Portland Timbers against the Chicago Fire

PORTLAND, OREGON-MARCH 16, 2014 -- Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Chara (21) gets tripped up as the Timbers fall behind in the first half against the Chicago Fire at Providence Park. The turf at Providence Park was replaced between November and January after testing revealed that a soccer ball wouldn't bounce to Major League Soccer specifications. Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

When the Portland Timbers and city officials negotiated a complicated stadium deal to secure a Major League Soccer franchise, both sides expected that new artificial turf installed for the 2011 soccer season wouldn't be replaced until 2019.

They were wrong.

After just three seasons, the Timbers in January replaced the synthetic turf because of performance concerns about how the soccer ball bounced. The team will bill Portland for costs up to $343,363

At the same time, city officials agreed to pay the Timbers nearly $4 million through 2035 to help cover costs of turf replacement that is now expected every two years. The new arrangement, approved this month, defines the city's long-term financial commitment and eliminates its original promise to replace turf anytime it failed.

Timbers turf replacement

The city on March 6 agreed to new financial terms to help cover the cost of turf replacement at Providence Park. Here's what the city will contribute each fiscal year:

2011: $25,000

2012: $103,000

2013: $106,090

2014: $109,273

2015: $112,551

2016: $115,927

2017: $119,405

2018: $122,987

2019: $126,667

2020: $130,477

2021: $134,392

2022: $138,423

2023: $142,576

2024: $146,853

2025: $151,259

2026: $155,797

2027: $160,471

2028: $165,285

2029: $170,243

2030: $175,351

2031: $180,611

2032: $186,029

2033: $191,610

2034: $197,359

2035: $203,279

The upside of the revised deal: It caps the amount Portland will have to contribute in coming years. But it’s impossible to know if Portland will come out ahead because city officials didn’t calculate their expected costs under the old arrangement.

And what becomes of the discarded city-owned turf?

In a twist, it's now part of a plan to build a new futsal field at an east Portland park and name the field in honor of the Portland Timbers.

'Single-best artificial surface'

Rowdy Portland Timbers fans packed into Portland City Hall in 2009 when officials began negotiating a deal to renovate what was then called PGE Park. A year later, the City Council approved a $31 million renovation deal and a lengthy stadium operating agreement that included responsibilities for turf replacement.

During the Timbers’ first three seasons as a Major League Soccer franchise, team officials boasted annually about their artificial field. Of the league’s 19 teams, only four play in stadiums with artificial surfaces.

"We continue to have what I believe to be the single-best artificial surface for pro soccer in the United States," Merritt Paulson, the team owner, said in 2012.

In March 2013, the team's senior vice president of operations, Ken Puckett, echoed his boss, calling it the "top artificial playing surface for professional soccer in North America."

But seven months later, after another season of wear and tear, Portland no longer had such bold bragging rights.

An outside firm hired by the Timbers tested the field in October. The company found the turf passed safety tests but failed certain performance standards for how the ball should bounce and roll, compared to a grass field.

Major League Soccer requires that artificial fields pass those tests, said Susan Marschall, a league spokeswoman.

“You want the ball to play as natural as possible, just so it’s the same in every stadium,” she said.

Under terms of the city's original deal with the Timbers, Portland agreed to pay all costs for field replacement every eight years. If the turf failed before that, the city was responsible for 80 percent of the costs and the Timbers would pick up 20 percent.

City officials say they don’t know how much that deal would have cost through 2035 because no one came up with an estimate.

“There were no specific cost estimates for either the first turf replacement, or the cost over the life of the agreement,” Abby Coppock, a city spokeswoman, said in an email.

Under the revised deal, approved administratively March 6 without a City Council vote, the city will make escalating annual contributions totaling nearly $3.6 million for turf replacement.

In addition, the city will cover half the cost to replace the shock pad beneath the turf, which should be replaced twice at an estimated cost of about $335,000.

Ticket revenues strong for Portland

The city of Portland collects a 7-percent ticket tax on most sporting events at Providence Park, home to the Portland Timbers. Over the past three years, the city has collected about $500,000 more than the minimum guaranteed as part of the stadium renovation deal.

2011

Minimum: $612,500

Actual: $675,153

2012

Minimum: $626,500

Actual: $751,898

2013

Minimum: $640,920

Actual: $962,092

Money for the projects will come from a city fund that collects parking fees and ticket taxes from sporting events at Providence Park and the Rose Quarter.

Susan Hartnett, who managed the effort, said the city “drove a hard bargain.”

“Flexibility for them,” she said of the revision. “Certainty for us.”

Replacement costs unknown, undisclosed

While Portland may have certainty on its costs, city officials apparently have no idea how much the Timbers spent to replace the turf.

Portland has now agreed to kick in $343,363 through June to cover turf replacement. The Timbers have yet to invoice the city for the work.

Hartnett said she doesn’t know how much the latest turf replacement cost, although she said she heard an early estimate of up to $450,000.

Mike Golub, chief operating officer for the Timbers, declined to say how much the organization spent replacing the turf. Told of Hartnett's figure, he said: "It's probably light."

Without providing specifics, Golub said the Timbers will “bear the majority of the cost” over the life of the turf deal.

“I applaud the city,” he said. “They’re being nimble and practical, and those aren’t words you typically associate with any city.”

-- Brad Schmidt