Oregon Public Broadcasting

Dozens of protesters demanded Thursday, that the City of Portland drop plans to build a new baseball stadium in their local park.

As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, demonstrators were pleased that a couple of last-minute political decisions appear to have slowed momentum to build in Lents.

When Major League Soccer picked Portland for its next franchise, they planned to move into PGE Park, leaving the minor-league Beavers Baseball team without a field.

Up until Thursday, City Commissioner Randy Leonard had been pushing the construction of a $42 million stadium for the Beavers, at Lents Park in the Lents neighborhood.

Randy Leonard: “What has confounded this discussion is things being said that are blatantly untrue. For example, that this project is going to destroy Lents Park. That they’re going to cut down 300 trees, all of which is blatantly untrue. There is a stadium there already, and this stadium that’s being proposed sits on top of that same stadium, that same footprint.”

SOUND OF CHANTING: “Whose park? Our park!”

But outside Thursday night’s meeting of the Lents ‘Urban Renewal Advisory Committee,’ scores of protesters gathered to say they don’t want Portland’s urban renewal money spent on a new stadium. Here are Darlene Hursh and Tom Demeter.

Darlene Hursh: “How are they going to come up here. Where are they going to park. What’s going to happen to the people, the families that live in that area. And the parking. There is no parking up there. And what are they going to do? Take people’s homes from them, buy them out and take their property from them? For these big corporate interests? No.”

Tom Demeter: “My question is, why are we not finding somewhere else for the soccer team?  Why is it all of a sudden that now the Beavers and the community has to be displaced, why don’t we find somewhere else for the soccer team.”

Inside the meeting, big pictures and boards outlined the plan. City Commissioners have said that whatever the Urban Renewal Advisory Committee recommends, they’ll fall in step.

Steve Massinetti chairs the committee and is the executive director of the local Habitat for Humanity chapter.

Steve Massinetti: “99 percent of what I’m hearing from folks who are taking the initiative to share their concerns, are against it. I’m personally against it. My organization is against it, specifically for the reason that we’re in a housing crisis and an economic crisis and to take this amount of funds away from housing and other economic projects, that have been more proven to have an impact on revitalizing the community, to spend it on something that’s more of a risk, does not seem to make sense in this kind of environment.”

Commissioner Randy Leonard and Mayor Sam Adams appear to be hearing a similar message.  Shortly before the meeting, they agreed to de-couple the soccer deal and the baseball stadium. 

That spelled some relief to Lents neighbors who oppose the ballpark.  And the news also prompted the Urban Renewal Advisory Committee to delay its decision until next week.