Letting Portland in on a secret

Merritt Paulson’s friends and family quickly speak of the 34-year-old’s energy when describing the new majority owner of the Portland Beavers. Paulson will need all that zeal as he begins the task of invigorating a franchise that has had three owners in six years and has struggled to find a better niche in a market dominated by the Trail Blazers and the Pacific-10 Conference.

Tonight at PGE Park, Paulson begins his work to change the image of the Beavers even as he weighs whether he should change the name of the team.

He devised tonight’s “Grand Reopening” to raise community interest in his baseball and soccer teams. Players from the Beavers and the Portland Timbers will greet fans before the 7:05 p.m. game and distribute envelopes with cash or gift cards to the first 1,000 fans.

 – Excerpt from The Oregonian, July 20, 2007