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Portland, OR Portland, Oregon is a city that has so many things that make it unique; it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the city for only one reason. Straddling the banks of the Willamette River just before the north-flowing river dumps into the Columbia, Portland’s most common nickname is “The Rose City”, a moniker that describes the city well. The famous International Rose Test Garden (400 SW Kingston Ave; 503/823-3636) has more than 500 varieties of roses, and sits on a high overlook over the city. The Test Garden is a part of Forest Park, the largest city park in the United States at over 5,000 acres. Just to cover the extremes, though, Portland also has the smallest city park in the world: Mill Ends Park (on Front Avenue at SW Taylor) is 24 inches in diameter, containing approximately 452 square inches of land. The shops and attractions that can be found in and around downtown best define Portland’s culture. The Classical Chinese Garden (NW 3rd and Everett 503-228-8131) is an authentic Suzhou-style garden, and is considered one of the best examples of Japanese gardens anywhere in the United States. A dozen museums dot the downtown area, with the most popular being the Oregon History Center (1200 SW Park, 503-222-1741), the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (1945 SE Water Ave., 503-797-4000) and the Portland Art Museum (219 SW Park Ave, 503-226-2811). Portland is also famous for its microbrews, and over 40 different kinds can be found in restaurants in the downtown area. Outside cafes are common along downtown sidewalks, which also feature bronze bubbling water fountains that are nearly 100 years old, weather forecasting machines, and Pioneer Square, a plaza that is also known as “Portland’s living room”. NW 23rd Avenue has some of the most unique restaurants and shops anywhere in the northwest, and is often compared to New York’s Greenwich Village. This is also the center of “The Simpsons” universe, as Portland native Matt Groening drew many of his character’s names from this small section of town. Lovejoy Street, Kearney Street, Flanders Street, and Quimby Street all cross 23rd Avenue, with Terwilleger Boulevard being found a few miles to the south. Portland is also a city that loves its books. Ranking 2nd in the United States in books purchased per capita, it’s hardly surprising that the largest bookstore in the United States would be located here. Powell’s City of Books (1005 West Burnside, 503-228-0540) encompasses an entire city block and has over 1 million new and used books. Almost all of the attractions listed above can be reached by either the MAX light-rail system (www.tri-met.org), or the Portland Streetcar (www.portlandstreetcar.org). The MAX light-rail system covers nearly 40 miles, and consists of two lines that run roughly east-west. The blue line runs from Hillsboro in the west, under Forest Park, through downtown Portland and the Rose Quarter, and all the way out to Gresham in the far east suburbs. A ride from Hillsboro to Gresham will take you close to the Nike World Campus, which is located in the western suburb of Beaverton. Later you will pass under Forest Park as you enter the Washington Park station, the deepest transit station in North America at 290 feet below the station entrance, and gives you easy access to the Oregon Zoo, Forestry Center, and the Children's Museum. As MAX enters downtown, you will pass PGE Park (see PGE Park section below) as the line turns east into downtown. Eastbound MAX runs along SW Yamhill Street (with the westbound line passing through downtown on SW Morrison just a block north). At SW 6th Avenue and again at 5th Avenue, MAX crosses the Portland Streetcar route, which runs roughly northwest to southeast from NW 23rd Avenue to Portland State University. As MAX turns north again briefly you will pass through the Old Town district, then will cross over the Steel Bridge, one of the oldest bridges of it’s type in the United States, built in 1912. A quick look to the south and to the northwest as you cross the Willamette River will make another of Portland’s nicknames very apparent: “The City of Bridges”. Nine bridges of various styles and ages cross the Willamette within a few miles of downtown. As you come down off the Steel Bridge you will enter the Rose Quarter, home of the Rose Garden sports arena, which is the home of the NBA’s Trailblazers, as well as many home games for Portland’s junior hockey team, the Winter Hawks. Next door to the Rose Garden is Memorial Coliseum, which hosts the rest of the Winter Hawks games as well as various other events. The Rose Quarter has built up in the past few years, with the Convention Center’s two distinct towers rising up just to the south, and many restaurants found within a few blocks of the Rose Garden. From here the blue line continues along I-84, and eventually to the eastern suburb of Gresham. At the Gateway Transit Center, the red line splits off to the north, where it provides a link to Portland International Airport. The red line trains will take you all of the way into downtown from the airport, with a transfer to a blue line train needed to go to PGE Park or any of the western suburbs. To the northeast, the Columbia River Gorge is one of the most spectacular drives anywhere in the United States, with 620-foot high Multnomah Falls just 45 minutes from downtown. Also, the rocky and picturesque Oregon Coast is just an hour and a half to the west. A well-planned day could hit all of these natural attractions, but don’t forget, dry streets in Portland doesn’t mean that you won’t need snow chains on your tires to get up to Mt. Hood. For good measure, you could complete your day with a visit to Mt. Tabor Park (SE 60th & Salmon). Mt. Tabor is an extinct volcano, making Portland one of only two U.S. cities to have an extinct volcano within its boundaries, the other being Bend, Oregon. Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers tradition goes back to their entry into the NASL in 1975. The first-year Timbers won the Pacific Division that year and made it all the way to Soccer Bowl ‘75 before falling to Tampa Bay 2-0 in San Jose. The Timbers had quickly won their way into the hearts of Portland soccer fans, though, and the team would average over 20,000 fans a match for their second season. Along the way, the Timbers also found their soccer icon in Timber Jim, who emerged as the team’s mascot with his chainsaw and his tree-climbing during the matches. The NASL Timbers never repeated the success of the 1975 season, but they did make it to the semifinals in 1978 before falling to the Cosmos. The Timbers would play eight seasons in the NASL before folding after the 1982 season. The Timbers re-emerged in 1989 when F.C. Portland of the Western Soccer Alliance changed their name to the Timbers for the 1989 season after four seasons under the F.C. Portland name. University of Portland star Scott Benedetti would lead the league in scoring in 1988, but the Timbers folded again after the 1990 season. During the years when Portland did not have a home team, they solidified their reputation as “Soccer City USA” with several international soccer events. In 1997, the US National Men’s team played a World Cup Qualifier against Costa Rica at Civic Stadium (later renamed PGE Park), and an overflow crowd saw an important American victory, and many of the players described the Portland crowd as the most fanatical crowd they had ever seen. In 1999, the Women’s World Cup used Portland as a host for four first round games, and even though no American or Canadian teams were involved, crowds of over 16,000 for two of the matches and over 20,000 for the other two solidified Portland’s soccer reputation. Portland had it’s first entry into the United Soccer Leagues in 1995 when the Palo Alto Firebirds moved to Portland, but they had trouble finding a place to play, and after one disastrous season in Portland, they would move to greener pastures further south in the Willamette Valley. They later emerged as the Willamette Valley Firebirds, who played in the USL’s Premier Development League in 1996, 1999, and 2000 before disbanding. The Firebirds did reach the PDL final four in 1999 behind the scoring of Oregon soccer legend Joey Leonetti and Oregon State star Greg Howes. In 1999, an agreement between Portland Family Entertainment and the city of Portland was announced that would provide a $36 million dollar facelift to Civic Stadium, and would bring a AAA baseball team, as well as an A-League soccer team to Portland. Shortly afterwards, the new A-League team was announced though there was never any doubt in the minds of Portland soccer fans that the team would indeed be called the Timbers. As the 2001 season approached, it became clear that the Timbers intended to compete in the A-League right form the start. All-time A-League scoring leader Mark Baena was brought on to give the scoring punch, along with the Seattle Sounders scoring tandem of Greg Howes and Darren Sawatzky. Promising young American players such as goalkeeper Matt Napoleon and Matt Chulis were brought in, and familiar names from Portland’s soccer history was brought into the fold as Scott Benedetti would once again wear the Timbers uniform, and fellow University of Portland star Brian Winters was also brought in. Joey Leonetti was also looking to add a local flavor to the Timbers side before he blew out his Achilles during an exhibition against the same Pilots team that he once played for. Even Timbers icon Timber Jim was back in the fold. The Timbers also looked for international players as they brought in Gavin Wilkinson (New Zealand), Keith Costigan (Ireland), Brent Sancho and Darin Lewis (Trinidad and Tobego), Jesus Ochoa (Mexico), Jeff Clarke (Canada), and Michael O’Neill (Northern Ireland), though some had played at US colleges. They used their only draft pick to pick up Kyrgyzstan-born Vadim Tolstolutsky from Seattle Pacific University. The 2001 Timbers came out of the gate quickly, winning their first home match at PGE Park 2-0 over the Sounders, and were 8-3-1 on July 9, as well as a 2-1 exhibition win over the eventual MLS champion San Jose Earthquakes. A stretch of seven road games out of eight matches brought the streak to a halt. The Timbers would make a late run to the playoffs, though, finishing 3rd in the Western Conference, and would win their first round playoff match against Charlotte before falling to Hershey in the 2nd round. The Timbers did have success at the gate though, averaging 5,974 per game, good enough for 2nd in the league. There was much uncertainty before the 2002 season when many of the Timbers best players were released. Starters Mark Baena, Darren Sawatzky, Greg Howes, Matt Chulis, and Jeff Clarke were all released, along with many reserves. Optimism returned, though, as the Timbers signed Los Angeles Galaxy prospect McKinley Tennyson, D3 MVP Fadi Afash, former San Diego Flash players Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and Chugger Adair, and acquired University of Washington players Bryn Ritchie, Ben Somoza, and Jake Sagare via the A-League draft. After another exhibition win over the eventual MLS champions, once again by a 2-1 score, this time over the Los Angeles Galaxy, the team got off to a slow start, with Tennyson in a scoring slump and Fadi Afash injured. Five games into the season, though, Afash was healthy again, and the Timbers re-acquired Greg Howes. The Timbers began to rise from the basement after their 0-5-1 start. They then went 13-6-2 over the remainder of the season and finished on a 9-4 run into the playoffs. Tennyson and Afash would each score 18 goals to share the goal-scoring title, with Tennyson winning the league scoring title (total goals and assists). The season ended just like it began, though, with Afash injured and Tennyson in a scoring slump as the Timbers lost in the first round of the playoffs to Vancouver by identical 1-0 scores in Portland and Vancouver. The Timbers did see larger crowds in their second season, with an average per game of 6,261. The ownership situation for the Timbers for the 2003 season is uncertain, with Portland Family Entertainment apparently about to lose control of the Timbers and PGE Park but all indications are that the Timbers will return for the 2003 season, once again exciting the crowds that have given Portland the nickname of “Soccer City USA”. PGE Park Capacity: 20,000 Colors: White, Timber Green, Black. Honors: A-League Quarterfinalist 2001, McKinley Tennyson – 2002 A-League Scoring Champion Directions: By MAX (from the west): By MAX (from the east): From I-5 south: From I-5 north: From I-84 west: From US 26 east: From the airport:
Parking: Private lots: There will be private companies selling spots in their lots along Burnside, Morrison, Taylor, and Salmon Streets, to the north and east of the stadium, and will normally go for $5 or $6. Meters: There are also parking meters along Salmon Street that are $.60 per hour with a five hour maximum. Look for the meters labeled “Long Term”. These spots are usually gone ½ hour before game time so get there early. Refreshers: The Bitter End Pub Inside the stadium, the concession stands along the concourse provide the usual fare of beer, sodas, hot dogs, nachos, pizza, and candy. The pizza is better than average as it is Pizzicato’s, among the best pizza in town. The best fare inside the stadium can be found at the Widmer Brothers field-level pub, which is in front of the stands on the west side of the stadium. Waiters will serve you at your table there, and they have a good selection of beer and other spirits, and the grill that is located inside the pub area has great burgers, hot dogs, and sausages, as well as beans and potato salad.
Fan Culture: Portland soccer fans are a very soccer-savvy bunch. You will also see many fans of the NASL Timbers who have come back to follow the latest incarnation of the Timbers. On the Web: Official Timbers site: www.portlandtimbers.com Timber Rattlers: www.soccercityusa.com/timbers Timbers Fan Page: www.timbersfanpage.com Timberlog: www.users.qwest.net/%7Edallen3/timbers.html Timbers Army: www.timbersarmy.com Cascade Rangers: www.cascaderangers.com
On the air: Around Town Bars & Pubs The Horse Brass Pub Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub
Pizzicato Gourmet Pizza Campbell’s Bar-B-Q Hayden Island Steak House Thai Orchid Pastini Pastaria Helvetia Tavern Hotels & Accommodations Any of these downtown hotels should be close to MAX or the Portland Streetcar, and within a mile or so of PGE Park: Any hotels listed in the “Rose Quarter” are also within easy reach of MAX. Some hotels in Beaverton and Hillsboro are also near MAX stations on the west side (check individual hotel listings). If you have a car available, you can usually find good hotel prices in Tigard, Tualatin, or Beaverton, then take route 217 north or 26 eastbound to Sunset Transit Center, and take MAX to the stadium from there (15 minutes). |