PORTLAND, Ore. – Three months into the construction project that will remake PGE Park into the Portland Timbers’ new MLS home, progress is moving at a brisk pace and on target for the April 14 opener against the Chicago Fire.
“Everything is on track and on schedule,” said Mike Golub, the Timbers’ chief operating officer. “We’re feeling good about the progress so far.”
All of the structural concrete has been poured and all of the steel is installed on the new east side grandstand. Construction crews will continue working full shifts during this week and the work will soon shift from the outside projects to inside finish work – such as electrical, drywall, communication lines in the stadium club, the new Providence Sports Care Center, and the new locker room and team facilities.
The next visible project will be the south deck, which will feature four rows of seating and an expansive area for food and beverage concessions. Widmer Brewing, one of the team’s new foundational partners, will do business there.
Work on the new Providence building – a 12,000-square-foot sports rehabilitation clinic that was privately funded – is happening concurrent to the stadium renovation. The Timbers announced a founding partnership with Providence on Dec. 16.
The sports-specific facility is expected to include a deep-water resistance pool, sports courts, a sports laboratory, specialized equipment and digital x-ray services on-site. The two-story clinic will be located in the southeast corner of the stadium, with the top floor overlooking the field.
“There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of parallel parts,” Golub said. “We’ve got an aggressive but achievable time frame.”
Capacity for the new stadium – likely to be renamed prior to the home opener – will be about 20,000. There will be some flexibility to add about 2,000 seats for larger games.
“With all of the changes we’re making, we’re creating an intimacy and immediacy about watching a game here that will be enhanced,” Golub said. “There will not be a bad seat.”
January projects also include work on the box office and team store on the Northwest 18th Avenue plaza as well as updates to the press box. Also, new light fixtures will be configured on the east side.
The new field and playing surface will be installed in March.
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