Portland, Ore. – The Portland Trail Blazers and Portland Winterhawks have pledged to work together on a plan to enhance and revitalize Memorial Coliseum, both teams announced today. The teams will submit a collaborative concept to the Mayor’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee before the City’s January 8, 2010, deadline.
The proposed concept would revitalize Portland’s iconic arena as part of the Trail Blazers larger vision for a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood at the Rose Quarter. The concept advocates a reduced seating capacity at Memorial Coliseum to create a more intimate venue for the Winterhawks, the arena’s anchor tenant, and other users. The changes will also help attract new events and will add non-event activity to further enliven the venue.
“We look forward to working with the Trail Blazers to provide the Winterhawks and our fans a true home ice advantage,” Winterhawks President Doug Piper said. “A revitalized Memorial Coliseum will help ensure our long-term future with an intimate, first-class facility in a building rich with hockey history that dates back nearly 50 years.”
The plan would provide a true home for the WHL club, with upgrades that would include a new state-of-the-art scoreboard, an ice sheet upgraded to league-regulated size and new fan amenities, like club seating, to improve the fan experience. Fans will also have upgraded dining options, including a wider variety of concession options and increased points of sale.
“Hockey has a tremendous history in Portland,” Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said. “We are pleased to partner with the Winterhawks for an even stronger project. An invigorated Memorial Coliseum will play a central role in a neighborhood that’s green, vibrant and economically sustainable for the city of Portland.”
The teams will work with the Mayor’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee to ensure the plan includes a memorial to the veterans who served the country with great honor.
The plan would upgrade Memorial Coliseum amenities to attract more visitors to this important part of Portland’s eastside. Already, Memorial Coliseum draws more than 430,000 guests each year for more than 150 events, including the Winterhawks, the Rose Festival, Oregon School Activities Association events, and other community gatherings. The plan preserves the building’s architectural integrity and expressiveness while modernizing the venue for current and future Portland tenants.
The Memorial Coliseum is an essential element of the mixed-use sports and entertainment district being proposed by the Trail Blazers for the Rose Quarter. Project leaders are working to create a district that fosters additional private investment in the area and provides thousands of construction and permanent jobs.
For more information on Rose Quarter, or to provide your feedback on the best future for the Quarter, visit www.imaginejumptown.com or the Portland Development Commission’s site at www.rosequarterdevelopment.org.
This is an awesome idea. I hope this happens soon.
I would hope that the MC would continue to be used as a sports, entertainment and cultural venue. It should not be converted into a big-box IKEA store or the like (yuck!), or torn down for a new baseball stadium for the Beavers.
I would like to see it used for college basketball games for Portland State, and maybe even for big games for the University of Portland when the Chiles Center is too small and the Rose Garden is too big. A ca. 10,000-seat hockey arena with a regulation 200 x 85 rink for the Winter Hawks is certainly an excellent proposal as well.
No way Memorial Coliseum should be left standing. What a horrible idea. Its an outdated useless venue.
Appreciate it, was looking for something along the lines of this for a while. Where’s the subscribe button? Ha