PORTLAND, Ore. – Though the 2017 seasons have finished for the Portland Timbers and Thorns FC, action is afoot at Providence Park.

Work has begun on the organization’s $55 million-plus stadium expansion. Designed by Portland-based architecture firm Allied Works, the construction will add approximately 4,000 new seats and a striking new street-level colonnade along the eastern side of the stadium. With workers already prepping and swarming the stadium, here’s a brief overview of some of the work that will take place over the next few months.

Starting soon, Turner Construction will install 228 micropiles to support the three-story superstructure and expansive roof. Each micropile will have an average length of 75 feet. The northeast corner of the field will get a new storm water detention vault and the adidas Timbers Team Store and Thorns FC Team Stores have both been closed. A temporary space for both opened on November 21 along the first level of suites near Gate 4 for the offseason.

Perhaps most noticeably will be the installation of a massive crane that will stay in place for the entire 2018 season. In December/January, a large mobile crane will be positioned on the pitch that will, in turn, build a larger 134-foot-tall tower crane on the eastern side of the stadium. Once that large crane is in place, work will commence to extend the new superstructure from the field level up to the concourse.

Finally, with all the construction work happening, a new FieldTurf field will be installed prior to the 2018 season and again ahead of the 2019 season once the full project is finished.

Follow Timbers.com and our new stadium Twitter handle @ProvidencePark_ for updates throughout the offseason on how the expansion is progressing and more.