10 Comments

I’ve asked before, and I will ask again regarding Portland State’s football venue. There’s a city owned stadium within walking distance of the campus with a robust transit system stop. I find it incredible that the current operator can’t find 6 fall Saturday afternoons to allow PSU to play where they traditionally played. I find it equally incredible the city’s (the owner’s) apparent silence on this subject.

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Merritt Paulson doesn't want football cleats on his field. But far cheaper to replace that field every other year at about a million dollars a pop than spend $50+ million on a new small stadium. There is a way to work this thing out but means leadership from the mayor calling Paulson and getting it done. I'm not a Wheeler basher, I know the guy. But he's an executive, running a city requires down and dirty politics. He would have done well as the governor but his skills don't work as a mayor. This is one example of many.

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The problem is that their seasons overlap so the damage is being done while the soccer team is playing. It is more than just replacement of the field. There are other facilities which would be required for home and visiting football teams that the stadium cannot support.

That million dollars for turf comes out of the soccer team's revenues. Unless PSU is going to pay for it, and since when do they have that sort of money, this is a sucker's bet.

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What kind of cleats do the Seahawks and Sounders where in Seattle‘s Lumen Field??

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It's apples and oranges. The stadium owners are the team owners.

That is not the case in Portland.

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Outstanding.

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John, I am an OSU prof and woman's basketball fan, and all the goings on around the transfer portal have left my wife and I confused. What are the rules? Can players come back once in the portal, for example. What are the trends in the PAC12 and nationally? How will this change how coaching is done? What does Rueck think is happening? Seems a ripe place for some Canzano style reporting! Thanks / Steve Strauss

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I'll take a deeper dive on this in the coming week. Yes, players can enter/exit portal. The women's college basketball portal has more than 1000 players in it. Lots of Pac-12 players. But I'll look closer.

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Give Stephen Percy the opportunity to tell you that since he is not a sports expert, he made responsible decisions to hire experts to evaluate PSU sports programs and to identity candidates for the position of athletics director.

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It wouldn’t have cost $61,500 to ask around…

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