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Portland Timbers
180px|Logo
Nickname(s)Timbers
Founded1975
GroundPGE Park
Portland, Oregon
Capacity22,000 approximate
OwnerUnited States Merritt Paulson
Head CoachScotland John Spencer
LeagueMajor League Soccer
Websitehttp://www.portlandtimbers.com/
Primary colors
Secondary colors
Current season

The Portland Timbers are an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon which will begin play in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, in 2011.

The Timbers will be the 18th club of Major League Soccer, and replaces the USL First Division's team of the same name, while retaining the same ownership. The MLS club will be the fourth Portland team to share the legacy of the Timbers name.

History

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Main article: History of Portland Timbers

The announcement was the culmination of a nearly two-year-long process for Merritt Paulson, dating back at least to May 2007, when Paulson led a group that bought the Portland Beavers and the USL Timbers. The group included former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (Meritt Paulson's father) who holds a 20% stake.[1] The biggest issue for the city of Portland was that due to league concerns about seating configuration, field surface, and scheduling, obtaining an MLS club would require a new stadium.[2]

In October 2007, Paulson told PGE Park could be upgraded for about $20 million, and a new baseball stadium (with 8,000 to 9,000 seats) would cost about $30 million.[3] By November 2008, Paulson told The New York Times he expected Portland taxpayers would spend $85 million to "build a new baseball stadium for his Beavers and renovate PGE Park—just remodeled in 2001 at a cost to taxpayers of $38.5 million—for soccer", and that in exchange, he would spend $40 million for the franchise fee to bring a new Major League Soccer team to Portland.[1] MLS was in support of the proposal, wanting to continue to expand the number of owners in the league (for a while, all of its teams were owned by three men: Phil Anschutz, Lamar Hunt, and Robert Kraft).[1]

Though supporting the acquisition of an MLS franchise raised numerous issues for Mayor Sam Adams and the Portland City Council,[4] the Timbers were announced as Major League Soccer's eighteenth team on March 20, 2009 by Commissioner Don Garber.[5] The announcement occurred in the middle of the first and second round games of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament being held in Portland the same week.[6] The announcement noted that the team would retain the Portland Timbers name.[7]

The team owner is Peregrine Sports, LLC, a group led by Merritt Paulson. Paulson was also the head of Shortstop, LLC which owned the USL-1 Timbers as well as the Pacific Coast League's Portland Beavers.

Former MLS forward and assistant coach John Spencer was named the first head coach of the MLS-era Timbers on August 10, 2010. It was also announced that Gavin Wilkinson, head coach of the USL-1/USSF D-2 Timbers, would stay on as the general manager/technical director of the MLS side.[8]

The Timbers signed five players before the MLS Expansion Draft on November 24, 2010. Three were part of the Timbers D-2 Pro League squad in 2010 (Steve Cronin, Bright Dike, and Ryan Pore), one was signed from D-2 Pro League team Austin Aztex (forward Eddie Johnson) and one was acquired via trade with New York Red Bulls (midfielder Jeremy Hall). On November 24, 2010, the Timbers, along with the other 2011 expansion team, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, participated in an MLS Expansion Draft, each selecting 10 players from existing teams.[9] Immediately after the Expansion Draft, the Timbers announced the trade of their first pick (midfielder Dax McCarty, from FC Dallas to DC United for defender Rodney Wallace.[10] The Timbers and Whitecaps also participated in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft on January 13, 2011 with the Whitecaps having the first pick, and the Timbers having the second pick. Vancouver surprised some by selecting youngster Omar Salgado and Portland swiftly selected Akron midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe.[11]

Colors and badge

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Portland Timbers' MLS logo incorporates elements of the former USL design. The primary reference to the original crest is the circular shape that represents unity, wholeness, and the pursuit of perfection. The axe alludes to the Pacific Northwest's logging industry since loggers traditionally used axes to cut down trees. There are three chevrons organized to resemble a pine tree that refer to the Timbers' membership in three separate leagues: the original North American Soccer League, the United Soccer Leagues, and Major League Soccer. The team's colors, ponderosa green and moss green, represent the state of Oregon's forests.[12]

It was announced in September 2010 that the Portland Timbers' jerseys would be sponsored by Alaska Airlines.[13] On Thursday December 9 the jersey was revealed at a runway show at Portland International Airport. The home jersey is a two-tone halved green shirt [14] while the alternate jersey is red, in honor of Portland being known as the Rose City.[15]

Stadium

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Main article: PGE Park

Portland will be playing in a newly-renovated PGE Park, which they expect to share with the Portland State Vikings football team. The stadium's other tenant, the Beavers, unable to find a location for a new ballpark will be moving to a new city. An ownership group in San Diego is negotiating to buy the Beavers and move the team to Southern California. Initially, city funding for renovation of PGE Park was tied to simultaneous construction of the new ballpark; but due to delays caused by public criticism of ballpark sites chosen so far and a deadline to begin PGE Park renovation, the funding for the two projects was separated.[16] The capacity of the renovated PGE Park is expected to be between 22,000 and 23,000.[17]

Club culture

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Rivalries

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Mascot

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During the NASL and USL years the team's mascot was a grizzled lumberjack named Timber Jim.[18] On January 24, 2008, Jim announced his retirement. His final farewell was a game played against Puerto Rico Islanders on April 17, 2008, which was won 1-0.[19] Having served as the unofficial mascot from then on, Timber Joey was inaugurated as the new official mascot at an exhibition game vs Juventus Primavera on June 14, 2008,[20] a game the Timbers won 1-0,[21] and has served in that capacity ever since.

Broadcasting

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Portland Timbers games are televised locally in English by either FOX 12 Oregon or PDX TV and in Spanish on Estrella TV and televised regionally in English by Root Sports, except for those nationally broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel or ESPN2. FOX 12 Oregon also airs a weekly highlight show called Timbers in 30 on Sunday evenings.[22]

On the radio, all Timbers games are broadcast in English on 95.5-FM "The Game" or NewsRadio 750 KXL and broadcast in Spanish on La Pantera 940 AM and KSND 95.1 FM.[22] 95.5-FM also features Talk Timbers, a weekly radio show dedicated to the team and soccer, hosted by John Strong.[23]

Players and staff

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Current roster

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As of March 11, 2011.[24]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Troy Perkins
2 DF United States USA Kevin Goldthwaite
4 DF England ENG Kerrea Gilbert
5 DF United States USA Eric Brunner
6 FW Liberia LBR Darlington Nagbe
7 MF United States USA Sal Zizzo
8 MF United States USA Peter Lowry
9 FW United States USA Bright Dike
10 FW England ENG Eddie Johnson
11 MF Ghana GHA Kalif Alhassan
12 DF United States USA David Horst
13 MF United States USA Jack Jewsbury (captain)
14 MF Haiti HAI James Marcelin
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW Colombia COL Jorge Perlaza
16 MF Scotland SCO Adam Moffat
17 MF United States USA Jeremy Hall
20 GK New Zealand NZL Jake Gleeson
22 DF Costa Rica CRC Rodney Wallace
23 MF United States USA Ryan Pore
24 GK United States USA Adin Brown
25 DF United States USA Steve Purdy
28 MF United States USA Freddie Braun
33 FW United States USA Kenny Cooper
98 DF The Gambia GAM Mamadou Danso
— FW Uganda UGA Brian Umony (on loan from Tuks FC)

In camp

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As of March 11, 2011.[24]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF United States USA Chris Taylor
— MF United States USA Rodrigo López
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Nigeria NGA Paul Ogunyemi
— FW United States USA Spencer Thompson

Staff

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As of March 11, 2011.[25]

  • General Manager / Technical Director — New Zealand Gavin Wilkinson
  • Head Coach — Scotland John Spencer
  • Assistant Coach — England Trevor James
  • Assistant Coach — United States Amos Magee
  • Goalkeeper Coach — England Adam Smith
  • Strength and Conditioning Coach — Morocco Karim Derqaoui
  • Head Athletic Trainer — United States Nik Wald

References

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  1. ^ a b c Jaquiss, Nigel (November 26, 2008). "Paulson's Pitch". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  2. ^ Larabee, Mark (May 29, 2009). "Beavers must move out of PGE Park, league says". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  3. ^ Gerald, Paul (October 31, 2007). "PDX's Ball Bearings". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  4. ^ Jaquiss, Nigel (March 11, 2009). "Soccertown Or Suckertown". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
  5. ^ "MLS awards 18th franchise to Portland". mlssoccer.com. 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  6. ^ Paulson, MLS Seeking National Ink With Friday Announcement, a March 18, 2009 article in Willamette Week
  7. ^ "MLS awards team to Portland for 2011". Portland Timbers. 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  8. ^ http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2010/08/timbers_select_john_spencer_to.html
  9. ^ "Timbers Select 10 Players in 2010 Expansion Draft". Portland Timbers. November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  10. ^ "Timbers Acquire DC United's Rodney Wallace for Dax McCarty". Portland Timbers. November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  11. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (January 13, 2011). "2011 MLS SuperDraft winners, losers". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  12. ^ "New Crest Story". Portland Timbers. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  13. ^ "Timbers gain sponsor for jerseys". ESPN Soccernet. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  14. ^ "2011 Portland Timbers Jersey". Football Shirts News. 9 December 2010.
  15. ^ . 9 December 2010 http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2010/12/timbers-alaska-airlines-unveil-2011-jerseys-official-team-apparel-during-runway-runway-. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "Timbers Unveil 2011 Jerseys" ignored (help); Text "title+2011 Portland Timbers Jersey" ignored (help)
  16. ^ Larabee, Mark (2009-06-24). "Major League Soccer plan still alive as Portland council endorses latest plan". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  17. ^ Haberman, Margaret. "Vision for PGE Park: A place that says 'soccer'". The Oregonian. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  18. ^ Andrews, Allison. "Who is Timber Jim?". SoccerCityUSA. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  19. ^ Timbers long-time icon, 'Timber Jim,' retires
  20. ^ Timbers introduce Joe Webber as new mascot, portlandtimbers.com
  21. ^ [1]
  22. ^ a b "Timbers Announce Broadcast Partners for 2011" (Press release). Portland Timbers. March 8, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  23. ^ http://www.955thegame.com/pages/6152215.php, retrieved 2010-12-14 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ^ a b "Roster". Portland Timbers. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  25. ^ "Staff". Portland Timbers. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
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