After leasing increasing amounts of training space over nearly 15 years, the Portland Timbers are taking a big step.

Last month, the professional soccer club purchased the 13-acre property where its training facility sits, at 6220 S.W. 112th Ave. in Beaverton. Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD), which had been sharing with the Timbers a building on the site, sold it for $25 million.

“This is an exciting moment for THPRD and a win-win for the community,” THPRD Board President Alfredo Moreno stated in a press release. “We are proud to support the Timbers’ efforts to expand their Beaverton training facilities and deepen community connections as they work to bring home another MLS Cup trophy.”

Ashley Highsmith, the Timbers’ chief operating officer, said the site purchase was something that club owner Merritt Paulson had been thinking about for a while.

“Our team is continuing to grow and get bigger,” Highsmith said. “We want to make sure we have a training facility that is available for our club to continue to grow and perform at a high level.”

The Timbers began leasing space in THPRD’s building on the property in 2011, with 6,000 square feet. They increased that amount to 8,600 square feet in 2015 and then 24,000 square feet in 2017. The latter expansion provided a new weight room, a film theater, a full-service kitchen, a media room, improved treatment spaces, and more.

Following the purchase, the club can use the entire 90,000-square-foot building, which will be renamed the Portland Timbers Performance Center.

GBD Architects has been working with the Timbers on a master plan primarily for the building’s interior; an indoor practice area and expanded player facilities are being considered. Both indoor and outdoor training spaces are being designed by GBD.

Currently, full development plans for the 13-acre footprint are being determined. Officials have already decided to increase the number of full-size training fields from two to three.

“The area that was … THPRD (space) will turn into our turf field,” Highsmith said. “Where the turf field is currently, that will be our second grass field.”

Other plans call for adding a viewing deck along one side of the building, expanding office space, and replacing the roof.

The club is in the process of finalizing details for Bernhardt Golf to serve as the general contractor for the exterior renovation; also, subcontractors are being hired. A contractor for the interior work will be selected later in the project.

“Outside is where we’re focusing first in developing this field and really making it a premier place for our team to train on,” Highsmith said.

A phased approach will be used for the field upgrades so the Timbers can maintain their training schedule. The start date for construction is not set yet.

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WASHINGTON — Washington’s NFL franchise is set to return to the nation’s capital as part of an agreement between the organization and the District of Columbia government to build a new stadium as part of a project totaling nearly $4 billion.

The District of Columbia and the Commanders reached an agreement to construct a new home for the football team in the city, Mayor Muriel Bowser said. The site holds RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades and is being demolished. The new stadium would open in 2030, with ground expected to be broken next year, pending D.C. City Council approval.

The Commanders are contributing $2.7 billion and the city investing roughly $1.1 billion over the next eight years for the stadium, housing, green space and a “sportsplex” on 170 acres of land bordering the Anacostia River. The stadium itself will take up just 16 of those acres.

The team and the mayor announced the move in a video posted on social media. It was narrated by Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Theismann, who spoke about his experience playing at RFK Stadium and how the new one will benefit the city.

“Let’s bring the Commanders home,” Theismann said. “The time is now. Let’s bring Washington back to D.C.”

City and team officials along with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell unveiled the plans at an event at the National Press Club in front of a backdrop reading, “Welcome home.” Mambo Sauce’s “Welcome to DC” blared from speakers as Goodell, Bowser and controlling owner Josh Harris entered to cheers.

Commanders ownership has been considering places in Washington, Maryland and Virginia since buying the team from Dan Snyder in 2022. The most recent progress came when Congress passed a bill transferring the RFK Stadium land to D.C. Former President Joe Biden signed it into law in early January.

Washington has played in Landover, Maryland, since moving there in 1997. The Commanders’ lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover runs through 2027. Harris has called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium to be completed.

The team played at RFK Stadium, two miles east of the U.S. Capitol, from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91.

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