Providence Park

Providence Park
Aerial View, May 2016
Providence Park is located in Portland, Oregon
Providence Park
Providence Park
Location in Portland
Providence Park is located in Oregon
Providence Park
Providence Park
Location in Oregon
Providence Park is located in the United States
Providence Park
Providence Park
Location in the United States
Former namesMultnomah Field (1893–1926)[1]
Multnomah Stadium (1926–1965)
Civic Stadium (1966–2000)
PGE Park (2001–2010)
Jeld-Wen Field (2011–2014)
Address1844 SW Morrison
LocationPortland, Oregon
Coordinates45°31′17″N 122°41′30″W / 45.52139°N 122.69167°W / 45.52139; -122.69167
Public transitTram interchange TriMet MAX Light Rail
 Red Line
 Blue Line
at Providence Park
Local Transit SW 18th & Morrison: 18, 63
OwnerCity of Portland
OperatorPeregrine Sports, LLC
Capacity25,218
Field size110 yd × 75 yd
(100.58 m × 68.58 m)[2]
SurfaceFieldTurf Revolution
Construction
Broke groundMay 6, 1926[3]
OpenedOctober 9, 1926[7]
Renovated1956, 1982, 2001, 2011, 2019
Construction cost$502,000
($8.64 million in 2023 dollars[4])

Other:

List
    • $36 million (2010 renovation)
      ($48.8 million in 2023 dollars[4])
    • $85 million (2018–19 renovation)[5]
      ($101 million in 2023 dollars[4])
ArchitectA. E. Doyle
Morris H. Whitehouse & Associates
General contractorHansen-Hammond Company[6]
Tenants
List
Website
timbers.com/providencepark

Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Field; PGE Park; Civic Stadium; originally Multnomah Stadium; and from 1893 until the stadium was built, Multnomah Field)[1] is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. It is the home of the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Providence Park is currently the oldest facility to be configured as a soccer-specific stadium for use by an MLS team, and is one of the most historic grounds used by any United States professional soccer team. It has existed in rudimentary form since 1893, and as a complete stadium since 1926.

Providence Park has been the home of the Timbers since 1975. The stadium has been host to several major United States soccer events including U.S. national team matches, Soccer Bowl '77, the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, the 2015 NWSL Championship Game, and MLS Cup 2021.

The Portland-based Multnomah Athletic Club was founded in 1891 and soon constructed the stadium for their amateur sports teams beginning in 1893. In 1926, the facility was expanded into a complete stadium, including the upper seating bowl and the wooden benches which can still be found in the park. In 1956, the stadium was renovated in earnest for the first time to reflect its growing usage in the community. In 1966 the City of Portland purchased the park and renamed it Civic Stadium.

It was renovated in 2001 to accommodate the Timbers and the Portland Beavers, while the naming rights of the stadium were purchased by Portland General Electric and it was renamed PGE Park. In 2011, the park underwent renovations again, this time so it could accommodate the Portland Timbers MLS franchise and a year later the stadium name rights were sold, this time to Jeld-Wen (Jeld-Wen Field). In 2014, the name was changed again to Providence Park after Providence Health & Services bought the naming rights.[8]

A 2019 expansion raised the capacity to 25,218 and added a multi-level facade to the East End. The Portland Timbers have sold out every game at Providence Park since moving to MLS in 2011, and the Thorns set a single-game National Women's Soccer League attendance record in August 2019 with a sell-out crowd of the same capacity.[9] In 2019, both clubs ranked among the top ten in attendance among professional soccer teams (men's or women's) in the United States and Canada.[9]

  1. ^ a b Prince, Tracy J. (2011). Portland's Goose Hollow. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-7385-7472-1.
  2. ^ Orr, Michael A. (December 31, 2013). "Timbers Expanding Width of Field to 75 Yards". Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  3. ^ "Multnomah Stadium Acquisition Bonds" (PDF). pdxcityclub.org. November 8, 1966. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "Merritt Paulson's vision comes to fruition as Portland Timbers prepare to reopen renovated Providence Park". May 30, 2019. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies – Hansen, L. W.
  7. ^ "October 9, 1926: Multnomah Civic Stadium is Dedicated". Dave Knows Portland. October 9, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Jamie (February 10, 2014). "Portland Timbers to rename their stadium Providence Park". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Timbers, Thorns FC recognized by Portland Business Journal with Commercial Real Estate Transformer Award". November 21, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2020.