Canzano: Seeing the stadium through the trees
Entrepreneurs build things.
Peter Stott scraped together his savings, borrowed some money from a college professor, and took an advance on his insurance policy. While attending Portland State in the late 1960s, Stott used that money to buy a single truck.
He built that into a trucking empire with 1,000 vehicles. It made him one of the largest shipping outfits in the region. Stott sold that company and used the proceeds to buy real estate and go into the timber business.
What I’m saying is, the guy knows how to scale.
Portland State’s spring football game was held on Saturday at “Stott Community Field.” I stood with the athletic department’s top donor for a spell, watching the scrimmage and talking about entrepreneurial vision.
As Stott spoke, I peeked over his left shoulder at the building beyond the field. The “Peter W. Stott Center” has his name on the side of it, too.
“We need to broaden the donor base,” he told me.