They fill Providence Park to capacity every week and are staring down a season ticket waiting list thousands deep – now the Portland Timbers are talking about stadium expansion.
As first reported by The Oregonian’s John Canzano on Sunday, the Timbers are looking to add seats to Providence Park by 2018. Canzano reported that the team is considering three options: A) Adding 1,000-2,000 seats to the south end of the stadium; B) Adding an extra 5,000-10,000 seats to the south and east sides; or C) Completely tearing down the existing stadium and rebuilding on the same downtown site.
Complicating matters is the fact that the City of Portland, not the Timbers, own Providence Park. The city would need to approve any changes to the historic venue, which underwent a $40-million-plus renovation prior to the Timbers’ 2011 arrival in MLS.
Timbers owner Merritt Paulson told Canzano over the weekend that he’s “committed to Providence Park” and that he “wouldn’t trade our location for a 40,000-capacity suburban Portland venue.” Providence Park currently holds 21,444 fans; Canzano reported that the club's season ticket wait list currently numbers 11,000.
Paulson shared some more details on Twitter on Tuesday, writing that if the Timbers ever do decide to pursue stadium expansion, they will be paying for it privately, without any public funds.
Portland opened the 2016 regular season at home on Sunday, with the defending MLS Cup champs defeating Columbus Crew SC 2-1 in a rematch of last year’s final. The Timbers will hit the road this weekend, squaring off with the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on Sunday night (7 PM ET, FS1 in the US, MLS LIVE in Canada).
