MLS in Portland a go, but Beavers baseball still stymied

Soccer: 4. Baseball: 0.

A deal to renovate PGE Park for Major League Soccer will have at least four “yeas” when it comes up for a vote next week, with all Portland city commissioners except Amanda Fritz saying Wednesday they would support it.

Left unresolved is what will happen to the Portland Beavers Triple-A baseball team, which will play in the ballpark this year but must find a new home after that.

Merritt Paulson, who owns both the Beavers and the Timbers soccer team, told council members that his goal “has been and still is to keep the Beavers in Portland or the Portland area for years to come.”

He said his company has advanced three unsuccessful plans for a new Beavers ballpark — Memorial Coliseum, Lents Park and Beaverton.

“When it comes to the future of the Beavers, I am a willing and eager partner; a willing financial partner, business partner and community partner as well. But to succeed, I also need a willing and eager government partner,” Paulson said.

— Excerpt from OregonLive.com, January 27, 2010