Just wanted to quickly share an interesting tidbit from a Timbers related article I came across today.

The stadium drama continues in Portland, and NewsChannel 8 is reporting some contention over the potential site of a Portland Beavers baseball stadium. If you're unaware, the deal to renovate PGE Park for the Timbers hinges on the building of a new stadium for the AAA baseball team also owned by Merritt Paulson.

More after the jump.

Paulson has stated that he won't personally guarantee revenues for the Beavers if it's built in an area of the city other than the originally proposed Rose Quarter. The plans to build in the Rose Quarter are on hold at the moment due to resistance from the community; the historical Memorial Stadium sits in that section of the city, and would need to be demolished before construction could begin on the baseball facility. Veterans groups have voiced their displeasure, and the city is currently reevaluating the deal. Paulson's statement that he won't guarantee the revenues for a stadium built somewhere other than the Rose Quarter has City Commissioner Randy Leonard perplexed, as he believes Paulson must do so for the plan to move forward.

If the situation comes to a head over the disagreement, it will only draw out an already protracted situation. Apparently that's an issue according to NewsChannel 8, since a September 1st deadline has been set for the MLS expansion to happen.

Though it's difficult to lend credibility to the report, since the last sentence of the story reads thus:

"If the location of the stadium is not agreed upon by then (September 1st), the deal to bring pro soccer to Portland is reportedly off."

Besides the obvious concern that the mentioned date will give MLS fans who want to see Portland in the league (not to mention Timber fans and the league itself), NewsChannel 8 seems oblivious to the fact that, MLS or not, the Timbers are already pro soccer. Ugh.