Rose Quarter plan shields coliseum

Memorial Coliseum is spared.

The Rose Quarter is officially off the table as a possible site for a new Triple A baseball stadium, Mayor Sam Adams said Wednesday.

The city and the Portland Trail Blazers are negotiating an agreement for redeveloping the area that would take advantage of the coliseum building, perhaps updating or redesigning it, Adams said.

“Our goal is to keep it, at least the skin,” Adams said.

The city should complete the initial agreement with the Blazers within two weeks. But Adams said he hopes to set up a deliberative public conversation that gives people plenty of time to comment, with the goal of putting a revised plan for the Rose Quarter in front of the City Council by the first of the year. That would also include details on how to pay for the projects, he said.

– Excerpt from The Oregonian, May 7, 2009