PORTLAND - All talks for a new baseball stadium in
Beaverton have been suspended, leaving the displaced
Portland Beavers baseball team, once again, in the dark.
In a letter to Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle, Portland Beavers Owner Merritt Paulson expressed his sadness in suspending plans for the new stadium, but after three months of effort, there is no stadium location under city control and the city’s time frame for making a firm financial commitment is months off.
Paulson says he still remains committed to finalizing the agreement with the City of Portland to bring Major League Soccer to Portland in 2011.
“I am disappointed that after exploring three specific stadium locations and making long-term financial commitments to help fund each facility that we’ve been unable to secure a new home for the Beavers," he said. "The Beavers will play next season at PGE Park and I will continue to assess all the options available to find a new home for the team.”
Drew Mahalic with Oregon Sports Authority says Beaver’s fans should not worry. The Beavers will find a home in time for the 2011 season. Mahalic says there have been plenty of offers in the Portland Area and the value of a minor league baseball franchise is easy to sell. Mahalic says the Portland Beavers offer a 17 million dollar economic impact to wherever they settle.
Some business owners in Beaverton were disappointed to learn the news. Other were pleased. Morakot Frailey owns Thaiderm she says her restaurant would have been condemned if a stadium was built in her neighborhood.
"This time of year I should have done advertisements seasons greeting and do something for my business everything on hold, even the landlord told me to don't do any big investment until February."
