Talks heat up over plan to bring baseball stadium to Beaverton

At an afternoon press conference on Tuesday, the Oregon Sports Authority officially launched their campaign in support of moving the Beavers to Beaverton

By Ed Johnson

The Beaverton Valley Times, Aug 20, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

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The hits for Triple-A “Beaverton Beavers” baseball — and the possible construction of a stadium — just keep on coming.

This week saw the launch of the Oregon Sports Authority’s official campaign to bring the Beavers to Beaverton and a presentation at council that forecasted a new dynamic: a multi-use stadium as the central feature for wide-ranging downtown redevelopment.

Opponents of a stadium at the former Westgate Theatre site, near The Round at Beaverton Central in downtown, also continued their public campaign against that option. They also raised concerns about why the city hasn’t been forthcoming with all of the possible stadium locations.

Beaverton city officials said nearly a month ago that they were interested in attracting the Beavers, a Triple-A baseball team owned by Merritt Paulson, which will be forced out of Portland’s PGE Park due to the expansion of a Major League Soccer franchise in 2011. Any baseball stadium construction would involve both public and private financing.

A new campaign

At an afternoon press conference on Tuesday, held on the Beaverton High School baseball field, the Oregon Sports Authority officially launched its campaign in support of moving the Portland Beavers to Beaverton.

The statewide nonprofit organization advocates for Oregon’s professional and amateur sports activities. Drew Mahalic, Oregon Sports Authority’s chief executive officer, said group’s funding comes from more than 100 corporate donors, among them is Paulson, who also sits on the organization’s board of directors.

The campaign, Mahalic said, will attempt to grow and publicize community support for the new stadium in a “grassroots” fashion. He said the organization will visit Beaverton businesses to garner their help and will also give away materials such as signs, stickers and buttons for those who wish to publicly display their support for moving the Beavers to Beaverton.

A Web site, www.beavers2beaverton.com, was also created to be a sort of clearinghouse for those who support the campaign.

“We feel strongly that Triple-A baseball is a treasured community asset — one that will undoubtedly flourish in an intimate new ballpark in the heart of Beaverton,” Mahalic said. “But this is about more than baseball — it’s about creating a sense of community and giving Beaverton and Washington County a central gathering place for events, concerts and youth and amateur sports.”

Part of the campaign includes the creation of a 39-member advisory board, which includes prominent local business leaders.

On Wednesday, the Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce also announced its support of baseball development in the city, specifically of a “multi-use” venue.

Mahalic said that bringing the Beavers to Beaverton would be his organization’s top priority for the next two months and that around a dozen staffers were working on the project.

Others showing support for the plan Tuesday were state Rep. Tobias Read; Gary Rowell, administrator for Oregon Little League District 4; and Harvey Platt of Platt Electric, who was part of group that tried to bring a Major League Baseball team to Portland in 2001.

Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle expressed his gratitude for the additional support for his plan for the baseball team. He stressed the need to keep considering the community’s needs and wants as the process moved forward.

“I would not be a leader if we did not take a look at [a possible stadium],” he said.

The crowd at the event, about 50, included a large section of tenants from BG Plaza, who are opposed to the only publicly confirmed potential site at the former Westgate Theatre site.

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