As longtime readers know, rumors have been popping up like fly balls about the prospect of a baseball stadium in nearby Lents. Before today, things were looking good– especially after the Oregonian reported that Beavers owner Merritt Paulson was “exploring the idea of public financing for a new minor league ballpark where Walker stadium now sits” in Lents Park.
For FoPo residents, the financial, and social benefits of such a location for a new Beavers stadium would be numerous: new businesses would move to Lents, friends would want to hang out with FoPoers on game night, and maybe Foster-Powell would make its name for itself as the funky street connecting Portland to Lents.
Despite the jubilant “O, Yeah! America Finally Comes to Its Senses” cover, today’s Willie Week whispers bad news for those hoping for a new stadium at Lents. To go balls-to-the-green-monster-wall with the baseball metaphors, this story made my gut drop like when the opposing team’s catcher snags a fly ball.
According the the story in the “Murmers” section, mayor elect Sam Adams would rather see the stadium built in the Rose Quarter. And apparently Adams has already sent his chief of staff on a trip to research a development centered on a stadium in Kansas City, MO. As the incoming mayor, Adams will soon name a citizen committee to consider where best to place the new stadium: Lents, the Rose Quarter, or an area northwest of the Fremont bridge, at Port’s Terminal 1.
So, aside from my obvious personal interest in the new stadium’s location, here are a few good reasons to bring the Beavers to Lents:
Parking. Downtown parking is ridiculous. Parking near the Rose Quarter is horrendous. Put the stadium in Lents, where there’s plenty of parking spaces. And we could probably build a garage for the nice baseball developers, right? Urban Renewal Area funding, remember? (Of course, the city could get much-needed funding from a parking garage in the Rose Quarter… )
New Public Transit. Put the stadium in Lents and support the new Green line! Getting to and from games should be a breeze, unlike the trip to Port’s Terminal 1. (Is that even a real place? It sounds like a cool nightclub from the future.)
Conciencious Development. Portland’s population is expected to grow by a million people in the next ten years, as I recently heard on OPB. Let’s keep the happy fun urban development times rolling. Portland can continue to be the city of reinvention– Hawthorne, Belmont, North Portland, and the Pearl are recent beneficiaries of this great city’s dedication to preserving and promoting neighborhoods. Lents is a neighborhood that could use some tender City of Portland lovin’ care. And nothing says “TLC” like a new baseball stadium and and influx of interest.
Top photo by Randy Stern.
