The is typically buzzing by Thanksgiving because the turkey-themed holiday marks the start of the NBA season and a return of Blazermania. However, an ongoing labor dispute has caused considerable downturn in development among the area.

The Rose Garden still hosts events and concerts (such as Mumford & Sons and the Trans Siberian Orchestra), though these account for just a few nights each month. Holiday shopping aside, the commercial slowdown in the area is undeniable, and a lack of certainty about an NBA season is leading to grim concern among the Rose Quarter bars, shops and more.

However, hope abounds as a $30.5 million upgrade project to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum was discussed by the Portland City Council last week. It calls for a larger spectator space that would expand the Portland Winterhawks‘ home ice to NHL size (they play in the Western Hockey League), and there are plans to consider energy use among the Rose Quarter as well.

Development news in the area is otherwise scarce. The lockout could lead to an exodus of owners seeking to get out for cents on the dollar, meaning new development would come at a bargain. Meanwhile, though the reduced auto, cycle, and foot traffic of this lockout make for smoother projects, the league’s labor struggles don’t change the fact that it’s winter in Portland—a notoriously wet, cold affair neither concrete truck driver nor flagger enjoys.

The discussion is still open regarding the $30 million update, though it’s nice to see the lockout hasn’t stamped out the hope that business will pick back up. Regardless of what happens with the NBA, it looks like the Rose Quarter will remain active on the Coliseum side. Case in point, it may be easier to schedule construction without an NBA season—a Hawks match tonight (Nov. 22) was moved over to the Garden, and that is likely to happen plenty more with a growing fan base.

In short, no basketball makes for more hockey, which makes for easier Coliseum renovation. Everybody wins! (Well, except Blazers fans…it’ll be interesting to see how many of them turn to hockey and don’t return to the pricier hoops tickets when/if the NBA returns.)

In the meantime, be sure to chime in to the with thoughts on whether $30.5 million would be well spent developing in the Rose Quarter.

The post Rose Quarter development on track, regardless of NBA lockout appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Redevelopment ideas for Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the last few years have ranged from a soundstage or an entertainment complex or an arts center. But now Portland City Council is expected to discuss a resolution that would declare city support for $30 million of upgrades for the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The latest plan for the city-owned building is the result of years of public input, according to officials involved in the development agreement.

Portland City Council on Thursday will consider an agreement between Portland Arena Management, the and the city for coliseum upgrades. Project details are not finalized yet because schematic design is still under way, but an agreement for funding would be a major step forward. The agreement could be finalized in January or February 2012, according to Portland Development Commission senior project manager Kevin Brake.

“It appears to be finally coming to fruition,” said Rose Quarter General Manager Chris Oxley, who represents Portland Arena Management and the Portland Trail Blazers. “It’s good in that the future of the coliseum has finally been determined.”

Two years ago, the city convened a 32-member advisory group to collect ideas about the desired future of the Rose Quarter, including the coliseum. By January 2010, more than 50 proposals were submitted to the city. Three finalists were chosen by the group in February 2010, but the city then shut down the RFP process because two would have cost more than $100 million.

The Memorial Athletic and Recreation Center and the Veterans Memorial Arts and Athletic Center proposals would have resulted in major changes to the building and expanded its use. Both projects were already partnered with contractors when they were proposed to the city.

The third proposal, developed by the Trail Blazers and the Winterhawks, suggested a more modest “enhanced spectator venue” with facility renovations.

It was “clear” that the Blazers/Winterhawks proposal was the only viable one, Brake said, so the city went forward with it after suspending the RFP process. One of the reasons for this decision was that the city did not have money to pay the other proposers to combine their ideas, Brake said.

The PDC engaged an urban design consultant to work with the advisory group on a vision for the Rose Quarter. That vision will take a coliseum-first approach to the district, with a holistic approach including work with ODOT to widen Interstate 5 through the district.

“Some of the other proposals that had come to light would have caused a situation in which we couldn’t hold the events (at the coliseum) that we hold there now,” including high school graduations and the Portland Rose Festival’s Grand Floral Parade, Oxley said. “I’m happy to see that they have the ability to use the building in its original intent.”

In August, the PDC received approval to spend urban renewal money on the coliseum, even though it’s a public building. The design team of and was awarded a design and engineering contract in September. They city is expected to spend $17 million of money to renovate the building. Other money for the project would possibly come from the Winterhawks and historic tax credits. Portland Arena Management is set to manage the construction project.

The planned building improvements include: replacement of the ice rink and all seats in the arena bowl to upgrade to ADA and NHL standards; restroom and concession renovations; replacement of the building’s roof; and safety, lighting and landscaping improvements. The Winterhawks’ offices and locker room also are planned to be remodeled. If more money is acquired, the project could be expanded.

“Right now we’re looking at what are the things that have to be done, coupled with the limited pool of dollars we need to work within,” PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said.

The team might later look at further enhancements to improve the fan experience, he said.

The PDC also is working on a feasibility study to examine the possibility of a Rose Quarter district energy system to serve buildings such as the coliseum and the Oregon Convention Center.

“There are many pieces that are on parallel tracks that we’re hoping can all be worked through in the next couple of months,” Uhlman said.

One piece is an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the PDC for funding and another is an application for historic tax credits. Also, PAM and the city are engaged in a joint private process to select a contractor; an announcement will be made soon, Brake said.

If the schedule is maintained, the project team expects to shut down the coliseum for construction in March 2012 and then reopen when the Winterhawks begin their next season in the fall.

The post $30M in upgrades planned for Veterans Memorial Coliseum appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Jill Boeschenstein and her family have frequented the Valley Ice Arena in Beaverton for more than 12 years.

“My oldest two boys have been playing hockey there since they were 4,” said the self-described hockey mom. “It’s even played a big role in my youngest son’s life, and he doesn’t play hockey.”

But the Boeschensteins – and many others – lost use of the facility in late June, when its longtime operator decided not to renew his lease.

Then the Portland Winterhawks swooped in.

Nearly two months after the arena closed, Portland’s minor league hockey team chose to lease the 31,000-square-foot facility. Now the organization has gutted the building and will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to update it to become the team’s practice facility.

The lease comes amid uncertainty concerning the future of the Winterhawks’ current practice facility, Memorial Coliseum. More importantly, according to Doug Piper, president of the hockey club, the renovated arena will help keep youth hockey alive in the Portland-metro area.

“Sure, this gives us ice when we need it and when we want it,” Piper said. “But if we would have lost another sheet of ice so centrally located, I honestly don’t know if youth hockey in the area would have survived.”

The arena has been home to the Portland Jr. Hawks, the organization that oversees youth hockey in the area, since it was built in 1965 by John McBride and the late Duson Surmon – both significant supporters of youth hockey, according to Piper. Five years ago, they sold the building to Spring Capital Group of Eugene, but continued to operate it. But needed improvements weren’t financially possible until now.

New ice, nets, boards and lighting are being installed this week in preparation for the Jr. Hawks’ fall season, which starts next week. Then the lobby, locker rooms, offices, bathrooms and concession stands all will be renovated. Also, a 700-square-foot retail space, featuring Winterhawks merchandise and hockey gear, will be added near the arena’s entrance. Play It Again Sports will remain in its retail space upstairs.

“It’s a restoration project,” Piper said. “I skated this ice when I was in junior high, and we are going to return it to its former glory.”

The building will be called the Winterhawks Skating Center once the renovation is completed.

“We are going to have more camps and spend more time having the players skate with the kids,” Piper said. “We want to use the facility to bring kids from out of town to our camps instead of sending our kids to out-of-town camps.”

The organization recently hired Tom Barnes to be the general manager of the renovated facility. One of his tasks will be to help rebuild the hockey culture in the metro area. Barnes, before moving his family to Portland last year, lived nearly 16 years in Hong Kong – most of that time was spent promoting hockey to beginners.

“We will do the same thing here, (but) it shouldn’t be quite as difficult because of the hockey culture that already exists here,” Barnes said.

After the lease was signed, Barnes, Piper and Boeschenstein started organizing volunteer groups to help reduce the time and cost of arena renovations. A group of 50 volunteers piled into the facility on a couple of Saturdays to perform demolition work and clean.

“It’s been like a barn raising,” Boeschenstein said. “It’s dirty and hard work, but it creates this vested interest and shows how much people care about this place.”

“It’s been a heartening experience. Even Doug (Piper) was out there getting his hands dirty.”

The project will continue through October. The Winterhawks plan to hold a grand opening and a free skate day after work is completed.

“The hockey community here is loyal and tight-knit,” Piper said. “And our goal with this facility is to provide … a place to grow the community even more.”

The post Winterhawks lease Valley Ice Arena in Beaverton appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

For the past 34 years, the Portland Winterhawks have been banging around the ice at Memorial Coliseum. But if a plan isn’t cemented soon to rehabilitate the aging arena, the hockey club’s president Doug Piper said his team may have to move to a new venue.

The Winterhawks for many years have been pushing for upgrades at the coliseum to improve attendance at its games. A nearly unusable scoreboard, an outdated food concession area and an impractical seating arrangement, Piper said, make it difficult to attract new fans.

Meanwhile, the Winterhawks’ lease is up in November 2013. And if the coliseum looks like it does today, Piper said it’s unlikely the team will agree to another long-term lease deal.

“We’re trying really hard not to think about leaving town,” Piper said. “The great value of this franchise is that it’s in the Portland market. But without the renovations, we won’t be able to rebuild the franchise as quickly. And we would not want to enter into another lease with the coliseum in the condition it’s in.”

The city of Portland owns the coliseum, but the Winterhawks lease their space in the building from Portland Arena Management, a private company that manages buildings within the Rose Quarter. The operating agreement for the coliseum between Portland Arena Management and the city gives the Trail Blazers control over what takes place within the coliseum but leaves the city with responsibility for facility improvements.

In 2009, when the coliseum was in danger of being demolished so that a baseball stadium could be built in its place, Piper said his team looked into building a new arena in Lents. The team also explored moving to Salem in 2008 during a shaky period in lease negotiations with Portland Arena Management.

Piper said Winterhawks games attract approximately 200,000 fans each year. And though a new plan by Mayor Sam Adams recommends modernizing Memorial Coliseum, no construction will occur until a plan for the greater Rose Quarter is finalized later this year, according to Skip Newberry, economic development policy adviser for Adams.

The city of Portland has slightly less than $25 million in public money that could be used for coliseum renovations. Adams has said he wants the coliseum to remain a spectator facility; however, he’s also holding meetings to look at other ways the building could be used, Newberry said. For that reason, the city is waiting on proceeding with even modest renovations.

The city has been spending about $500,000 annually for the past ‘several’ years on small improvement projects at the coliseum, according to J. Isaac, senior vice president of business affairs for the Trail Blazers, including a recent project to paint the arena’s ceiling. The city’s $25 million would cover most of the renovations needed at the coliseum, aside from applying double glazing on the structure’s numerous windows to make the building more energy efficient, Isaac said.

Rather than performing small improvement projects in a piecemeal fashion, Piper said the city could save money by going forward with a package of renovations. He’d like to see construction on those improvements begin next spring.

“If they broke ground in spring, we’d have two seasons left on our existing contract,” Piper said. “To go two or three more years having to pump money in to the coliseum just to keep it operational is wasted money.”

Nevertheless, the mayor’s office has told Isaac that it cannot proceed with construction at the coliseum without knowing the larger plan for the district. That process will reveal whether the inside of the coliseum will need to be reconfigured for uses beyond spectator events, Newberry said.

Commissioner Randy Leonard earlier this month restated his opinion that the coliseum’s best feature is the land it sits on and that the building should be leveled for a new stadium for the Portland Beavers minor league baseball team. The argument, and the ensuing reaction from the public, Piper fears, could further delay improvements at the coliseum.

“It’s a step backwards to see a conversation about baseball coming to the coliseum,” Piper said. “We want to remind people that we’ve been here 34 years and provide an economic engine to the community. We don’t want to be forgotten.”

The post Portland Winterhawks may fly the coop appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Portland for the past week has been debating whether Memorial Coliseum‘s best use would be to go away in favor of a minor league baseball stadium for the Portland Beavers. But what does the coliseum’s current tenant think about these plans?

The Portland Winterhawks‘ voice has been largely absent from the various news reports, blogs and tweets advocating or condemning a tear down of the coliseum. So today, I gave a call to Winterhawks manager Doug Piper to see how he’s feeling this week. The answer: a little concerned.

“I don’t think (the proposal to tear down the coliseum) has legs,” Piper said. “But it has gotten more attention than I thought it would.”

The Winterhawks have been at the coliseum for the past 34 years and attract an average of 200,000 attendees per year. The last time the coliseum was recommended for the scrap heap, Piper said the team explored the idea of building its own arena. But he’d rather see the coliseum renovated so that his team could stay in the Rose Quarter.

Still, the team’s lease is up in 2013. And if the coliseum remains in the shape its in today, we may see the Winterhawks packing up their skates for a newer facility.

Look for a full analysis of the Winterhawks tenancy at the coliseum in Tuesday’s Daily Journal of Commerce.

The post What about the Winterhawks? appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Portland for the past week has been debating whether Memorial Coliseum‘s best use would be to go away in favor of a minor league baseball stadium for the Portland Beavers. But what does the coliseum’s current tenant think about these plans?

The Portland Winterhawks‘ voice has been largely absent from the various news reports, blogs and tweets advocating or condemning a tear down of the coliseum. So today, I gave a call to Winterhawks manager Doug Piper to see how he’s feeling this week. The answer: a little concerned.

“I don’t think (the proposal to tear down the coliseum) has legs,” Piper said. “But it has gotten more attention than I thought it would.”

The Winterhawks have been at the coliseum for the past 34 years and attract an average of 200,000 attendees per year. The last time the coliseum was recommended for the scrap heap, Piper said the team explored the idea of building its own arena. But he’d rather see the coliseum renovated so that his team could stay in the Rose Quarter.

Still, the team’s lease is up in 2013. And if the coliseum remains in the shape its in today, we may see the Winterhawks packing up their skates for a newer facility.

Look for a full analysis of the Winterhawks tenancy at the coliseum in Tuesday’s Daily Journal of Commerce.

The post What about the Winterhawks? appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The city of Portland received approximately 80 proposals to redevelop Memorial Coliseum; close to 30 came in on the Jan. 8 deadline date. While the proposals range from detailed to whimsical, the Daily Journal of Commerce focuses on two:

One, supported by developer Douglas Obletz, has persisted through the years as other redevelopment ideas have gained and lost support. The Obletz plan would turn the coliseum into the Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center, which would add recreation, training and track facilities, while keeping use of the existing ice rink.

The other, backed by the Rose Quarter‘s two biggest tenants, would modify the arena to allow for more city views and add an indoor pool and recreation area. The Portland Trail Blazers and Portland Winterhawks venues would be incorporated into a broader “Jumptown” mixed-use district.

Ideas were submitted through an online application process sponsored by the Portland Development Commission, Mayor Sam Adams’ office and Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Kia Selley, senior development advisor for the Portland Development Commission, said Monday that most proposals have come from unqualified developers that lack relevant experience and access to financing.

Selley said she hadn’t reviewed the proposals that came in last Friday. Some of those submitted earlier include building roller coasters, an addiction recovery center or a rotating, artificial snow bowl. Others would turn the coliseum into the Summer Dome (“an internal great outdoors with warm weather”) or Oregon Sports Factory (“the front of the coliseum could be a gravity/wind/human-powered/skate park/park”).

An advisory committee will discuss the selection process at a meeting today. The proposals will be presented at a public forum Jan. 26. Portland City Council will select the winning proposal in May.

Shiels Obletz Johnsen proposes multiuse athletics center for Memorial Coliseum

Project management firm Shiels Obletz Johnsen is leading a proposal to turn Memorial Coliseum into a multiuse athletics center, with training facilities and demountable playing surfaces.

The plan would cost up to $140 million and create a new, 6,500-seat arena and more than 200,000 square feet of recreation, training and competition space. The Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center would attract more than 1.5 million visitors annually to Portland’s Rose Quarter, according to Shiels Obletz Johnsen.

The proposal to transform the aging, underused coliseum was one of approximately 80 that were turned in by Friday’s deadline. Ideas were submitted through an online application process sponsored by the Portland Development Commission, Mayor Sam Adams’ office and the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

A Memorial Coliseum Stakeholder Advisory Committee will meet today to discuss evaluation and recommendation plans for the coliseum, and certain plans will be presented Jan. 26 at the arena. Portland City Council is slated to choose a proposal by mid-May.

Douglas Obletz, president of Portland- and Seattle-based Shiels Obletz Johnsen, did not immediately return messages Monday seeking comment. But he said in a statement last week that his plan promotes health and wellness and preserves architectural heritage, among other benefits.

“Now is the time for the citizens of Portland to step up in support of a community project that symbolizes what Portland is about,” he said in the statement.

Shiels Obletz Johnsen is joined in the proposal by TVA Architects and Peter Meijer Architect, both of Portland, and Washington, D.C.-based Brailsford & Dunlavey, facility planners and economic consultants.

Under their plan, the facility, nicknamed MARC, would have several demountable playing surfaces – a 152-meter velodrome for bicycle racing, a competition-level running track and a National Hockey League regulation-sized ice rink.

It also would be the home arena for the Portland Winterhawks junior hockey club and Portland State University men’s and women’s basketball teams. In addition, it would host the state high school championships for several sports, including wrestling, swimming and volleyball.

MARC also would have weightlifting and fitness studios, a 50-foot-tall climbing and bouldering wall, and storage space.
“As envisioned,” the proposal states, “the MARC will rise majestically above the Willamette River, its glass curtain wall beckoning the public to participate in the myriad of activities visible within.”

According to the proposal, annual operating costs would be at least $8 million. Operating revenues would come from monthly and annual passes, facility rentals, birthday parties and catering, advertising and other sources.

Winterhawks and Blazers push Jumptown entertainment district

With Memorial Coliseum sitting in the heart of the Rose Quarter, the area’s main property manager and a key owner may seem to have an advantage in any redevelopment proposal. It also doesn’t hurt that the Portland Trail Blazers’ Jumptown proposal has the support of the coliseum’s main tenant, the Winterhawks hockey team.

MORE RENDERINGS (PDF)

• Aerial rendering
• Section elevation
• Street view
• Urban design goals

“We wanted to not develop an approach in a vacuum,” proposal spokesman Charlie Burr said. “We wanted to make sure it fits in with the plan of a vibrant district, and that’s one reason we collaborated with the Winterhawks.”

The Winterhawks play half their home games at Memorial Coliseum, but could play many more there if Portland City Council picks the redevelopment proposal the team is backing, said Doug Piper, the team’s president. That proposal would expand the ice rink surface to National Hockey League standards and remove seats to create open “party decks” where fans can gather around tables to watch the game, eat and drink.

The floor area outside the bowl would be reconfigured to include a swimming pool and a recreation room, and portions of the seating area would be removed to offer spectators views of town.

Presently, the Winterhawks play as many games as possible in the newer Rose Garden arena, Piper said. But a reworked Memorial Coliseum would better suit the team and eliminate its biggest scheduling headache.

“The Blazers, in the Rose Garden, have the first right on (game) dates, and we kind of have to sneak in around them,” Piper said. “We hold up the entire (Western Hockey League) scheduling process by two months.”

Although the proposal reduces the number of seats, it wouldn’t make the coliseum less desirable for major events, Piper said. The Rose Garden and Memorial Coliseum should be considered as two pieces of the same campus, he added.

For example, Piper said, events such as the U.S. Figure Skating Championships can use the rinks at both venues, with the final competitions held at the larger Rose Garden. “The preliminary events, or where they need to do more things at once, you could do in the smaller building.”

Portland Arena Management owns the Rose Garden and an adjacent parcel, and manages the city-owned Memorial Coliseum and Rose Quarter parking garages. The Winterhawks have a lease with the city that runs through 2013.

In addition, a parcel owned by Portland Arena Management affiliate Aegean across North Interstate Avenue, between Interstate Avenue and the Willamette River, would be included in Jumptown.

The Jumptown concept includes shops, restaurants, housing, event spaces, a Nike museum and possibly a 250-room hotel and a farmers’ market. The hotel wouldn’t be the oft-discussed Oregon Convention Center headquarters hotel, said J.E. Isaac, the Trail Blazers senior vice president for business affairs, despite the plan to build it a short walk from the center. A true headquarters hotel would have to be several times larger than one proposed for the Rose Quarter.

While that hotel could serve convention-goers, Isaac said, it would mainly serve Jumptown. Still, he said, a bustling entertainment center could spill over to the convention center, he said.

“Being as close as we are to the convention center, having an activity center here that is active 365 days a year is really a draw for additional conventions.”

The post Two proposals stand out for Memorial Coliseum appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

MORE RENDERINGS (PDF)

• Aerial rendering
• Section elevation
• Street view
• Urban design goals

The Portland Trail Blazers submitted their proposal for the Jumptown entertainment district in the Rose Quarter ahead of today’s city deadline for Memorial Coliseum redevelopment ideas. The proposal formalizes the idea the Blazers and Portland Winterhawks announced last month.

While short on specifics, the proposal includes a grab bag of Portland development ideas. That could include a 250-room hotel near the convention center, if not a convention center hotel. And a farmers market, if not a year-round indoor farmers market.

The hallmarks of the proposal are a Memorial Coliseum reworked to hold more private boxes, a Nike museum and a mixed-use development that includes live-event venues.

Restaurants and a community athletic center would help liven up the district during the days and when no events are taking place.

The post Blazers submit proposal for Coliseum appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The post Blazers president presents Jumptown to minority entrepreneurs appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

If Pioneer Courthouse Square is Portland’s living room, then perhaps the Rose Quarter could become Portland’s recreation room.

The Portland Trail Blazers and the Portland Winterhawks announced Thursday that they would team up for an effort to redevelop the Rose Quarter into a 24-hour sports and entertainment district.

But the largest challenge facing the Jumptown proposal, according to Trail Blazers President Larry Miller, is what to do with Memorial Coliseum. The city is soliciting proposals to redevelop the historic building, and its fate remains uncertain. But Miller said he is confident that the teams’ plan would make the best use of the aging facility.

“We see maintaining Memorial Coliseum as an event venue is its best use,” Miller said. “(Approximately) 450,000 people go through there each year. To take it down, the city would lose something there.”

What Memorial Coliseum would lose if the Jumptown proposal were chosen, however, is seating. Winterhawks president Doug Piper said the 20,000-seat arena could be pared down to only 6,000 to 7,000 seats to draw in visitors who want a more intimate viewing experience. Reducing capacity to attract more visitors may seem counterintuitive, but Piper insists the seat reduction is about supply and demand.

“It creates a scarcity of product so that tickets become harder to get, which is important in our business,” Piper said. “Think about the challenges that (Portland Beavers and Portland Timbers owner) Merritt Paulson faces with PGE Park. He can get a huge crowd in that stadium and it still doesn’t look full. Seven thousand seats seems to be the most successful amount for teams in the Western Hockey League.”

RELATED

Blazers president presents Jumptown to minority entrepreneurs | If the Portland Trail Blazers‘ and Portland Winterhawks‘ proposal for a 24-hour sports and entertainment district in the Rose Quarter is approved by City Council next year, Blazers team president Larry Miller said he wants minorities, women and emerging small businesses to have a big piece of that development pie.
» Read more

While the plan would remove seats, it also would create new training facilities for the Blazers at the coliseum, upgrade the stadium’s ice sheet and add amenities such as club seating and more dining options.

But before the Winterhawks can think about costs associated with altering the seating, Piper said other costly building issues such as old wiring, plumbing and HVAC systems will need to be addressed.

“It’s not going to be cheap,” Piper said. “The biggest problem right now is the building is dated. There’s no electronic scoreboard, the lighting and sound systems are old, and it needs to meet ADA requirements. It’s going to be a big project just to get the building up to speed.”

The cost to renovate the building as laid out in the Jumptown proposal has not been determined. But Piper said Winterhawks owner Bill Gallacher would not be opposed to helping finance the project.

“That decision would be based on a revenue assessment to see how much of an investment we could recoup,” Piper said. “As we figure out what the city’s decision on the proposal is, our roles will become more clear, whether it’s tenant or investment partner.”

The city will stop taking concept proposals to redevelop Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 8, 2010. Concepts then will be reviewed by the mayor’s Rose Quarter Development Stakeholder Advisory Committee. A public presentation of the qualifying concepts is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2010 at Memorial Coliseum.

Despite competition from more than 50 proposals for the building, Miller said he was confident that the teams’ plan will succeed.

“We’re more focused on presenting our plan in the best possible light than on the other proposals,” Miller said. “We’ve been well received by the Portland Development Commission, and we have a viable plan and partners.”

The post Portland Winterhawks partner with Blazers for Jumptown appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.