Providence Park
Providence Park is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. It is the home of the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Providence Park is currently the oldest facility to be configured as a soccer-specific stadium for use by an MLS team, and is one of the most historic grounds used by any United States professional soccer team. It has existed in rudimentary form since 1893, and as a complete stadium since 1926.
Providence Park has been the home of the Timbers since 1975. The stadium has been host to several major United States soccer events including U.S. national team matches, Soccer Bowl '77, the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, the 2015 NWSL Championship Game, and MLS Cup 2021.
The Portland-based Multnomah Athletic Club was founded in 1891 and soon constructed the stadium for their amateur sports teams beginning in 1893. In 1926, the facility was expanded into a complete stadium, including the upper seating bowl and the wooden benches which can still be found in the park. In 1956, the stadium was renovated in earnest for the first time to reflect its growing usage in the community. In 1966 the City of Portland purchased the park and renamed it Civic Stadium.
It was renovated in 2001 to accommodate the Timbers and the Portland Beavers, while the naming rights of the stadium were purchased by Portland General Electric and it was renamed PGE Park. In 2011, the park underwent renovations again, this time so it could accommodate the Portland Timbers MLS franchise and a year later the stadium name rights were sold, this time to Jeld-Wen. In 2014, the name was changed again to Providence Park after Providence Health & Services bought the naming rights.
A 2019 expansion raised the capacity to 25,218 and added a multi-level facade to the East End. Until 2023, the Portland Timbers sold out every game at Providence Park since moving to MLS in 2011, and the Thorns set a single-game National Women's Soccer League attendance record in August 2019 with a sell-out crowd of the same capacity. In 2019, both clubs ranked among the top ten in attendance among professional soccer teams in the United States and Canada.
Description
Providence Park is an outdoor soccer stadium that houses the MLS Portland Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns. The stadium is owned by the City of Portland and managed by Timbers owner Peregrine Sports, LLC.The stadium sits on a rectangular block bounded by Southwest Morrison Street, Southwest 18th Avenue, the Multnomah Athletic Club building and Southwest Salmon Street, and Southwest 20th Avenue.
The Multnomah Athletic Club, an athletic club in downtown Portland that originally constructed the venue, stands next door; the windows on the north side of the club overlook the field.
The Interstate 405 freeway in Portland is also known locally as the Stadium Freeway and travels near the stadium. In addition, the Providence Park MAX Light Rail station is across the street. The property slopes significantly downhill from the south end to the north end, with the result that the playing surface sits well below street level. The elevation at street level is approximately above sea level.
History
Since 1893, the site had been home to Multnomah Field, which consisted of sports fields with various grandstands. Before the MAC developed the site as an athletic field, it was a large Chinese vegetable garden, supplying produce to much of Portland. In 1912, the distinctive Multnomah Athletic Club, which currently borders the south end of the stadium, was constructed. The overarching stadium was completed in 1926 for $502,000, and named "Multnomah Civic Stadium" after the club.The site was used for college football, cricket matches and greyhound racing. Well into the 1960s, most significant football games hosted by Oregon and Oregon State were held at this site because of its capacity. Oregon played in 107 games at Multnomah/Civic Stadium between 1894 and 1970. The University of Washington played all its road games against Oregon and Oregon State at Multnomah Field/Multnomah Stadium between 1923 and 1924 until 1966 and 1967. The site also hosted the Portland Rose Festival.
In 1956, the Portland Beavers moved to the stadium after their original field, Vaughn Street Park, was condemned. After two attempts for a new domed stadium in Delta Park were defeated by voters in 1964, the city looked to purchase what was already in existence. In 1966, the Multnomah Athletic Club sold the stadium for $2.1 million to the city of Portland, which renamed it "Civic Stadium". The city government rejected several proposed renovation plans, including construction of a 57,000-seat domed stadium, and adding a second deck supported by helium-filled balloons. Prior to the 2011 MLS season, the stadium was renamed "Jeld-Wen Field" from "PGE Park", in a partnership with Klamath Falls-based company Jeld-Wen. Jeld-Wen is a manufacturer of windows and doors, leading to the stadium's nickname, "The House of Pane." In 2014, the stadium was renamed "Providence Park" after a partnership with Providence Health & Services was announced.
Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, summarized the stadium's history: "Providence Park has been home to some of the most iconic moments in Oregon sports history. It also ranks with such classic venues as Wrigley Field and Fenway Park as a stadium that has stood the test of time and that is uniquely part and parcel of the city in which it resides.... Portland is a city that prides itself on its uniqueness. While many major cities have chosen to replace historic sports stadiums with modern domes or complexes, Portland has chosen to retain much of the original architecture and charm of one of architect A.E. Doyle's most beloved creations."
Renovations
1956
The first major renovation to Providence Park after its full construction in 1926 came in 1956, when the Portland Beavers moved to what was then called "Multnomah Stadium", from the dilapidated cross-town Vaughn Street Park. For the first time, permanent East End seating was constructed, as well as a large ticketed section in the southeast corner of the stadium. The East End seats were all constructed above an outfield wall, and box seats were built in the stadium for the first time. Along with the expansion came the demolition of the greyhound racing track, which was constructed in 1933.1982
In November 1980, Portland voters passed a ballot measure that provided the city with a much-needed $9.5 million to improve the foundation, concourse and replace the roof. The money allowed the city to replace the aging roof, adding an extended roofline out of laminated Oregon timber. The new roof covered a much higher percentage of seats and included the construction of a new press box, which was finished by winter 1982.2001
In November 2000, the Portland City Council authorized bonds to finance a renovation of then-Civic Stadium. A $38.5 million renovation took place in 2001, upgrading the seating and concourse area, and adding new luxury suites and club seats. The renovation improved the structural soundness of the facility by adding over 750 tons of steel, and introduced a new sound system. The renovation also included some retro-features, such as a manually operated scoreboard. At that point, PGE bought the naming rights and it became "PGE Park".The 2001 renovation also removed the remaining seats along 18th Avenue and added in the first electronic video board in the park, modernizing the park for soccer and minor-league baseball. The stadium was temporarily expanded for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup with bleachers along the east and south ends to bring soccer capacity from 19,556 to over 28,000. A grass surface was also installed for the tournament over the existing NeXturf artificial surface.
2011
In July 2009, after attempts to both find a new home for an MLS franchise and identify a site for a new home for the Portland Beavers, the Portland City Council approved a $31 million renovation to make PGE Park ready for the 2011 Major League Soccer season, by reconfiguring the stadium primarily for soccer and football. The decision led to the departure of the Beavers.A presentation to the Portland Design Commission indicated that 5,000 seats would be added, bringing capacity to about 22,000, but with only about 18,000 available for use on a regular basis.
The renovation met Major League Soccer standards, introduced a new playing surface, which shifted west and north, and added space on the east and south sides, with new seating areas and new amenities. The Lighthouse Impact 16 main video screen was designed by Anthony James Partners and features over of LED video. A Lighthouse B10 pitchside display runs the length of the East End and portions of the north and south ends and is over long. As the project was nearing completion, it was revealed to be $5 million over budget, making the total cost of the renovation $36 million. The agreement between the city and Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson meant that Paulson was responsible for any cost overruns larger than $1 million.
The newly renovated stadium made its début on April 14, 2011, when Major League Soccer's Timbers defeated the Chicago Fire, 4–2. The announced attendance at Timbers games in 2011 was 18,627, a sell-out.
A few thousand seats were added for two games late in the 2011 season to bring the capacity to 20,323. About 2,000 seats were opened up for the 2012 season, bringing capacity to 20,438. Following the 2012 season in which the Timbers' average attendance was 20,438, during the 2012–13 off-season the Timbers widened the pitch for the 2013 season, adding on each side to achieve a width of. The team widened the pitch by another yard in 2014, for a total pitch size of.