Portland native Laura Eddings has seen many iterations of Providence Park over the years. She watched Portland State Vikings football games at the stadium in the 1990s and Portland Beavers games in the early 2000s. She bought season tickets when the Portland Timbers moved to MLS and converted the park to a soccer-specific stadium in 2011.

Yet, she was still in awe when she stepped out from the concourse into the north end of Providence Park Saturday night and looked up at the new east side of the stadium for the first time.

“It’s amazing," Eddings said. "I think a lot of people will be in awe if they haven’t seen it. I know I’m in awe.”

Over the last two years, the Timbers have poured $85 million into expanding and upgrading Providence Park, adding 4,000 new seats and three new levels to a completely remodeled east side of the stadium. The organization has also installed two new video boards, added LED field lighting, updated its sound system, upgraded the turf field, remodeled both the Timbers’ and Thorns’ locker rooms, added refreshed concession stands and built a new team store, among other changes.

Fans had a chance to get a first look at the revamped stadium Saturday night when T2, the Timbers’ lower division team, played El Paso Locomotive FC to a 1-1 draw at Providence Park in front of 3,134 fans. It was the first game at the stadium since last November.

The new east side wasn’t open for the match, but fans had the opportunity to look at the new levels from afar, as well as experience the other changes at the stadium. Fans were able to purchase items from new and remodeled concession stands, walk the repainted concourse, watch highlights and replays on the two new video boards and experience the new sound system.

Timbers and Thorns season ticket holder Casey Jones and her husband, Mike Schwartz, came to Saturday’s game to see the new stadium for the first time and to support T2. The couple was pleasantly surprised by the changes to the concourse, which have been less publicized in the media.

After walking through the concourse, the couple made their way to the northeast corner of the stadium to get a close-up look at the new east side.

“It’s so different,” Jones said. “It changes the atmosphere for sure. It will be really exciting to see it when it’s full."

Providence Park will officially reopen on Saturday, June 1 when the Timbers take on LAFC in their home opener. The club is expecting a sold out crowd of 25,218 to pack the expanded stadium. The Thorns will hold their home opener at Providence Park a day later when they take on the Chicago Red Stars.

“I think that will be a telling day,” said Timbers fan Lauren Guynes about next week’s home opener. “I think it will be an exciting day. I’m excited to see how it feels with everybody here.”

Providence Park was first constructed as Multnomah Stadium in downtown Portland in 1926. Over the years, the stadium has hosted a range of different sports, political gatherings, concerts and other big events. The Timbers first came to the stadium in 1975 when they joined the North American Soccer League as an expansion team. The Timbers later returned to the stadium as a lower division USL team in the 2000s. In 2010, the park underwent a massive renovation project to become a soccer-specific stadium ahead of the Timbers’ entrance into MLS in 2011.

Now, Providence Park has once again been transformed. With the new capacity, the Timbers, who have sold out every game since entering MLS, are poised to become one of the top five teams in the league in average attendance.

Schwartz said he can’t wait to hear the cheers of 4,000 new fans and the sound of the drums from the Timbers Army reverberate throughout the revamped stadium next week.

“It’s really big-time now,” Schwartz said. “I’ve been here 10 years. I wasn’t here for the old stadium, but a lot of people I know and a lot of close friends of mine have been here through many of the iterations of this stadium, including some people who have been here for 40, 50 years. To see this place grow up to what it is now, it has got to be a dream for them.”

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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