Design goal for Major League Soccer: Old school is cool

It won’t have the sparkle of 4-year-old Toyota Park outside Chicago or brand-new Red Bull Arena outside New York City. But the people remodeling PGE Park hope to send a message to the city and beyond when the stadium becomes a Major League Soccer venue next year: Old school is cool.

As a result, the park will not have the hyperabundance of modern conveniences in new parks, such as more concession stands and a plentitude of bathrooms. But the charm of city-owned PGE Park and its downtown location make it more than worth the $31 million the city will spend to rejuvenate it, Timbers backers say.

“It’s the culture that we have, that we’ve built up around there. It’s a lovable old stadium,” said Garrett Dittfurth, 31, a Southeast Portland member of the supportive fan brigade that calls itself the Timbers Army. “It’s that car you had when you were growing up; it has the pickup of a golf cart, but you still love it.”

— Excerpt from OregonLive.com, April 10, 2010