June 15, 2003
It’s time for Oregon to play ball
Commentary
By TIM PYLE
Mail Tribune
The time is now.
Not after education issues are solved, not after one of the nation’s worst unemployment rates improves, not after
the state suddenly finds a pot of gold to cure all — and there certainly seems to be a lot — that ills it.
No, the time to bring Major League Baseball to Portland is now.
Understandably, that may be hard for many to fathom, considering Oregon’s current economic plight.
How can we talk about baseball, the argument goes, when we’ve got all these "real-world" issues with which
to deal?
Here’s why:
Oregon taxpayers won’t be charged.
House Bill 3606, which currently sits in the State Senate Rules Committee, doesn’t aim to win money otherwise
earmarked for education, social services or anything else.
The legislation, which passed a House vote last month, doesn’t put current taxpayers on the hook for anything.
The $150 million the bill aims to secure toward the building of a new stadium is generated by bonds that will be
repaid by income taxes collected from a Portland team’s players and executives.
The state — as neither grantee nor guarantor of the bonds — will not be liable for any shortfall.
Essentially, you won’t be paying a dime.
Big-league ball would only help Oregon’s stagnant economy.
As proponents of the stadium-financing bill have been quick to point out, the legislation is the only proposal before the
Senate this session that promotes significant economic activity.
Anybody who thinks bringing a MLB team to Portland won’t make an economic impact is kidding themselves.
First, construction jobs will be created to build a new stadium. And, according to the Portland Baseball Group’s Web
site, more than 200 full-time jobs and more than 1,400 part-time positions would be available to work at the stadium or
in the organization of a Portland MLB team.
Second, wherever the stadium goes up will immediately be an attractive area for new businesses to build. That’s been
the case in other MLB cities such as Denver, Cleveland and Baltimore, where districts surrounding the stadiums have
become as popular as Harry & David pears.
Third, Portland — and, hence, Oregon — would see its tourism appeal enhanced. With more out-of-staters visiting
the Rose City, Southern Oregon could even get in on the buzz by stepping up its advertising in Portland of the Rogue
River, Shakespeare Festival and other draws unique to this region.
When all is said and done, no matter how much some people down here despise Portland and its influence on all of Oregon,
anything that helps the economy up there has to have some kind of positive effect on the economy down here.
I’m no Alan Greenspan, but that seems logical to me.
Portland and Oregon are ready to cheer more than one major-league sports team, and an MLB franchise in this state
makes the most sense.
The Portland metropolitan area, at 2.2 million people, is the largest market in the United States with only one major
sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) franchise. Portland is also third in the country (behind only Los Angeles and New York) in
people per big-league franchise, according to the Portland Baseball Group site.
Add in support from the rest of the state — which, like with the Trail Blazers, would predominately happen —
and you’ve got plenty of fans.
Baseball is the way to go because its season doesn’t overlap much with the NBA (unlike the NHL); because it’s a
sport where there are no major competing interests (such as the Oregon and Oregon State football teams); because it is
the game of summer, and that season is Oregon’s finest (just imagine a summer day, microbrew in hand, at a brand-new
Portland ballpark).
The major leagues are also ripe with teams considering a possible move, with the Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins and
Tampa Bay Devil Rays reportedly next in line after the Expos.
What it all comes down to is that big-league baseball in Portland makes a whole lot of sense — to the city, to the
state, to everyone.
And free, as the stadium-financing plan is to the taxpayers, is a very good price.
Still, Oregon Senators have said they receive as much as 10 times more negative correspondence than positive, in relation
to the baseball bill.
To show your support for bringing the MLB to Portland, e-mail Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Jacksonville, a member of the Senate
Rules Committee, at sen.jasonatkinson@state.or.us.
Tell him you, like me, want Oregon to play ball.
Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail
tpyle@mailtribune.com
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