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Oregon Stadium Campaign
News
Portland, Play
Ball!
April 15, 2003
:: Issue #1
Welcome to our first edition of the "Portland,
Play Ball!" e-newsletter, brought to you by the Oregon Stadium Campaign. As
Major League Baseball opens across North America, we want Oregonians to keep
track of our progress as we seek an Opening Day of our own, perhaps as soon as
next spring. It is our desire that this newsletter will help you monitor the
mounting support and developments that will determine exactly how soon Portland
can hear the shouts of "Play Ball!" at an MLB Opening Day in a beautiful new
ballpark.
Over 400 Oregon Businesses Step Up to the Plate
More
than 400 Oregon businesses have endorsed the Oregon Stadium Campaign and its
efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Portland. This groundswell of
business support clearly signals that Oregon business leaders understand the
positive impacts that baseball will have on the state's economy and quality of
life. The long and quickly growing list of business supporters includes the
leading companies and organizations from all key Oregon sectors.
"This
type of support is invaluable to this campaign," said David Kahn, leader of the
Oregon Stadium Campaign. "Clearly, this community is ready to back efforts to
win a major league franchise and to support a team when play
begins."
"MLB Jobs Bill" Introduced in Oregon Legislature
This
past week, a collection of Oregon's largest business & labor associations
introduced House Bill 3606 -- dubbed the "MLB Jobs Bill" -- in the Oregon House
of Representatives. The bill earned its nickname because of the 1,500
construction jobs that would be created by a stadium project and the economic
stimulus that would result from the arrival of a Major League Baseball team. HB
3606 would provide approximately $150 million in bonds toward construction of a
new baseball stadium in Portland. The bonds will be repaid through the income
taxes of baseball players and team employees -- ensuring that the state will
use no existing revenues to help build the stadium. The bill will be assigned
to the Rules committee where hearings will take place shortly, and a vote by
the full House is expected in April.
The Oregonian says, "Take a
swing at baseball"
In an editorial on March 28, The Oregonian
expressed incredibly strong support for Oregon's bid to bring Major League
Baseball to Portland and for HB 3606, the "MLB Jobs Bill" introduced this week
in the Oregon Legislature. According to the article, "bringing baseball to
Portland would give a positive jolt to the Oregon economy." The Oregonian
concludes by saying Oregon "can show a sense of purpose and take a swing at a
Major League Baseball team."
For the full text of the editorial, please click
here.
Poll Shows Strong Support for Major League
Baseball
A statewide poll of 600 Oregonians conducted in March shows
strong support for bringing Major League Baseball to Portland. Fifty-six
percent of Oregonians polled said attracting a Major League team to Oregon is a
"good idea". And the poll shows support will translate into ticket sales.
Statewide, 56 percent of poll respondents said they would attend at least one
MLB game a season. In Multnomah County, where Portland is located, 63 percent
of residents said they would attend at least one game a year. Poll respondents
also demonstrated a high regard for Major League Baseball, with 65 percent
saying they have favorable impressions of MLB. Utilizing those numbers and
comparing them to Oregon's total population, a MLB team would draw more than
2 million fans in the first year in Oregon just from single game
attendees.
 Governor Kulongoski and
Mayor Katz Support MLB in Portland
In separate letters to MLB
Commissioner Bud Selig, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and Portland Mayor Vera
Katz voiced "strong support" for bringing Major League Baseball to Portland.
According to Governor Kulongoski, "Portland is the right place -- and this is
the right time -- for big league baseball to come to Oregon."
To view the full text of the letters, please click
here.
To see a list of all the OSC sponsors and supporters, click
here.
The proud founding
sponsors of the Oregon Stadium Campaign are:
Pacific Power,
Platt Electric,
The Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde, Oregon
Sports Authority and
Moffatt/Rosenthal.
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