No. 4 Merritt Paulson

Merritt Paulson

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian)

The Portland Timbers will field their own USL Pro team based in the Portland Area starting in the 2015 season.

Timbers owner Merritt Paulson tweeted the news earlier today.

Have gotten excited about launching our own USL Pro team locally & its impact on development. We will go that route next yr. Details 2 come. — Merritt Paulson (@MerrittPaulson) September 18, 2014

The USL Pro team is not expected to play its home matches at Providence Park, but will train at the adidas Timbers Training Center, a team source told The Oregonian.

The organization has already decided on a name and logo for their USL Pro squad, but has not yet publicly announced any details about the new team.

MLS is requiring that teams have a USL Pro affiliate or field a USL Pro team of their own by next season.

This season, the Timbers have been affiliated with USL Pro club Sacramento Republic.

-- Jamie Goldberg | @jamiebgoldberg