Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Portland city council voted Wednesday to separate plans to renovate PGE Park for Major League Soccer from the effort to relocate the minor league baseball team, the Portland Beavers.

As Rob Manning reports, the broader debate over funding baseball and soccer led to a fresh rift among commissioners.

City commissioner Nick Fish had been an opponent of the complicated financing deals for soccer and baseball when they’d been in front of the council before. But he voted in favor of the idea, this week, to cut soccer free of the problems plaguing the effort to move the Beavers.

Nick Fish: “So, in sum, I want to say that today, I’m pleased to support something that relates to baseb- excuse me, soccer.”

Fish’s stumble was only the first ambiguous message coming out of the council meeting.

A 4-to-1 vote suggests growing support for the multi-million dollar deals for the two sports teams. But at the same time more commissioners voted to move ahead – a new split emerged.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman voted to support the soccer and baseball deals, but he repeated his anxiety about adding $15 million of urban renewal money.

Dan Saltzman: “There’s a $15 million hole, I don’t necessarily regard that as our side of the ledger, the city side. It's a $15 million hole.”

That throws a curve ball at attempts to close a deal with Merritt Paulson.

Recent decisions to abandon plans for a ballpark in the Lents’ neighborhood, and search for a new Portland site until the end of July – have all been negotiated with Mayor Sam Adams, and commissioner Randy Leonard.

Leonard told Saltzman that the city is already committed to pay the $15 million.

Randy Leonard: “We’ve made agreements based on what our contributions would be, on what Merritt’s contributions would  – and our contributions don’t identify specifically where all those sources of funds will be. But are clearly our responsibility. And ...."

Sam Adams: “The great thing about thing about democracy is we can move forward with slightly different points of view on some of the details.”

Mayor Sam Adams' statement ended that discussion, but the financing questions are far from answered. 

Earlier, commissioners laughed that the soccer and baseball saga could make a great book.

If it’s a book, one of the more interesting side characters might prove to be Don Mazziotti. He’s the hard-charging former director of the Portland Development Commission.

He left the job four years ago amid a firestorm of criticism. Mazziotti is now consulting the Paulson family on the stadium deals.

At the Wednesday meeting, he pressed the council to move quickly, so that soccer renovations could start.

Don Mazziotti: “Frankly, my job depends on it. If I am unable to bring these things to accomplishment, there’s no reason for me to continue.”

Nick Fish: “First of all, I’ve had mixed feelings about this – but to know that Don Mazziotti may lose his job, is frankly weighing on me now.”

That’s commissioner Nick Fish.

Don Mazziotti: “Thank you, commissioner.”

Leonard and Adams: “Wait, which way, yeah, which direction?”

Randy Leonard: “It’s influencing me, too, but not positively.”

The newest city commissioner, Amanda Fritz wasn’t laughing nearly as hard as her colleagues – nor has she signed on to any of the soccer, or baseball resolutions. She says she’ll only support a multi-million dollar sports deal if the money comes from private sources, or revenue from the ballparks.

In spite of a 4-1 vote that moves things forward, a lot of details remain up in the air.