Well, when we were talking about "Profesional Sports" I was mainly thinking of the Big Three, Plus Hockey. Football, Baseball, Basketball, and sometimes Hockey.
I don't think soccer is really in the same league as those other sports businesses. I imagine it would be easier to get a WNBA team to be mentioned on the nightly news, or carried by at least a couple of cable sports channels. Soccer? Not so much.
I can appreciate that there are plenty of Portlanders who enjoy soccer, and I remember well in the 1980's all those white, upper middle class guys in high school who were on the soccer team. I imagine the Timbers Army is made up of plenty of Wilson High, Lincoln High, Lakeridge High, Caitlin Gabel and Jesuit High alumni who played soccer in high school. And I bet beer sales at the snack bar are through the roof, with long suffering Lake Oswego housewives waiting in the Mercedes SUV to pick up hubby and his buddies after the game.
But really, how much media coverage does soccer get in a crowded national sports market? Not much, if any at all.
Look at the LA Galaxy and the arrival of David Beckham. It was supposed to move soccer into the pro sports world for America. It's done absolutely nothing for soccer, except get pictures of his pouty wife in the pages of People Magazine a few times.
All that said, this MLS proposal for Portland is likely a good one if they are going to use the existing PGE Park and just fill up more dates in that venue. I would assume this deal would require very little taxpayers money to get off the ground?