Page A6
May 2, 2001
¿Etje ÿkirManh (líbsm ier
Seats Fill For PGE Park Season Opener
Monday about 20.000 fans took to
the seats to welcome the return of
Triple A baseball and the Portland
Beavers. It was the first event for a
newly renovated stadium.
“It’s the great meeting place in Port­
land,” says Bob Higgins, a retired gov­
ernment auditor w ho's now the self-
styled curator o f the stadium.
In 1957, Elvis Presley played a con­
cert on the infield, nding into the sta­
dium on a white convertible Cadillac
and wearing his famous gold lame’
suit, to the shrieks o f teen-age girls
Sports have always had the run of
the place, however. Jack Dempsey
fought an exhibition at Multnomah
Stadium, and Pele’ played his last pro­
fessional soccer game there. Now, new
memories are about to be made with the
return o f the Portland Beavers. The
Triple-A farm team o f the San Diego
Padres will christen the newly reno­
vated PGE Park on Monday night.
To make way for the Beavers, the
stadium has undergone a $38.5 million
renovation. Modem amenities have
been added, like luxury suites, and a
new artificial surface called NexTurf-
the same material used at Veterans
Stadium in Philadelphia - has replaced
Civic’s worn-out rug.
But the best additions were made
with the past m mind: A hand-operated
scoreboard, with a huge clock and red
“PGE Park’ ’ letters on top, looms in left
field. Ivy has been planted on the gray
wall out in center, and the rows of
bleacher - made from 1920s Douglas fir
- have been painted forest green.
Concourses, restrooms and con­
cession areas have been completely
rebuilt, and such throwback fixtures as
newsstands, an organ and shoeshine
vendors will heighten the game-day
experience for fans. “Nostalgia is in,"
says Marshall Glickman, chiefexecu­
tive officer o f Portland Family Enter­
tainment, which owns the Beavers and
struck a deal with the city to run the
stadium if the city paid for most o f the
overhaul. The team is trying to capital­
ize on the popularity the “Lucky Bea­
A $38 million renovation transforms Portland's downtown stadium into a magnificent ballpark with a new state-of-the-art turf luxury seats and amedities such as the Widmer Café. The
vers” enjoyed before the N BA ’s Trail
stadium's revamped concourse adds many new concessions and restrooms. Spec factors also get a free look from the sidewalk where barriers once hindered the view along the left field
Blazers arrived in 1970.
(P hotos by D avid G iezyng /T he P ortland O bserver )
bleachers.
Please join in a very
important public meeting
1-5 lmProvg>r
Open House
May 10, 2001
4:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Drop in anytime!
Express B u s
S e rv ic e
Community Forum & Task Force Meeting
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Participate in the evening’s agenda!
DoubleTree Hotel • Portland Lloyd Center
1000 NE Multnomah, Portland, OR
Just think: Your son
is b rig h t, h e a lth y
a n d h e a d e d fo r
college one day You
love the direction your
career has taken. You're doing a lot o f the things you planned
We need your help to narrow
the lis t o f improvement options
and even a few you didn't. Living life to the fullest is easy when
Fourth""“ ’.
Please come
and share y o u r thoughts, opinions and observations.
Learn more about
the Partnership and help us plan
for our transportation future.
Children are welcome.
For translation services or more information, please call
503-731-8565 or 360-905-2054
TDD: 800-735-2900
www:i-5partnership.com
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