'Providence Park' sign goes up at the former Jeld-Wen Field

The Portland Timbers already have their name on Providence Park, where they play games. Now the soccer team is negotiating with Portland to have a new futsal field in a city park named after the team.

(The Oregonian)

As an upstart soccer franchise, the Portland Timbers more than etched their name in the city's political and sports lexicon.

Now the team wants to take that name and put it, literally, inside a city park.

City officials are poised to name a new futsal field – where small-scale soccer is played – in honor of the Portland Timbers in exchange for the sports team and Major League Soccer paying for the project, slated for this summer at east Portland's Montavilla Park.

The corporate naming deal would be a first for cash-strapped Portland Parks & Recreation, which rolled out new sponsorship guidelines seven years ago without much interest from the deep-pocketed donors that the city hoped to woo.

In a twist, officials would take the city-owned artificial turf from Providence Park, where the Timbers play, and ship it to Montavilla for the new field.

City and team officials say the proposed deal is a win-win, providing a new field at an aging park and giving the Timbers recognition in the process. But some opponents worry that Portland is willing to rename city property for the highest corporate bidder.

"I don't think we're selling out," said Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees the parks bureau. "We're encouraging partnerships to fund an underfunded system."

Portland Timbers Field

The Timbers have become a major force in city sports and politics since Merritt Paulson, the son of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, landed a Major League Soccer franchise in 2009 and convinced the Portland City Council to spend $11.9 million toward a $31 million stadium renovation.

The organization is now pushing the Montavilla project in advance of the 2014 Major League Soccer All-Star Game Aug. 6 at the city's Providence Park in downtown Portland.

Mike Golub, chief operating officer for the Timbers, said he expects some all-star festivities would be held at the proposed futsal field, at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Glisan Street. The project would convert an existing tennis court into a small-scale outdoor soccer field, known as a futsal field.

Golub said the project represents a “couple hundred thousand dollar investment.” But city and team officials declined to disclose more detailed costs or the proposed sponsorship agreement.

In exchange for the improvements, city officials are considering naming the facility “Portland Timbers Field” at Montavilla Park, Fritz said.

Golub said the Timbers and Major League Soccer want to move forward on the project even if city officials decide against naming the field after the team.

“We’re still in the mode of building fans and reaching kids,” he said. “If we can do good by putting in a new field, but also let people know we were part of it, we’re certainly open to it.”

Parks officials recently presented the concept at a Montavilla Neighborhood Association meeting. It received mixed reviews, said Benjamin Kerensa, who sits on the board.

Some members think the futsal field would pump life into the nearly 10-acre park, acquired by the city in 1921 and home to an outdoor swimming pool and fields for softball and soccer. If futsal becomes a big draw, more families could frequent nearby businesses.

But Kerensa counts himself among the skeptics.

“I just think it’s not ethical to give naming rights to public places,” said Kerensa, who recalls parks in Sacramento, his hometown, being named after civic leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.

Corporate creep

But more and more, local governments are turning to private money to help pay the bills.

From parks in Buncombe County, N.C., to the ball fields in San Diego County, Calif., naming opportunities are available. Two months ago, San Diego County began selling naming rights with the hope of raising $6 million.



Portland has been offering recognition to parks donors for at least a decade, although officials have yet to name a park facility after a corporate entity.

Nike’s ubiquitous swoosh logo appears in some city parks, for instance, thanks to $2.2 million spent by the shoe-maker beginning in 2002 to resurface basketball courts.

In 2006, the city added Freightliner’s name to marketing material for its contribution to the summer concert series.

And in 2009 developer Jordan Schnitzer donated $1.6 million toward construction of a downtown park, which the city named Director Park in honor of his grandparents. Schnitzer contributed an additional $400,000 for a park fountain that he named "Teachers Fountain."

City officials in 2007 crafted guidelines that discourage corporate naming of parks or park facilities. But in recent months, they have made administrative changes that provide more flexibility.

Portlander Lili Mandel is disgusted by the prospect of naming park amenities after corporate sponsors.

Seven years ago, Mandel warned the City Council that it was opening the door to unsavory corporate advertising. Even though the city pledged not to name an entire park after a corporation, Mandel predicted that Portland would begin branding park facilities for sponsors – such as the Banana Republic Gazebo.

Today, she laughs when asked if “Portland Timbers Field” is preferable to naming city property after an upscale clothing store.

“I truly wish that I didn’t turn out to be right,” she said. “I would have preferred to be wrong.”

-- Brad Schmidt