administrative offices for the school district and another “shovel-ready project”, Lents would obtain a far superior anchor tenant and a better neighbor in their efforts to form a new Lents town center near their new light rail stop.

As a bonus, this proposal would create a superior entertainment district in the Rose Quarter, which is desperately needed at a time when few, if any, redevelopment projects are coming along as the eastside streetcar approaches the construction stage.

I realize that this proposal involves several moving parts and may introduce new uncertainties into the mix at a time where a deal needs to be completed soon; nonetheless, I think that this is an idea worth considering as we are attempting to do our best to create jobs, fund basic services, and turn Portland into a world-class city.

Thanks again and best wishes in the future.

Sincerely Yours,
(name and address)

Very well done. Its nice to see there are still people on this forum that care and can make a difference. Good work TCL

http://www.oregonlive.com/news...ess_leaders_not.html

Sounds like the mayor is really pushing this, which is not a huge surprise since he was the first public official to endorse MC over Lents.




I don't see a cactus in this rendering, but oh well.

I've already gone around on this once or twice. Who knows where I'll be on this tomorrow.

Main thought- too many moving parts.

Other main thought- the ballpark needs to be at the MC site because Paul Allen's redevelopment track record sucks.

I'll say this- a PBJ article threw out the mantra "water is magic" for consumption. That part, I think, they got right. Anything in between is not destined for greatness. Line small shops on the ballpark perimeter as part of one or two pathways to whatever is developed along the river. I'm getting to think that's a better plan than the latest remake of Downtown Disney at the MC site.

Will I feel the same way tomorrow? Eh?

yep, too many moving parts, I agree.

I hope the change the ballpark design. They need to set it up so that fans can lounge behind the ballpark facing the river (like the upper deck at Safeco, behind the 3rd base line). That would turn it into a hot spot for casual fans.

That ballpark is facing the WRONG direction. I really feel Downtown needs to be the view, not the east side and a very distant Mt. Hood.


edit:

A couple things to note after reading the article. They mentioned using the PPS site as expansion for the RQ, that is interesting and would be a fantastic spot for a stadium.


Also, to the drawing of the "new" RQ, What is that new glass looking structure next to the Rose Gardens front entrance? It seems to have been placed where the fountain is. There is a lot that has changed in the picture and no mention of what it all is. I am sure it is an idea of an entertainment district, but I would like to know the thinking behind this.

Agreed. The ballpark should face to the South East as opposed to directly East. That's the only way to get direct views of the river. PGE is currently configured South East so there should be no problem doing so.

Also, The ballpark will sit too low for anyone to get a decent view of Mount Hood, so that shouldn't even be a factor.

Finally, no plan under the sun is going to work with the current street configuration. The city grid is choked on all four sides: I-5, Interstate, Broadway and the off ramp for the Steel Bridge. There will have to be some sort of cap to the freeway, or some sort of city grid connection to the Lloyd District. As it is, I hate having to cross those overpass sidewalks that cross I-5. This will not be an easy fix.

One more thing. Move that dam grain elevator.

quote:

Originally posted by CEDAR MILL MADNESS:
One more thing. Move that dam grain elevator.

I agree. And this can be done IMO.

yes! the grain elevator is an anathema! a travesty/a mockery/a sham--a sham of a mockery! lose the grain elevator!

I bet the grain elevator won't be moved without the owner getting URA-greased a bit.

OPB has an article on the Blazers plan, with a rather "interesting" pair of diagrams the Blazers rendered for a no-ballpark scenario.

http://news.opb.org/article/45...waits-new-game-plan/

Basically, making the Coliseum sort of open-air and the site of the amphitheater they want.

On one hand, I think it's too big for what they're thinking.

On the other hand, if you reshape the stadium bowl, make a couple large hangar-type doors out of the glass part of the palace (seal-able), make part of the bowl portable, and put luxury suites on one side- and institute the Cactus plan otherwise- can you keep the Winter Hawks there?

Just another one of my hedges, reconsiderations, what have you.

What's the link between the greatest show in the history of the world, Seinfeld, and the Blazers? What's that? Oh close, but no, it's wasn't Rasheed Wallace originally being considered for the part of Newman...Julia Louis Dreyfus, Elaine on the show, is the daughter of, well, Mr. Dreyfus, who apparently owns the company that owns the grain elevator...fascinating, huh? There's 30 seconds of your life that is lost forever!

I think the grain elevators could be going to the West end of the Hayden Island. The latest drawing for the development that I saw of the island shows a large facility that looks alot like a grain export facility. I could be wrong and the owner would need reasons ($) to move.

At some point though, the ships that are used for grain transport will become too large for the Willamette River is my thought and that will require the Owner to move or close down.

BB