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-   -   Albina Vision / Rose Quarter Redevelopment (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152548)

Dougall5505 Jun 10, 2008 8:16 PM

Albina Vision / Rose Quarter Redevelopment
 
Finally it looks like the Blazers and Paul Allen are taking some initiative in getting the ball rolling. Granted its the smallest of baby steps and with the housing market in its present condition I would be surprised if the project started within the next five years, but its still progress.

The Portland Trail Blazers pick AEG to manage the Rose Quarter
The choice suggests a move toward corporate naming and a push for development
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
BRENT HUNSBERGER
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/...a17c0a.jpg?v=0

The Portland Trail Blazers have chosen entertainment giant AEG as the new manager of the Rose Quarter, a signal the team is serious about redeveloping the area and growing revenue streams for the ballclub.

Los Angeles-based AEG Facilities has signed a five-year deal with the Blazers' Portland Arena Management to replace the current facilities manager, Global Spectrum, starting July 1, Mike Golub, the team's vice president and chief operations officer, said Monday.

Team officials hope the change goes unnoticed by patrons of the quarter's 20,000-seat Rose Garden and 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum, and even by the 70 full-time and more than 700 part-time employees.

"Our intent is to keep all the staff, part time and full time, and to make this seamless to the visitor," Golub said. He declined to reveal financial terms of the deal.

The move suggests team management is pressing harder to find a corporate naming partner for the Rose Quarter and to redevelop the area to include housing, offices and other entertainment.

Among its many business ventures, AEG sells naming rights for venues. It also owns the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles, where it is developing L.A. Live, a $2.5 billion district of residences, offices, hotel rooms and event venues. Trail Blazers executives have cited L.A. Live as a model for redeveloping the 32-acre Rose Quarter.

AEG, a unit of Denver-based Anschutz Corp., beat out Comcast Corp.'s Global Spectrum, which has managed the Rose Quarter since 2005, when Paul Allen, the team's owner, relinquished the arena in bankruptcy. Allen's Portland Arena Management repurchased the arena in 2007 and extended Global's contract by a year.

Global Spectrum has performed well, industry observers say, boosting the number of events staged at both venues. It electrified aging Memorial Coliseum late last year by landing the Davis Cup international tennis tournament finals.

Global Spectrum also lured next year's men's NCAA basketball tournament and added the Portland LumberJax lacrosse franchise. The Rose Quarter was ranked as one of the busiest complexes for its size by Venues Today, a trade publication, said Mike Scanlon, Global Spectrum's general manager.

"I think it was a very successful 31/2 years," he said.

The Blazers operate the city-owned coliseum and have lost money on it for years. But in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, the 48-year-old arena turned a small profit, city and team officials say.

Davis Cup ticket sales should help the aging arena make more money this year, said David Logsdon, the city spectator facilities manager.

Golub said the team picked AEG not because of its financial offer but because of its track record booking concerts, and managing and developing arenas.

AEG ranks as the nation's second-largest concert promoter behind Live Nation. Besides L.A. Live, AEG also is developing O2 World, a 50-acre entertainment complex in Berlin, and The O2 in London, a 28-acre arena-centered development. It owns or manages 12 other venues, including WaMu Theater in Seattle.

AEG also sells venue naming rights, which the Blazers are marketing. Golub said the Blazers will continue to shop the Rose Quarter's naming rights in-house but could use AEG's expertise in the future.

Golub said the team is "midstream" in its efforts to land a naming rights partner. "We're still in discussions with some prospective companies but still a long way to go," he said.

AEG also owns the company that stages Coachella, an outdoor music festival in Indio, Calif., similar to Sasquatch at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash., and Bumbershoot in Seattle. Though neither AEG nor the Blazers have seriously discussed starting a festival in Portland, Golub said, "we think there's a potential to do something like that with AEG."

But Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a concert trade publication, doubted that prospect, noting Portland's smaller population and competition from existing festivals nearby.

The Trail Blazers-AEG deal links two of the richest men in sports: Allen and AEG owner Philip Anschutz, Nos. 41 and 125, respectively, on Forbes magazine's list of world billionaires.

It also links Vulcan Sports & Entertainment Chief Executive Tod Leiweke with his brother, Timothy, AEG's chief executive and president. Golub said Tod Leiweke was not involved in the decision.

Brent Hunsberger: 503-221-8359; brenthunsberger@ news.oregonian.com www.oregonlive.com/weblogs/atwork


©2008 The Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/pr...300.xml&coll=7

ericb4prez Jun 10, 2008 9:29 PM

that area really needs to be developed...

as portland grows, it is lacking in entertainment...and specifically nightlife. i travel the world experiencing other cities nightlife for a living and portland per capita might be the worst.

Okstate Jun 11, 2008 2:39 AM

^ I sadly agree about the nightlife. I hesitate to say this, but OKC has a more vibrant (downtown) nightlife than PDX.

MarkDaMan Jun 11, 2008 4:45 AM

Not true...Portland doesn't have a faux main street of clubs. We have neighborhood hangouts. I have my favs. When I go out on a Saturday night, I pick one place and kick it with all my friends that show up on Saturday nights too.

Portland's night scene is misunderstood, maybe underground? or just local.

ericb4prez Jun 11, 2008 5:25 AM

i mean...the area down in chinatown with dirty, dixie, mcfaddens, ohm, etc...is kind of a mini hub...but all of those clubs are glorified dive bars.

im talking about a mix of true high end ultra lounges...real dance clubs...

and what would really take the nightlife to the next level by pumping money into the business of owning a club in portland...

bottle service.

i think san diego has a great scene in the gaslamp that has a good mix of music formats, upscale and neighborhoody, etc.

rsbear Jun 11, 2008 6:00 AM

Gaslamp is active and fun. But it's also a huge tourist destination, which, at that level anyway, Portland is not.

bvpcvm Jun 11, 2008 7:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericb4prez (Post 3606223)
im talking about a mix of true high end ultra lounges...real dance clubs...

i think i speak for a lot of people in portland when i say that to me that sounds unbearable.

pdxtraveler Jun 11, 2008 5:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvpcvm (Post 3606364)
i think i speak for a lot of people in portland when i say that to me that sounds unbearable.


I would have to agree. 'Ultra-hip' just doesn't sound like Portland culture at all. Granted I have a feeling we will see more of it, but that isn't the Portland that has been.

Okstate Jun 11, 2008 6:08 PM

Quote:

We have neighborhood hangouts
I won't argue that. but there is no *one* destination district to gather. Weather or not that is good or bad can be left to opinion...which I don't care either way. Regardless of opinion ericb4prez is absolutely right in that there is limited
Quote:

mix of true high end ultra lounges...real dance clubs...
Portland is very unique for American cities & that simply enhances its allure for me.

PacificNW Jun 12, 2008 12:02 AM

AEG is huge.....this could be a good thing for future development in that area. If I remember correctly a lot of people on this forum have been concerned about the "lack of anything happening" in the Rose Quarter. If they do anything remotely close to what they are developing @ Staples Center in L.A. the Rose Quarter is in store for some major changes.

WestCoast Jun 12, 2008 2:57 AM

it's funny, I was going to post earlier how nauseating it would be having a row of 'clubs' in town, etc etc.

I bit my tongue, but it's fun to see some others say the same thing.


I think this is the last thing that should be a focus for this area. I work here everyday, and it needs some core, some definition.

Maybe a few shops, some apartments or condos, small mixed use stuff.
Just to get something going. There is very little grass and open space either, just pavement everywhere. Very few trees, lots of warehouses instead. Lower Albina/Mississippi is the only thing sort of going on, and that probably barely qualifies as Rose Quarter anyway.

EastPDX Jun 12, 2008 5:51 PM

Maybe the "new" spot for the MLB ready stadium is ...
 
... the Blanchard Property (Lents is being talked about now but some of us consider that as a starting point for Paulsen). Maybe having AEG jump starts the Rose Quarter into a 24 hour Entertainment District in the near term. Having a MLB ready stadium makes the Rose Quarter a 365 day Enter. Dist..

Lets all support the Timbers and getting the current "PGE Park" moving to a "soccer/football" only stadium.

Some of us had this conversation years ago at the OSC website. It would be so sweet that some businessmen and women are seeing that a Rose Quarter Enter. District will truly pencil out. One comment I had brought forward was that the Lower Albina District could be redeveloped into a Pub/Dining/Hostel district with narrow alleyways (think Old London or Dublin). This would be very long term since the hazardous material industrial sites need to be worked one at a time.

Hopefully they can plan for an area underneath some of the parking structures, streets, new parks could supply enough space for platforms/ticketing/four lines for High Speed Rail (moving Amtrak to the Eastbank only is a goal of mine too).
This needs to be done in conjunction with the future Blue Line Subway alignment.

This news is just that the management has changed officially, but we can hope that more is to come.:)


eP

IHEARTPDX Jun 12, 2008 7:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericb4prez (Post 3605288)
that area really needs to be developed...

as portland grows, it is lacking in entertainment...and specifically nightlife. i travel the world experiencing other cities nightlife for a living and portland per capita might be the worst.

I totally agree. Nightlife in Portland is horrible gay and straight. I find the gay bars/scene here boring and depressing...smaller cities that I have visited across the US and Canada have better nightlife than Portland.

ericb4prez Jun 12, 2008 11:43 PM

i realize that ultra lounges and clubs aren't for everybody...

but portland has all the neighborhood bars, irish pubs, dives, brew pubs it can handle..when it comes to that...portland is over saturated.

but when it comes to upscale...there are few options...if any.

some of the fun places in other cities...like slide in SF or confidential in SD would fit perfectly in portland...there would probably be room for a few places like that.

ericb4prez Jun 12, 2008 11:44 PM

and it's time to face the facts...portland is becoming a tourist destination...

the word is out on the cuisine...

the population has grown to the point that we've become a true city.

it's time for us to have the amenities that go along with that.

pdxtraveler Jun 13, 2008 2:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericb4prez (Post 3610237)
and it's time to face the facts...portland is becoming a tourist destination...

the word is out on the cuisine...

the population has grown to the point that we've become a true city.

it's time for us to have the amenities that go along with that.

While I don't completely disagree and respect your opinion, I also think people go to a destination to see that 'culture'. Why would we be trying to conform to the other cities cultures, then what is the use of traveling when everything is just like home.

cab Jun 13, 2008 4:30 PM

Well I'd think those type places would be here if there was an actual market for them. Portland is different. I think it tends to take care of neighborhood populations before the tunnel and bridge folk. I like that about Portland. Its a very real city without all the social retail programming found in other "hot" spots. We're never going to compete playing the programmed destination game anyway so we should stick to playing up our strengths of urban authenticity.

bvpcvm Jun 14, 2008 12:36 AM

re: portland as a tourist destination, i haven't seen any this year, but the past few years in the summer i've actually seen tourist guides leading groups around the pearl: a total wtf moment.

MarkDaMan Jun 14, 2008 1:57 AM

well we could have had the insta-nightlife district with the Cordish proposal for Centennial Mills...instead this community picks something organic from Lab...how very Portland of us. If we do get a thriving 'nightlife row', it will be by accident and that will make it all the more real.

dkealoha Jun 14, 2008 3:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvpcvm (Post 3612655)
re: portland as a tourist destination, i haven't seen any this year, but the past few years in the summer i've actually seen tourist guides leading groups around the pearl: a total wtf moment.

Just last Saturday I saw a tour guide with a microphone and speaker leading a large group through the brewery blocks about 10:30 am. It was a total "wtf" moment for me too, but I see tourists all the time. The streetcar is constantly packed with people perusing their walking maps and trying to figure out where they are on the streetcar line.

zilfondel Jun 14, 2008 7:03 AM

I saw a tourist group of people - around 50 - along Waterfront park today. Eh, not really surprising actually... I've seen smaller (10) groups in the Pearl too.

cab Jun 14, 2008 2:57 PM

There has been a lot more tourist of late (thank the NYT) but they aren't coming to see a programmed mall, they are coming because PDX is offering an authentic experience. That is our main selling point. It would be a huge mistake to start playing the "keep up with the Jones" game now. We simple cannot play on that level (why would we want to anyway) Portland is not about one big destination spot, its about the little small surprises you find while exploring the city. Its a place to explore on your own, not a cattle drive to a group think experiment with flashing lights and booze.

IHEARTPDX Jun 14, 2008 3:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan (Post 3612765)
If we do get a thriving 'nightlife row', it will be by accident and that will make it all the more real.

I agree. I don't think the solution to a bland nightlife is building a complex of "hotspots"...
A complicating factor may be OLCC rules about having a certain number of tables to eat food at when you are in a bar. I think they calculate the square footage and require a minimum number of tables for the size of your bar/club etc. I think this makes it difficult to design a lounge-esque locale.

joeplayer1989 Jun 15, 2008 1:31 AM

At Saterday market, where I see knives and wallets, my customers are mostly tourists and of course the regulars.

urbanlife Jun 15, 2008 3:28 AM

just gotta look for the downtown walking maps. That is the best way to spot a tourist here.

MarkDaMan Jun 15, 2008 3:30 AM

joe, do you make them too?

joeplayer1989 Jun 15, 2008 6:44 AM

I am actually not at saterday market, but the skidermore fountain market. I do not make make my own stuff, its all imported. I do see a lot of those maps! Especially around voodoo, that place is full of them.

MightyAlweg Jun 15, 2008 8:02 AM

Can I throw out an alternate viewpoint on the Pre-Programmed Entertainment Mall concept?

I actually think they serve a purpose and often liven up aging and underutilized urban areas, especially around sports venues or big public facilities. No, they rarely have truly "hip" places where unique, regional offerings are available. Yes, they usually have big chain restaurants and bars. But you know what? As long as they are done reasonably well and in a decent location, they are almost always packed to the rafters, especially on weekends or during big civic events.

Granted, I live in Orange County, which has several of these types of places. And as a former Seattleite and Portlander, I still remember the Northwest hobby of rolling our eyes at Californians and their slick, trendy ways. But I also know that the Irvine Spectrum here in OC is packed every weekend with upscale, big spending locals out on Date Nite. It has about 30 bars and restaurants, 21 movie screens, lots of shops, and a giant ferris wheel and some rides.

Same thing for Downtown Disney, the entertainment mall next to Disneyland, where tourists and locals alike literally swarm that mall every weekend, and any night during the vacation season or holiday periods. Even on winter weekdays there is usually a healthy crowd of tourists and locals at Downtown Disney. Even though it's right next door to Disneyland, one of the biggest entertainment draws in the country, the place is still jammed with people just out for dinner or a movie. And since it's Disney, it's designed beautifully, very well run, and always imaculately clean with not a whiff of street crime.

If they did something fun and colorful around the Rose Garden, and really tied it in to the civic facilities there as well as the Convention Center, acting as a bridge of sorts between venues, the place would be very popular. Since that area is right on the Max line (all of them, in fact), as well as adjacent to a future streetcar line, you would have a good influx of locals coming from the north and east, and tourists coming from the downtown hotels.

Does it need to be one-of-a-kind with Portland exclusive offerings? No, not really. In fact, most tourists (and even a lot of locals) would not feel comfortable striking out into unknown territory when all they really want is dinner and a show on a Saturday night. But if you anchored it with the usual big offerings like Cheesecake Factory, P.F.Changs, Claimjumper, Outback, Red Robin, ESPNZone, Fox Sports Grill, House of Blues, etc. you would have enough familiarity to sprinkle in some uniquely Portland merchandise elements, maybe a local brewpub or two, and use some fun architecture that plays up the Portland connection with roses or forests or something.

I know it's popular to sniff your nose at chain restaurants and suburban malls, especially in the Northwest, but the huge line of people waiting for a table at Claimjumper in Beaverton or Clackamas tells me there is definitely a market for a Date Nite Entertainment Center in Portland.

Done right, it would be the perfect way to bring some life into the otherwise underutilized Rose Garden-Convention Center-South Lloyd District area. Because unless there's a Blazers game or the Auto Show is in town, that neighborhood is as dead as a doornail.

PDX City-State Jun 15, 2008 9:09 AM

I'm not opposed in theory to a few blocks of chain restaurants near the Lloyd and Convention Center. The problem is, locals won't support those types of establishments on the nights without events. There are tons of great restaurants in Portland, and chains don't typically do as well here.

I think the best way to revitalize that area is to build an actual neighborhood. There needs to be a catalyst project like the Brewery Blocks. It needs to have mix of rentals, condominiums, retail, civic and office space so the restaurants will survive both lunch and dinner seven nights a week. There were like four restaurants at the Rose Quarter when it opened a decade ago, and the last one closed two years ago. That's quite telling.

One of the principle rules of commercial real estate is that money follows people. So first, bring in some people to activate the street scape. I know this isn't a popular viewpoint, but I strongly believe the Memorial Coliseum should be leveled to make way for a new neighborhood. Two adjacent arenas both destroy the grid and create an impenetrable dead zone. There's pretty good building stock on the Broadway side of the arenas, and a few old brick buildings are currently being renovated, which is a great sign. Other parcels in that area are encumbered by long-term leases for auto-oriented retail (like the carwashes, fast food, and coffee drive-throughs), but a lot of that's going to change in the next decade as leases expire. Joe Weston is banking on this area, and if he's on board, so goes the city.

I don't believe that everything in Portland has to be scaled and cozy, but I do believe that every thing should serve the population of those who work, live, study, and pay taxes here. Building a theme park of retail might draw folks in the short term, but it does nothing for the long term. The economic life of a shopping center is about 20 years between remodels. That's not good enough.

ericb4prez Jun 15, 2008 6:00 PM

that's the thing...portland is a tourist destination...

have you ever tried to book a room downtown on the weekend relatively last minute? it can be damn near impossible all summer long.

noticed the sidewalk signs that have arrows and directions to different attractions? i highly doubt those are there for locals.

Dougall5505 Jun 15, 2008 6:02 PM

Maybe this would be a good place for a performing arts center. the keller auditorium could move over to the rosequarter, to anchor it as a entertainment destination.

bvpcvm Jun 15, 2008 9:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyAlweg (Post 3614797)
Can I throw out an alternate viewpoint on the Pre-Programmed Entertainment Mall concept?

I actually think they serve a purpose and often liven up aging and underutilized urban areas, especially around sports venues or big public facilities. No, they rarely have truly "hip" places where unique, regional offerings are available. Yes, they usually have big chain restaurants and bars. But you know what? As long as they are done reasonably well and in a decent location, they are almost always packed to the rafters, especially on weekends or during big civic events.

Granted, I live in Orange County, which has several of these types of places. And as a former Seattleite and Portlander, I still remember the Northwest hobby of rolling our eyes at Californians and their slick, trendy ways. But I also know that the Irvine Spectrum here in OC is packed every weekend with upscale, big spending locals out on Date Nite. It has about 30 bars and restaurants, 21 movie screens, lots of shops, and a giant ferris wheel and some rides.

Same thing for Downtown Disney, the entertainment mall next to Disneyland, where tourists and locals alike literally swarm that mall every weekend, and any night during the vacation season or holiday periods. Even on winter weekdays there is usually a healthy crowd of tourists and locals at Downtown Disney. Even though it's right next door to Disneyland, one of the biggest entertainment draws in the country, the place is still jammed with people just out for dinner or a movie. And since it's Disney, it's designed beautifully, very well run, and always imaculately clean with not a whiff of street crime.

If they did something fun and colorful around the Rose Garden, and really tied it in to the civic facilities there as well as the Convention Center, acting as a bridge of sorts between venues, the place would be very popular. Since that area is right on the Max line (all of them, in fact), as well as adjacent to a future streetcar line, you would have a good influx of locals coming from the north and east, and tourists coming from the downtown hotels.

[...]

I know it's popular to sniff your nose at chain restaurants and suburban malls, especially in the Northwest, but the huge line of people waiting for a table at Claimjumper in Beaverton or Clackamas tells me there is definitely a market for a Date Nite Entertainment Center in Portland.

Done right, it would be the perfect way to bring some life into the otherwise underutilized Rose Garden-Convention Center-South Lloyd District area. Because unless there's a Blazers game or the Auto Show is in town, that neighborhood is as dead as a doornail.

I wouldn't really support such an idea, because, personally, let's face it, I do sniff my nose at chain restaurants, etc. But that aside, I really don't think something like that would work in this part of town. Maybe out by Washington Square or Bridgeport Village or something. But that part of town (inner NE) is populated to a huge extent by hipsters who would want nothing to do with it; the people who would find it attractive are, to a great extent all out in the suburbs anyway and would be less likely to want to go "downtown" for that kind of thing. You're right that there is a market for that sort of thing - I was shocked at the huge crowds the one time I was dragged to Cheesecake Factory (could there ever be a more ironic name?) at 10:30 on a Tuesday night. I just don't think that sort of thing would find too much of a market there. (To my great distress, I work out in the wilds of Tigard, and am continually surprised at the stereotypes about downtown, which, I think, includes the Lloyd area for most suburbanites. I constantly hear downtown described as "scary" and "full of bums", by people who would probably fit pretty well into the "date nite" demographic you're speaking of.)

MightyAlweg Jun 15, 2008 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDX City-State (Post 3614839)
I'm not opposed in theory to a few blocks of chain restaurants near the Lloyd and Convention Center. The problem is, locals won't support those types of establishments on the nights without events. There are tons of great restaurants in Portland, and chains don't typically do as well here.

I think the best way to revitalize that area is to build an actual neighborhood. There needs to be a catalyst project like the Brewery Blocks.

Well, I would have to disagree about the chain restaurants not doing well, if only from a few personal experiences.

Last Thanksgiving weekend I was in Portland to see the folks, and on Friday night my cousin drove up from Salem to have dinner with me downtown. We met at Powell's, and then walked over to P.F.Changs in the Brewery Blocks. The place was mobbed, as we expected and as I had experienced on previous visits to that location, and we waited 90 minutes in the bar for a table to open up.

P.F.Changs, the mass-produced trendy chain restaurant found in every upscale suburban mall in the country. In the middle of the hipper than thou Brewery Blocks in The Pearl. 90 minutes for a table, with a line out the door just to check in with the hostess. Yeah, the locals must avoid chains downtown. :D

That said, I loved your idea about razing the Memorial Colisseum to replace it with housing. As much as I appreciate MCM architecture, and as perfect a specimen the Colisseum is of that era, it's time probably has come. And I agree that it creates a big wall at the river with the Rose Garden and the Convention Center lined up to the south.

I think the problem with the four restaurants that originally opened at the Rose Garden were that they weren't enough, the draw wasn't strong enough, to pull people in on nights there was no game. There needs to be a development that is bigger, stronger, with more tenants and space for some really big anchor tenants to go in. That way, it's a draw on weekends there is no game, and on nights there is an event in the Rose Garden, the draw is magnetic for all attending. How about a performance venue/dining thing like House of Blues? That place does gangbuster business with locals at Downtown Disney. http://www.hob.com/venues/clubvenues/anaheim/ It has the big concert space, but then also a popular restaurant and a busy bar. And the Sunday Gospel Brunch is always popular, which fills up the place on Sunday mornings when most restaurants are in sleep mode. Anchors like that would overpower the lulls in attendance between game nights or big events.

Kind of like the Brewery Blocks, which has housing, and then lots of big national chain stores and restaurants like P.F.Changs, West Elm, Diesel, Sur La Table, North Face, Adidas, etc. The shopping/dining at the Brewery Blocks is all hip stuff, but nothing that can't already be found in every fancy suburban mall from Seattle to San Diego. But it works, and is very popular with locals.

ericb4prez Jun 15, 2008 10:42 PM

yes...and also, don't forget...the rose quarter is walking distance from the pearl...the broadway bridge puts you right in the mix.

PacificNW Jun 15, 2008 10:53 PM

Please don't even think about razing Memorial Coliseum... I think if that if anyone ever gets serious about doing that you will see an outcry Portland has never prior experienced. It is a classic....It just needs to be upgraded, imo.

MightyAlweg Jun 16, 2008 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PacificNW (Post 3615413)
Please don't even think about razing Memorial Coliseum... I think if that if anyone ever gets serious about doing that you will see an outcry Portland has never prior experienced. It is a classic....It just needs to be upgraded, imo.

From a design perspective, I would be very sad if Memorial Coliseum ever was bulldozed. It has aged beautifully, and if anything needs to be returned to its early 1960's roots, a la' the Hotel Modera or Hotel Fifty remodels. And yet I think the point PDX City-State made above that the Coliseum helps create a big wall of massive structures that blocks off the river and downtown from the Eastside and Lloyd District,and vice versa, is a very valid point.

There are three huge facilities all lined up in a row, with only two through passageways for vehicles and trains that splice through the middle. Those three facilities lined up together pose a formidable wall of concrete. And those grain towers (or whatever they are) right along the river near the Rose Garden do absolutely nothing to help the situation. The freeway down the backside is the nail in the design coffin there.

Perhaps if the old riverfront grain towers were removed you could have a waterfront development of housing that meshed up the hill towards an entertainment zone to tie at least the Rose Garden and Convention Center together?

Perhaps a silly question from someone who moved away from Portland long before the Rose Garden was built, but..... Now that the Blazers play in the Rose Garden, what exactly is the Memorial Coliseum used for? The circus only comes to town once a year. What else happens there now that the Rose Garden can't accomodate?

PacificNW Jun 16, 2008 1:34 AM

The Davis Cup Finals were recently played @ the Glass Palace. They continue to have events at M.C. although the Rose Garden does get the lions share. I agree that something needs too be done with the district. Conversion to a hotel or new concert hall (or combination) could be cool. I still like the idea of a multi-level athletic facility for the citizens of PDX to use. Maybe some kind of entertainment facility built within the glass walls?? The new operators have a pretty good track record of figuring these sorts of things out and coming up with ideas. Look what they are doing @ the Staples Center in your neck of the woods.

The grain elevators on the river are owned by one of the world's richest families and I understand they are not interested in selling. The river is a working river and grain is still be loaded onto ships. Maybe this family might be coaxed in trading for property closer to the Port of Portland. I doubt it.

PDX City-State Jun 16, 2008 2:56 AM

Quote:

P.F.Changs, the mass-produced trendy chain restaurant found in every upscale suburban mall in the country. In the middle of the hipper than thou Brewery Blocks in The Pearl. 90 minutes for a table, with a line out the door just to check in with the hostess. Yeah, the locals must avoid chains downtown.
The reason P.F. Changs does so well there is its location in a functioning neighborhood. The Pearl is destination, and lots of people live there. The destination factor keeps P.F. Changs going. I live four blocks away, and I've never gone there once. I'm not a snob about chains, I'd just rather go to Wong's King or Sungari.

MightyAlweg Jun 16, 2008 3:43 AM

Funny you mention Sungari Pearl, that's where the family all went to dinner on Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. My folks live out beyond 205 near Clackamas Town Center now, but they like to go downtown for dinner and shopping.

Good to know the Coliseum still has regular events. I remember in the 80's (Pre-Rose Garden and Convention Center) that the yearly Auto Show was always held there in the cramped exhibition space in the Coliseum basement, plus the usual annual stuff like the circus, concerts, and of course Blazer games. With the Convention Center now in place, I imagine the big annual stuff like the Auto Show, Home Show, Sportsmens Show, etc. all goes to the Convention Center instead of the Coliseum.

I take it that the Key Arena up in Seattle is also having some trouble plotting out its future. It dates from the same time as the MC, originally built as the Washington State Pavilion for the 1962 World's Fair. Key Arena needs an update rethink when it comes to visitor amenities, especially VIP boxes and Club Lounges, and I imagine the MC is in the same boat when it comes to the 21st century amenities that newer venues are built with now.

At least Portland's MC is more plugged in with its location and access to transit and area housing/hotels. There's potential with the Memorial Coliseum, most definitely, I'm just not convinced its long term future can be as a tradtional arena event venue. Someone may need to get very creative if the Memorial Coliseum is to last another 45 years.

And yes, AEG does a great job with the Staples Center up in LA, with construction underway on a big expansion around it with housing, clubs, restaurants, entertainment center, etc. Downtown LA is pretty much a ghost town after 5 o'clock, but there is a growing hub of activity around the Staples Center, mostly due to the work of AEG as the operating owner of the property.

I consider it good news if AEG is now owning and operating the Rose Garden. Only good things can come from that, both short and long term.

MightyAlweg Jun 16, 2008 3:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dougall5505 (Post 3615104)
Maybe this would be a good place for a performing arts center. the keller auditorium could move over to the rosequarter, to anchor it as a entertainment destination.

Hmm. I don't know about that. Portland already has a performing arts district well established around the Arlene Schnitzer (sp?) hall, the performing arts center next to the Heathman, and the Keller Auditorium a few blocks east.

If the Keller Auditorium is becoming out of date, and I don't doubt that it is 40+ years later, then I would think a better alternative would be to build a new civic auditorium up near the Park Blocks. Slot it in near the art museum and existing performing arts complex, and you really cement that area as the arts/culture district of Portland. Those park blocks are gorgeous, and offer such a great entry to any grand civic building. It would be better to concentrate the major culture/performing arts venues where the district has already established itself, rather than spread them out and separate them by the river.

Not to date myself, but I had my Wilson High graduation ceremony at the Keller in '88, and also attended The Bangles concert there in the spring of '89. Yes, The Bangles! :haha: That's about the only time I've ever been inside the Keller Auditorium. It has a great late 60's vibe about it though, and I love that it's sort of a small knock off of the Kennedy Center in DC, the Lincoln Center in NYC, and the Music Center in LA. Clearly they were trying to emulate the other grand, big city, white stone performing arts centers of the 1960's when the Keller was built.

rsbear Jun 16, 2008 4:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyAlweg (Post 3615846)
Hmm. I don't know about that. Portland already has a performing arts district well established around the Arlene Schnitzer (sp?) hall, the performing arts center next to the Heathman, and the Keller Auditorium a few blocks east.

If the Keller Auditorium is becoming out of date, and I don't doubt that it is 40+ years later, then I would think a better alternative would be to build a new civic auditorium up near the Park Blocks. Slot it in near the art museum and existing performing arts complex, and you really cement that area as the arts/culture district of Portland. Those park blocks are gorgeous, and offer such a great entry to any grand civic building. It would be better to concentrate the major culture/performing arts venues where the district has already established itself, rather than spread them out and separate them by the river.

Not to date myself, but I had my Wilson High graduation ceremony at the Keller in '88, and also attended The Bangles concert there in the spring of '89. Yes, The Bangles! :haha: That's about the only time I've ever been inside the Keller Auditorium. It has a great late 60's vibe about it though, and I love that it's sort of a small knock off of the Kennedy Center in DC, the Lincoln Center in NYC, and the Music Center in LA. Clearly they were trying to emulate the other grand, big city, white stone performing arts centers of the 1960's when the Keller was built.

From the PCPA web site: "which began its history in 1917 when the citizens of Portland opened their first publicly-owned assembly facility, the Municipal Auditorium. That auditorium, totally renovate in 1968, became the Portland Civic Auditorium."

I have a book "Portland a Pictorial History" (Donning, 1980) that shows the Civic before the renovation in 1968. The pre-renovated Civic makes the Schnitzer look modern.

PDX City-State Jun 16, 2008 7:20 PM

From Portland Spaces Burnside Blog:

http://www.portlandspaces.net/blog/t...m-be-destroyed

Should Memorial Coliseum Be Destroyed?

By Mike Thelin

Fans called it the Glass Palace, and for a short time in the mid-1990s, it was the smallest arena in the NBA. For locals, it was a venue for which it was nearly impossible to obtain tickets to Trailblazer games. For visiting players in basketball’s most recent golden age, guys named Larry Bird, Julius Irving, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone found an unfriendly environment among 12,888 of the loudest, fiercest fans in professional sports. It was the victory site of Portland’s first and only NBA championship in 1977, and it was the first place I and thousands of native Oregon kids attended a big league sporting event.

Since the more spacious Rose Garden Arena was completed and became home to the Blazers in 1995, the Memorial Coliseum hasn’t lived up to its potential. City bureaus have proposed a variety of redevelopment schemes, most notably a clumsy and ill-fated solution called the Memorial Athletic and Recreation Complex. So far, nothing has gelled. Now, the Memorial Coliseum hosts events like political rallies, concerts and a few home games of Portland’s junior-league hockey team, the Portland Winterhawks.

Meantime, Portland the city has gone about reinvesting in its urban neighborhoods. As the creeping northward expansion of the Pearl District has surpassed Lovejoy Street on the Willamette’s western shore, developers and a few city leaders are quietly casting a keen eye on the Eastside landing of the Broadway Bridge, the area surrounding Memorial Coliseum. If Portland’s less successful attempts in urban redevelopment will guide the city’s future progress, one important detail holds true: you need to build a community before you build amenities. This begs the question: Should the Glass Palace be saved, or razed for the sake of neighborhood building?

Having two arenas that collectively choke nearly 10 solid acres of prime waterfront land is detrimental to the larger livability of Portland. With the Glass Palace itself occupying what could be five gridded city blocks, there’s no room to build a neighborhood. And as long as no one lives in Rose Quarter, the area will be absent of the restaurants, cafes, retail and street energy that collectively create livable neighborhoods.

On the upside, the building itself is one of the finest examples of minimalist modern architecture in the city. Designed by the same firm (That’d be Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) responsible for the Sears Tower, Burj Dubai, and New York’s Freedom Tower, the Memorial Coliseum is worth saving. At the same time, the Arena chokes pedestrian traffic, occupying a huge section of land that comprises Portland’s largest urban dead zone. If it’s not game night, the Rose Quarter is about as happening as Downtown Deluth on a Tuesday.

Last week, the Trailblazer management announced it had chosen AEG Facilities to manage the Rose Quarter. As reported by the Oregonian’s Brent Hunsberger, the choice likely signals a push to sell naming rights to the Rose Quarter and spur development in the district. If AEG’s retail theme park LA Live is going to be used as inspiration, as has been suggestion, Portland be scared.

Still, the city, which owns the coliseum, should at least consider razing it in favor a mixed-use neighborhood that would enliven the Rose Quarter and better link close-in Northeast Portland to the Pearl District and Old Town, both five minute walks across the Steel and Broadway bridges, respectively. The economic life of sports facilities is measured in years whereas well-planned neighborhoods endure centuries.

If the Memorial Coliseum is going to stay, what should it be, and how should it be incorporated into surrounding development and the waterfront? I haven’t heard an acceptable scenario yet.

MightyAlweg Jun 16, 2008 7:40 PM

That's very interesting PDX City-State, thanks for posting it here!

Good to know others are thinking along the same lines as us. Clearly something needs to be done with the MC for the long term good of the Rose Quarter and the Eastside.

And again I say, I would be really sad to see the gorgeous mid-century modern design of the MC get bulldozed into history. So if it is going to stay, someone needs to get very, very creative with its future use so that it can remain while the area as a whole is opened up, gentrified, and populated with actual humans on the 360 days out of the year when the circus isn't in town.

pdxf Jun 16, 2008 9:28 PM

I don't think there is a shortage of available land to put in new housing, nor do I think it really matters if there are pockets of the city that aren't as lively as the Pearl District. Yes, it would be a cool section of town if it were more lively, but lets focus our housing/neighbhrohood vibrancy on Goose Holow, Downtown, Northwest, and SOWA...places where there is plenty of room for improvement, and plenty of developable land. The Rose Quarter district will be great someday, but we don't need to focus on it just yet. I'd rather fill in some of these surface parking lots downtown than tear down the MC in favor of housing!

rsbear Jun 16, 2008 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdxf (Post 3617145)
I don't think there is a shortage of available land to put in new housing, nor do I think it really matters if there are pockets of the city that aren't as lively as the Pearl District. Yes, it would be a cool section of town if it were more lively, but lets focus our housing/neighbhrohood vibrancy on Goose Holow, Downtown, Northwest, and SOWA...places where there is plenty of room for improvement, and plenty of developable land. The Rose Quarter district will be great someday, but we don't need to focus on it just yet. I'd rather fill in some of these surface parking lots downtown than tear down the MC in favor of housing!

I agree 100%.

PacificNW Jun 16, 2008 10:10 PM

Same here.....Dowtown has available lots, also. Seattle is developing many of its condo towers in the CBD, for example.

PDX City-State Jun 16, 2008 10:46 PM

You guys are right. There are lots of lots, but we continue to ignore the river. We need a stronger connection to the water.

pdxf Jun 16, 2008 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDX City-State (Post 3617334)
You guys are right. There are lots of lots, but we continue to ignore the river. We need a stronger connection to the water.

I don't think the rose quarter is really the place to connect to the river. This area is separated from the water by the grain elevators and railroad lines. SOWA and northern pearl have some great opportunities for connecting to the water, as does downtown. I'm amazed at how many surface parking lots are adjacent to Waterfront Park. If we're going to tear things out, lets leave the MC alone and remove I-5 from the east side of the Willamette. I could definitely get behind tearing down I-5!

PacificNW Jun 16, 2008 11:48 PM

Absolutely, I agree with both pdx's...⇡

PacificNW Mar 4, 2009 1:00 AM

Blazers team with California partner to remake 36-acre Rose Quarter
 
Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 3:12pm PST | Modified: Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 3:25pm

Portland Business Journal - by Wendy Culverwell Business Journal staff writer

The Portland Trail Blazers launched a campaign Tuesday to build public support for a plan to remake the 36-acre Rose Quarter as an entertainment-themed district alive with activity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Blazers organization is teaming with The Cordish Co., a privately-held California developer that has created similar districts in Kansas and Baltimore and currently is developing more in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said the organization began re-evaluating the Rose Quarter about 18 months ago after concluding it hadn’t lived up to its original vision. Restaurants and entertainment venues that opened there closed for lack of business when the signature venues, the Rose Garden and Memorial Coliseum, were dark. The two facilities host about 300 events each year, translating to activity on the campus about 250 days out of the year.

Miller said the team wants to work with the city of Portland to create a uniquely local entertainment district, with sustainability driving re-development plans.

“It would be the first green entertainment center in the country,” he said.

Miller said Nike Inc. is interested in constructing an interactive museum at the site to tell its company story.

J.E. Isaac, the Blazers’ senior vice president for business affairs, said the Rose Quarter has about 10 undeveloped acres as well as four acres on the Willamette River that it purchased in 1992. The site once held a hotel, long since demolished and now ready for re-development.

Accessing the river is key, said Port Telles, development director for The Cordish Co., a fourth-generation family owned development business with headquarters in West Sacramento, Calif.

“Our motto is: ‘Water is magic,’” he said.

The re-development plan currently does not include taking over the busy grain terminal that separates the Rose Quarter from the Willamette to the north of the Steel Bridge. The owners have said they don’t want to sell, Miller said.

The re-development team emphasizes that talks are preliminary and the public will have plenty of time to scrutinize any changes made at the Rose Quarter.

Generally, the redevelopment would add entertainment venues, office space, residences, restaurants and night clubs. Memorial Coliseum, the under-used arena owned by the city, will be studied for possible demolition and redevelopment. Any major change would be careful to respect the military veterans for whom the facility was named.

Any project would involve financial support from the city, most likely through the Portland Development Commission, which invests in public projects by issuing bonds repaid with taxes collected within local areas.

Funds would be provided by The Cordish Co, which self-finances its projects, Telles said.

The Rose Quarter is part of the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area and the original Rose Quarter development was financed through similar public-partner arrangements.

Miller and Isaac said the Rose Quarter re-development project will suit another PDC effort to bolster the Oregon Convention Center by constructing a 600-room “headquarters hotel” to the north and east of the Rose Quarter.

Isaac said the Blazers are long-standing supporters of the headquarters hotel effort. Transforming the Rose Quarter into an all-hours destination will be good for its neighbor.

“Our project would bring new conventions to the convention center,” he said.

In addition to the Trail Blazers and The Cordish Co., the project team includes the Trail Blazers’ owner, Vulcan Inc., and AEG, the subsidiary of the Anschutz Co. that manages entertainment venues. It may play a role in developing a portion of the Rose Quarter project.


wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415


http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...2/daily31.html


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