Providence Park
Providence Park is an outdoor soccer venue in the northwest United States, located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. It has existed in rudimentary form since 1893, and as a complete stadium since 1926. Providence Park is currently the oldest soccer-specific stadium in use in MLS and is one of the most historic grounds used by any United States professional soccer team.
Two professional soccer teams, the Portland Timbers of MLS and Portland Thorns FC of NWSL, use the facility as their home pitch. The stadium has been host to several major United States soccer events including Soccer Bowl '77, the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cups, the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2014 MLS All-Star Game and the 2015 NWSL Championship Game. Providence Park has been the home of the Portland Timbers since 1975.
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 and in 1966, the city purchased the stadium and renamed it Civic Stadium. It was renovated in 2001 to accommodate the Timbers and the minor-league baseball 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 Side. The Portland Timbers have sold out every single 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 which houses the MLS Portland Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns. The stadium is owned by the City of Portland, and is managed by Peregrine Sports, LLC, the entity that owns the Timbers and Thorns.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 which originally constructed the venue, stands next door; the windows of the north side of the club's building 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 until 1966 and 1967. The site also hosted the Portland Rose Festival coronation and appearances by Presidents William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding.
In 1956, the Portland Beavers moved to the stadium after their original field, Vaughn Street Park, was condemned. In 1966, the Multnomah Athletic Club sold the stadium for $2.1 million to the city of Portland, which renamed it Civic Stadium.
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.
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 side seating was constructed, as well as a large ticketed section in the southeast corner of the stadium. The east side 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 baseball scoreboard. At that point, PGE bought the naming rights and it became PGE Park.The 2001 renovation also removed the remaining outfield seats along 18th Avenue and added in the first electronic video board in the park, modernizing the park for soccer and minor-league baseball.
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.The renovation was performed by Turner Construction, who served as the general contractor and also performed the 2001 renovation, and Ellerbe Becket as the primary architect. 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 side 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. About 2,000 seats were opened up for the 2012 season, bringing capacity up 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.
2019
In April 2017, the Portland Timbers unveiled a US$85 million renovation plan which would add roughly 4,000 new seats to the eastern side of the stadium. Timbers' President of Business Mike Golub stated that "We felt it was imperative to see how we could transform the stadium and add capacity to both meet the demand that we have for tickets and also position the club to be viable and competitive for years to come", referencing the Timbers' current season ticket waitlist of approximately 13,000. The renovation came at no cost to the City of Portland and brought the stadium to a capacity of 25,218, which was the 4th-highest of any soccer-specific venue in MLS.The club partnered with Portland-based Allied Works Architecture to design the expansion, and began construction in late 2017. with the goal of having the renovated stadium ready in late May or early June of the 2019 MLS season.
The stacked deck on the East End was the largest single seat expansion in Providence Park history. The new remade steel stand was inspired by the legendary Boca Juniors' stadium La Bombonera as well as the classic raised stage of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, creating a unique layered appearance that also paid homage to the original, unfinished 1926 Multnomah Field plans. Spelled out across the green seats on the East End in white lettering is "SC USA", a direct nod to Portland's history as "Soccer City USA".
The expanded Providence Park opened for the first time on July 1, 2019 as the Timbers hosted LAFC, selling out the capacity of 25,218. Included in the privately-funded $85 million renovation were the addition of three decks of new seats, two new video boards and a modern edge-to-edge roof, as well as updated LED lighting throughout the park.
Current tenants
The stadium is currently home to the Portland Timbers of MLS, which the stadium has hosted in various iterations since 1975, and the Portland Thorns FC of NWSL since 2013.Former tenants
In 1933, pari-mutuel betting was legalized in Oregon, and by May 23 of that year the Multnomah Kennel Club hosted its first greyhound race on the stadium’s new track. The Kennel Club maintained its headquarters at the stadium until 1956, when the track was removed.The Portland Beavers minor league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League had played some games at Multnomah Field during 1905 when their Vaughn Street Park was temporarily reconfigured to host a track and field event. They moved into Multnomah Stadium in 1956 after over a half century at Vaughn Street, a wooden ballpark which was soon demolished. The sod from the baseball field at Vaughn Street was transferred to the new venue; Civic Stadium installed artificial turf in 1969.
From 1973 to 1977 the independent Portland Mavericks of the Northwest League played their home games at the stadium. Actor Kurt Russell was an infielder for the Mavericks. The Beavers returned to Portland in 1978 until 1993 when they were moved out of the city again. The Class A Portland Rockies were established in 1995 and played at the park until 2000 when they were moved and renamed the Tri-City Dust Devils. In 2001, the Albuquerque Dukes were moved to Portland and renamed the "Beavers" marking the third time the franchise would occupy the park for their home games.
As a baseball venue, the stadium had an unorthodox south-southeast alignment, with home plate in the northwest corner of the property.
After it was announced that Major League Soccer was moving a franchise to Providence Park the Beavers baseball team had to start looking for a new stadium. However, the plan never came to fruition and team owner Merritt Paulson put the Beavers up for sale. The club's major-league parent, the San Diego Padres, purchased the team, which moved to Tucson, Arizona as the Tucson Padres. The team played its final game at the stadium on September 6, 2010.
The stadium hosted the USFL's Portland Breakers, as well as the Portland Storm and Portland Thunder of the WFL.
Soccer has been hosted at Providence Park since the original Portland Timbers were founded in the original North American Soccer League in 1975. Various iterations of the team have called the stadium home, including the 1980s version in the Western Soccer Alliance and the 2000s version in the USL First Division before the MLS club was formed.
From 2008-2017, Providence Park was used as home for the Timbers U23s of the USL2, a development platform for the club. Following the 2017 season, the Portland U23s moved to Salem, OR.
Events
Soccer
On August 28, 1977, the stadium was site of the North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl '77 between the New York Cosmos and the Seattle Sounders, the last official game of the legendary Pelé. The Cosmos won the championship.On September 7, 1997 the stadium hosted a World Cup soccer qualifying match between the United States men's national team and Costa Rica. A raucous capacity crowd of 27,396 saw the U.S. squad win, 1–0, on a goal by Tab Ramos in the 79th minute.
The stadium was the site of four group matches in the 1999 Women's World Cup. The stadium also hosted two group matches, two quarterfinals, and both semifinals in the 2003 Women's World Cup.
On July 1, 2009, the venue hosted the third-round match of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup between the Portland Timbers and their rivals the Seattle Sounders FC.
Providence Park hosted the 2014 MLS All-Star Game.
1999 FIFA Women's World Cup matches
Stadium was known as Civic Stadium| Date | Time | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Group | Attendance |
| June 23 | 18.00 | 0–5 | Group C | 17,668 | ||
| June 23 | 20.30 | 7–0 | Group D | 17,668 | ||
| June 24 | 18.00 | 3–1 | Group A | 20,129 | ||
| June 24 | 20.30 | 6–0 | Group B | 20,129 |
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup matches
Stadium was known as PGE Park| Date | Time | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| September 26 | 17.15 | 2–1 | Group D | 19,132 | ||
| September 26 | 20.00 | 1–0 | Group D | 19,132 | ||
| October 2 | 19.30 | 7–1 | Quarter finals | 20,021 | ||
| October 2 | 22.30 | 0–1 | Quarter finals | 20,021 | ||
| October 5 | 19.30 | 0–3 | Semi finals | 27,623 | ||
| October 5 | 22.30 | 2–1 | Semi finals | 27,623 |
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup matches
Stadium was known as Jeld-Wen Field| Date | Time | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Group | Attendance |
| July 9 | 20.30 | 3–0 | Group C | 18,724 | ||
| July 9 | 23.00 | 1–6 | Group C | 18,724 |
Baseball
During the 1970s, the Jantzen swim wear company had a 3D model of the Jantzen girl hovering overby cable over the left field wall in its baseball configuration. The Jantzen girl was in play because it was below the top of the wall and it was hit a couple of times over the years.On May 27, 1991, the stadium received national attention when Vancouver Canadians outfielder Rodney McCray, while attempting to catch a fly ball, crashed through a wooden advertisement behind the warning track in right-center field; a real-life version of an incident in the fictional book and film, The Natural. While McCray failed to make the out, he only suffered scrapes and bruises and remained in the game. Highlight reels of that play ran for weeks on cable channels such as CNN and ESPN. On August 12, 2006, the Beavers commemorated the event with a Rodney McCray Bobblehead Night, passing out bobbleheads of McCray to fans and renaming right-center field "McCray Alley".
In the mid-1990s the stadium was planned to be the home of the yet-to-be named Portland team, a charter franchise of the United League which was planned to be a third league of Major League Baseball.
On July 15, 2009, the stadium hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game, with the International League stars defeating the Pacific Coast league, 6–5. The game was attended by 16,637 fans, the largest crowd for a Triple-A All-Star game since 1991, and the third largest at the time. Portland's Chad Huffman won the Home Run Derby.
College football
Known as Multnomah Stadium at the time, the venue was formally dedicated on Oct. 9, 1926, as the University of Washington’s football team beat the University of Oregon, 23-9, with more than 24,000 fans in attendance.The Providence Park all-time college football attendance record was set on October 18, 1930 as 35,266 fans watched the Oregon Ducks defeat their rival the Washington Huskies by a score of 7-0.
Providence Park, then known as Civic Stadium, was home to many generations of high-octane offense from the Portland State Vikings, including from 1975 to 1980 when Mouse Davis, the "godfather" of the run and shoot offense and Portland State Football Hall of Famer, was the head coach of PSU. While coaching at Civic, he led the PSU football program to a 42-24 record over six seasons while averaging 38 points and nearly 500 yards of offense per game. PSU led the nation in scoring three times. The unique passing game made stars out of Davis' two main quarterbacks, June Jones and Neil Lomax. In 1975, Jones threw for a Division II record 3,518 yards. Davis' next quarterback, Lomax, set NCAA records of 13,220 yards and 106 touchdowns in 42 games. Under Davis' direction, Portland State set 20 NCAA Division II offensive records in addition to the Vikings being named the NCAA's all-time point producers in 1980, scoring 541 points in 11 games for 49.2 points per game, along with 434.9 yards passing and 504.3 yards of total offense per game.
During a November 9, 1980 game, Lomax threw for seven first-quarter touchdowns against Delaware State, which the Vikings won 105-0.
On October 27, 2007, the stadium hosted the highest-scoring game in modern NCAA football history, when the Weber State University Wildcats defeated the PSU Vikings, 73–68, a combined point total of 141 points. This point total eclipsed the previous NCAA record of 136 points, set in a 1968 Division III game, and the previous Division I record of 133 points, set in 2004. While this record lasted only two weeks, and has been surpassed four times in all, it remained the highest-scoring game involving NCAA Division I teams until 2018, when Texas A&M defeated LSU in a 74–72 seven-overtime game. Coincidentally, Mouse Davis was the offensive coordinator for Portland State at the time, returning to Providence Park under the head coaching of Jerry Glanville.