PGE Park

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = PGE Park
nickname = Civic Stadium


location = 1844 SW Morrison
Portland, Oregon 97205
broke_ground = 1925
opened = 1926
renovated = 2001
owner = City of Portland
operator = Shortstop, LLC
surface = NeXturf
construction_cost = US$502,000
architect = A.E. Doyle
former_names = Multnomah Stadium
Civic Stadium
tenants = Portland Beavers (PCL) (1956-Present)
Portland Timbers (USL First Division) (2001-Present)
Portland State University Vikings (NCAA)
Portland Timbers (NASL) (1975-1982)
Portland Storm (WFL) (1974)
Portland Thunder (WFL) (1975)
Portland Breakers (USFL) (1985)
Portland Rockies (NWL) - (1994 - 2000)
Portland Mavericks (NWL) - (1973 - 1977)
seating_capacity = 23,136 (concerts)
19,566 (baseball, soccer)

PGE Park (formerly Civic Stadium, a name still used by locals; originally Multnomah Stadium) is a stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It opened in 1926, and underwent a major renovation in 2001.

The stadium sits on a rectangular block bounded by Southwest Morrison Street (north, third base), Southwest 18th Avenue (east, left field), the Athletic Club building and Southwest Salmon Street (south, right field) and Southwest 20th Avenue (west, first base).

Description

PGE Park is an outdoor, multipurpose stadium which can be configured for baseball, soccer and American football. The playing surface is synthetic turf. The stadium consists of a covered grandstand from foul pole to foul pole, with the length of the football field aligned along the right field foul line. Stands have also stood in both the left and right fields from time to time. PGE Park seats 23,136 for concerts, 19,566 for baseball and soccer. [cite web | title = About PGE Park | publisher = PGE Park | url = http://www.pgepark.com/stadium/about/ | accessdate = 2008-01-01]

The Multnomah Athletic Club, an exclusive athletic club in downtown Portland, stands next door; the windows of the north side of the club's building overlook the field.

The stadium is now owned by the City of Portland, and is managed by Shortstop, LLC, the entity which owns the Portland Beavers. The stadium was renamed for Portland General Electric, which bought the naming rights.

The Interstate 405 freeway in Portland is known locally as the Stadium Freeway and travels near the stadium. In addition, the PGE Park MAX Light Rail station is across the street. The playing surface sits well below street level.

Tenants and major events

Principal current tenants include the Portland Beavers minor-league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (there have been three different teams to bear that name, all of which played in PGE Park), the Portland Timbers, a USL First Division soccer team (and prior teams to bear that name), and the Portland State University Vikings football team.

In addition to its current and prior tenants, the stadium has hosted several other noteworthy events. PGE park was the site of four group matches in the 1999 Women's World Cup and hosted two group matches, two quarterfinals, and both semifinals in the 2003 Women's World Cup. The stadium also hosted an exhibition match of Australian rules football in 1990.

PGE Park is scheduled to host the Triple-A All-Star Game in 2009.

History

The stadium was originally built by the Multnomah Athletic Club in 1926 — though playing fields and earlier stadiums had stood on the site since 1893.cite web | title = PGE Park History | publisher = PGE Park | url = http://www.pgepark.com/stadium/history/ | accessdate = 2008-01-01] The stadium was a popular site for greyhound racing during the Great Depression. In the 1950s, the Portland Beavers moved to the stadium after their original field, Vaughn Street Park, was condemned.

One feature in common with Vaughn Street is a roof that covers almost the entire grandstand, a concession to the rainy Pacific Northwest region.

Up into the early 1960s, the stadium hosted some collegiate games for Oregon and Oregon State football. Typically the schools would play their games versus University of Southern California, University of Washington and some other larger programs during this period because the on-campus facilities were inadequate.

The stadium hosted single-A baseball during two periods when AAA baseball left the city; from 1972 to 1978 it hosted the Portland Mavericks, and 1994 to 2000, the Portland Rockies. The stadium hosted the old Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League from 1975 through 1982, and the USFL's Portland Breakers, as well as the Portland Storm and Portland Thunder of the WFL. In 1977, the then-hugely popular North American Soccer League held its championship game at the stadium between the New York Cosmos and the Seattle Sounders. It was during this championship game that Pelé played his last non-exhibitional game as the Cosmos defeated the Sounders.

On May 27, 1991, the stadium got some national attention when Vancouver Canadians outfielder Rodney McCray, while attempting to catch a fly ball, literally crashed through a wooden advertising behind the warning track; a real-life version of an incident in the fictional book and film, "The Natural". While McCray failed to make the out, he only suffered scrapes and bruises in the incident, and remained in the game. Highlight reels of that play ran for weeks on cable channels such as CNN and ESPN. On August 12, 2006, the Beavers commemorated the event with a Rodney McCray Bobblehead Night, passing out bobbleheads of McCray to fans and renaming right-center field "McCray Alley". [cite news
last=Bachman
first=Rachel
title= An effort at de-fence worth remembering
url=http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1155353118120820.xml&coll=7
work=The Oregonian
date=August 12, 2006
accessdate=2007-01-21]

A $38.5 million renovation took place in 2001, adding new luxury suites and club seats that replaced the seats behind home plate and upgrading the seating and concourse area. The renovation also improved the structural soundness of the facility, and included a state-of-the-art sound system. The renovation also includes some retro-features, such as a manually-operated baseball scoreboard. At that point, the stadium was renamed, with PGE buying naming rights.

On October 27, 2007, PGE Park hosted the highest scoring game in NCAA football history, when the Weber State University Wildcats defeated the PSU Vikings 73-68, a combined point total of 141 points. This point total eclipsed the previous NCAA record of 136 points, set in a 1968 Division III game, and the previous Division I record of 133 points, set in 2004. [cite news
url=http://www.sltrib.com/collegesports/ci_7303564
title=Weber State football: Wildcats earn record-setting win
publisher=Associated Press
date=2007-10-28|accessdate=2007-10-29]

References