August 23, 2003

Breaking News: Oregon Senate Reconsiders, And Passes, Baseball Stadium Bill

In news that will no doubt make Jack Bogdanski exceedingly happy, just moments ago the Oregon State Senate reconsidered and passed Senate Bill 5 -- the baseball stadium funding bill -- by a vote of 16 votes in favor.

The new version includes guarantees that no public entity, in theory, will be left on the hook for a bailout should something go wrong -- the language says something about no public body being a guarantor when it comes to payment of the construction bonds authorized by this bill. It also includes provisions which support businesses operated by women or minorities being involved in the construction of any possible baseball stadium.

Worthy concerns to address, for sure, and I don't dispute (nor have I ever disputed) the economic benefits to the Portland area of such a massive construction project. I just don't happen to believe that the impact baseball will have upon Portland's livability and character are all beneficial, and I continue in my opposition for those reasons.

In the end, although I don't pretend to have the answers, I'm nagged by the suspicion that bringing baseball to Portland is mainly a failure of our leaders to be creative and unique in creating ways for Portland to succeed as Portland.

Posted at 08:26 PM | PermalinkComments (9) | TrackBacks (2)
More In Design & Development, Livability, State of Oregon

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Comments (9)

  1. The One True b!X on 23 Aug 2003

    Amusingly, I beat all the normal news sites with this, although the NewsFlash page at OregonLive now has two bits from the AP. But one is just an announcement, and the other is stunted and cut off.

  2. The One True b!X on 23 Aug 2003

    Essentially, if you piece together this AP bit with this one and then add this one, you can see they are sort of building the AP story piece by piece.

  3. The One True b!X on 23 Aug 2003

    And here's what appears to be the full AP story, via KATU.

  4. Randy Leonard on 24 Aug 2003

    B!x-
    I join Jack Bogdanski in his enthusiasm for MLB in Portland. However, our motives may be different.

    If I had a gun placed to my head and was told "Name 5 major league baseball teams or I will blow your head off" I would just simply ask to be buried next to my Great-Great Grandmother, Anna Funke, in Florence, Oregon.

    Thankfully, Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not have economic advisors during the depression who advocated against spending public tax dollars to put unemployed people to work because "a depression is no time to spend more money".

    In fact, as FDR showed, an economic downturn is exactly the right time to invest in public projects. Building a MLB stadium will put people in the trades back to work, they will buy goods and services that they were previously unable to afford, that will cause the businesses who benefit from those expenditures to hire and/or retain workers and so on, and so on and so on....

    We have the highest unemployment rate in the US...We must create jobs to get ourselves out of the economic doldrums Portland finds itself...and if we get a MLB team as an added benefit in the process...well, I for one, even though I am not a baseball fanatic, will join Jack in buying season tickets.....
    Commissioner Randy Leonard

  5. Randy Leonard on 24 Aug 2003

    B!x-
    I join Jack Bogdanski in his enthusiasm for MLB in Portland. However, our motives may be different.

    If I had a gun placed to my head and was told "Name 5 major league baseball teams or I will blow your head off" I would just simply ask to be buried next to my Great-Great Grandmother, Anna Funke, in Florence, Oregon.

    Thankfully, Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not have economic advisors during the depression who advocated against spending public tax dollars to put unemployed people to work because "a depression is no time to spend more money".

    In fact, as FDR showed, an economic downturn is exactly the right time to invest in public projects. Building a MLB stadium will put people in the trades back to work, they will buy goods and services that they were previously unable to afford, that will cause the businesses who benefit from those expenditures to hire and/or retain workers and so on, and so on and so on....

    We have the highest unemployment rate in the US...We must create jobs to get ourselves out of the economic doldrums Portland finds itself...and if we get a MLB team as an added benefit in the process...well, I for one, even though I am not a baseball fanatic, will join Jack in buying season tickets.....
    Commissioner Randy Leonard

  6. The One True b!X on 24 Aug 2003

    I'm certainly not one to argue against the philosophy of the public works project (or modern day equivalents) out of some reflexive knee-jerk reaction. This is why, actually, that I gave proper credit to addressing some of the bill's failings even though I don't actually, in reality, want the bill at all.

    Again, I don't have the answer. But somehow I think that if the answer we've come up with is about hundreds if not thousands of new people pouring into the City, drastically changing the character of being in Portland for the rest of us, not to mention impacts such as new traffic problems, then I think we've simply faield to be creative or intelligent enough to rise to the challenge of determining how to get through this economic mess in ways that let Portland continue to be Portland, rather than simply giving up and letting Portland turn into someplace else.

  7. Dave Lister on 25 Aug 2003

    I think when we consider public works projects to reduce unemployment we must also look at the long term, private sector job creation which can result. I'm not sure I agree that a ball park is the best investment for that long term. FDR's public works involved highways, bridges and dams primarily... i.e. infrastructure. These infrastructure improvements were a boon to commerce as the recovery ensued, not to mention a boon to the American contribution to the war effort both before and after Dec. 7, 1941. I'd rather see public works efforts towards the same type of improvements if we have to have them at all. I'm not sure short term construction jobs which will result in part time, minimum wage employment will help that much in the long view. I hope I am proven wrong.

  8. The One True b!X on 25 Aug 2003

    Thank you. That was the very point of distinction I was going to make here today, having throught about it last night, but you did it for me.

  9. Dave Lister on 02 Sep 2003

    It was reported on the 5 AM KGW news today (September 2nd) that the Montreal Expos plan to stay put, at least for the next season.

Trackbacks (2)

  1. Latest news about the baseball bill from The One True b!X on 23 Aug 2003

    The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE | Breaking News: Oregon Senate Reconsiders, And Passes, Baseball Stadium Bill...

  2. The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE | Breaking News: Oregon Senate Reconsiders, And Passes, Baseball Stadium Bill on 23 Aug 2003

    b!x scoops them all!!!!!