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PGE Park
Location	1844 SW Morrison Portland, Oregon 97205
Broke ground	1925
Opened	1926
Renovated	2001
Owner	City of Portland
Operator	Beavers PCL Baseball, LLC
Surface	NeXturf
Construction cost	$502,000 USD
Architect	A.E. Doyle
Former names
Multnomah Stadium Civic Stadium
Tenants
Portland Beavers (PCL) Portland Timbers (USL First Division) Portland Timbers (NASL) 1975-1982 Portland Storm (WFL) 1974 Portland Thunder (WFL) 1975 Portland Breakers (USFL) 1985 Portland State University Vikings (NCAA) Portland Rockies - 2001 - 2002
Capacity
23,136 (concerts) 19,566 (baseball, soccer)

PGE Park (formerly Civic Stadium, a name still used by locals; originally Multnomah Stadium) is a stadium located in Portland, Oregon (United States). It opened in 1926, and underwent a major renovation in 2001.

Contents 1 Description 2 Tenants and major events 3 History 4 References

PGE Park is an outdoor, multipurpose stadium which can be configured for baseball, soccer and American football. The playing surface is NeXturf. The stadium consists of a covered grandstand from foul pole to foul pole, with the length of the football field aligned along the right field foul line. Stands have also stood in both left and right fields from time to time. PGE Park seats 23,136 for concerts, 19,566 for baseball and soccer. ^[1]

The Multnomah Athletic Club, an exclusive athletic club in downtown Portland, stands next door; the windows of the north side of the club's building overlook the field.

The stadium is now owned by the City of Portland, and is managed by Beavers PCL Baseball, LLC; the entity which owns the Portland Beavers. The stadium was renamed for Portland General Electric, which bought the naming rights.

The Interstate 405 freeway in Portland is known locally as the Stadium Freeway due to its proximity to the stadium.

Principal current tenants include the Portland Beavers minor-league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (there have been three different teams to bear that name; all of which played in PGE Park), the Portland Timbers, a USL First Division soccer team (and prior teams to bear that name), and the Portland State University Vikings American football team. The stadium also is one of three stadiums that host the high school state football championships (OSU's Reser Stadium and UO's Autzen Stadium are the other two).

In addition to its current and prior tenants, the stadium has hosted several other noteworthy events. PGE park was the site of four group matches in the 1999 Women's World Cup and hosted two group matches, two quarterfinals, and both semifinals in the 2003 Women's World Cup. The stadium also hosted an exhibition match of Australian rules football in 1990.

The stadium was originally built by the Multnomah Athletic Club in 1926 -- though playing fields and earlier stadiums had stood on the site since 1893. The stadium was a popular site for greyhound racing during the Great Depression. In the 1950s, the Portland Beavers moved to the stadium after their original field, Vaughn Street Park, was condemned. Up into the early 1960s, the stadium hosted some collegiate games for Oregon and Oregon State football. Typically the schools would play their games versus University of Southern California, University of Washington and some other larger programs during this period because the on-campus facilities were inadequate.

The stadium hosted single-A baseball during two periods when AAA baseball left the city; from 1972 to 1978 it hosted the Portland Mavericks, and 1994 to 2000, the Portland Rockies. The stadium hosted the old Portland Timbers of the North American Soccer League from 1975 through 1982, and the USFL's Portland Breakers, as well as the Portland Storm and Portland Thunder of the WFL. In 1977 the then-hugely popular North American Soccer League held its championship game at the stadium between the New York Cosmos and the Seattle Sounders. It was during this championship game that Pelé played his last non-exhibitional game as the Cosmos defeated the Sounders.

On May 27, 1991, the stadium got some national attention when Vancouver Canadians outfielder Rodney McCray, while attempting to catch a fly ball, literally crashed through a wooden advertising behind the warning track. While McCray failed to make the out, he only suffered scrapes and bruises in the incident, and remained in the game. Highlight reels of that play ran for weeks on cable channels such as CNN and ESPN. On August 12, 2006, the Beavers commemorated the event with a Rodney McCray Bobblehead Night, passing out bobbleheads of McCray to fans and renaming right-center field "McCray Alley".^[2]

A $38.5 million renovation took place in 2001, adding new luxury suites and club seats that replaced the seats behind home plate and upgrading the seating and concourse area. The renovation also improved the structural soundness of the facility, and included a state-of-the-art sound system. The renovation also includes some retro-features, such as a manually-operated baseball scoreboard. At that point, the stadium was renamed, with PGE buying naming rights.

1. ^ http://www.pgepark.com/ PGE Park: Official website
2. ^ Bachman, Rachel. "An effort at de-fence worth remembering", The Oregonian, August 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.

 

Notable Portland, Oregon architecture  Skyscrapers: Wells Fargo Center | US Bancorp Tower | KOIN Center | PacWest Center | Fox Tower | Standard Insurance Center | Congress Center | Hatfield U.S. Courthouse | ODS Tower | 1000 Broadway | Union Bank of California Tower | Lloyd Center Tower   Other buildings: Meier & Frank Building | Benson Hotel | Commonwealth (Equitable) Building | Portland Public Service Building | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | Oregon Convention Center | Union Station | Pittock Mansion | Pioneer Courthouse  Stadiums: Rose Garden Arena | Memorial Coliseum | PGE Park

Current ballparks in the Pacific Coast League
American Conference		Pacific Conference
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark | AutoZone Park | Dell Diamond | Herschel Greer Stadium | Isotopes Park | Principal Park | Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium | Zephyr Field		Cashman Field | Cheney Stadium | Chukchansi Park | Franklin Covey Field | PGE Park | Raley Field | Security Service Field | Tucson Electric Park

Current Stadiums in the USL First Division

Silverbacks Park | Kezar Stadium | SAS Soccer Park | Blackbaud Stadium | Tropical Park Stadium | James Griffin Stadium | Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard | PGE Park | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium | PAETEC Park | Qwest Field | Swangard Stadium | Virginia Beach Sportsplex

Current Football Stadiums in the Big Sky Conference
Bobcat Stadium (Montana State) • Holt Arena (Idaho State) • Hornet Stadium (Sacramento State) • Joe Albi Stadium (Eastern Washington) • Nottingham Field (Northern Colorado) • PGE Park (Portland State) • Stewart Stadium (Weber State) • Walkup Skydome (Northern Arizona) • Washington Grizzly Stadium (Montana) • Woodward Field (Eastern Washington)

Coordinates: 45°31′18.1″N, 122°41′30.5″W