Page B3
January 19,2000
(Ehe 'Portlanh (¡Observer
_JJorllnni>
/Sports
( O t lB l'l
M U B H M M ¡M i
Jefferson, Benson
rivals will play at
bigger facility
COM KIBl I U )M O m
fob T l i t
P ortland O bserver
T he Jefferson vs. Benson boys basketball series is m oving to the C hiles
Center.
In a m ove to accom m odate larger crow ds, the Portland Interscholastic
L eague will play both gam es this season betw een the undefeated, top-
ranked D em ocrats and No. 5 T echm en at the 5,000-seat facility on the
U niversity o f Portland cam pus.
The first game will be played at 7:45 p.m. on Friday January 2 1.
T he other league gam e is scheduled for W ednesday, Feb. 23.
T ickets, priced at $5 adults and $2 for students, will go on sale at each
school later this week, and at theC hilesC enterticket office Friday night,
said G reg Ross, PIL athletic director.
“ W e tried to do this last year, but it d id n ’t work out,” Ross said. “ We
knew their gam es with each other w ould sell out, but then w e co u ld n ’t
find another place to play.”
Last season’s two gam es sold out early, draw ing estim ated crow ds o f
1,800 at Benson and 1,850 at Jefferson, Ross said.
This season, "W e w aited to see how Jefferson w as draw ing
and they
have been draw ing big crow ds right from the start — and to see what
kind o f team Benson had. Benson w as ranked fifth, so w e figured we
better find another place to play.”
About a month ago, Ross said he began trying to find a larger neutral
site. T he Chiles C enter w as the first choice, “since it’s a great place for
a high school gam e, and it’s also convenient,” Ross said.
W hen University o f Portland officials last w eek agreed to play host to
the two gam es, both PIL team s w ere excited, Ross said.
“T he only hesitation w as if only one gam e w ould be played there, and
that m eant giving up the hom e advantage to one team ,” Ross said. “ But
w ith both gam es there, neither has an advantage or disadvantage.”
Both Jefferson-Benson gam es will be preceded by a girls gam e, starting
at6 p .m .
Jefferson's gam e at G rant on Friday w as a sellout, forcing the PIL to sell
tickets days in advance. An earlier Jefferson gam e at Lincoln drew a
near-capac ity crow d.
BBBBb
Portlands WNBA team, 'Fire' unveils logo
V O M RIBL TED STUBS
On January 14 ,2 0 0 0 , the look o f the
city ’s newest team w as revealed in a
special celebration at the RoseG arden
Choosing a nam e w hich represents
the energy, intensity and em otion the
franchise intends to bring the city,
Portland's W NBA expansion team
revealed the logo and look o f the team
w hich reflects those characteristics.
“FIRE is what I look for in a player
and it’s w hat all fans will see in this
team ,” H ead C oach and G eneral
M anager Linda H argrove promises.
“I c a n ’t think o f a better w ord to
describe the intensity 1 expect this
team to bri ng to the floor every night.”
Support for the W NBA by the
P o rtla n d c o m m u n ity h a s b e e n
unparalleled and w ill likely continue
to grow as the franchise builds on its
new identity.
“FIRE describes not just the intensity
o f the team, but also the fervor o f our
fans, w ho h av e been ex trem ely
supportive o f our local sports team s
for m any, many years,” added Harry
Hutt, Trial B lazers’ Senior VP o f
M arekting O perations.
Participants in the event include
Linda H argrove, FIRE Head Coach?
G e n e ra l
M a n a g e r,
C oquese
W ashington, the F IR E ’s fifth round
pick in the 1999 expansion draft (and
a form er Portland Power players),
Sandi Bittler, FIRE V ice President o f
B usiness O perations, Harry Hutt,
Trail B lazers' Senior VP, M arketing
O p e ra tio n s, K ari S h an k lin , F ire
Prevention Specialist from Gresham
Fire Departm ent, and C om m issioner
Jim F rancessconi, a city council
m em ber since 1996.
T he celebration w ill be held for the
approxim ately 6,500 season ticket
holders, sponsors and special guests
w ho helped bring the franchise to
Portland. Shooting contests, video
m g n n g n t s , a u t o g r a p h s e s s io n s , a n d
e x c ite m e n tp r io r to th e u n v e ilin g a n d
other interactive events will build
will continue after the identity is
revealed to create
an exciting, fun-
f ille d e v e n t fo r
e v e ry o n e
in
a tte n d a n c e .
A
p u b lic
lo g o
u n v e ilin g
is
scheduled to take
p la c e la te r th is
month.
The new FIRE
mark consists ofthe
distinctive WNBA
tw o-tone basketball represented in
white and gold with stylized red flames
licking the ball. T he typography
sizzles with its strong and powerful
font with internal accents o f red and
a gold drop shadow.
The FIRE joins the Seattle Storm,
Miani Sol, and Indiana Fever as the
W N B A ’s four expansion teams this
summ er. Portland and Seattle will
com pete in the L eague’s W estern
Conference, while indianaand Miami
will play in the Eastern Conference.
All Portland hom e gam es will be
played at the Rose Garden.
NBA Standings
Western Conference
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courtesy
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vs .
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