Possible breakthrough in Portland stadium impasse

A deal was reached today between Portland mayor Sam Adams and Merritt Paulson that could finally see the required renovations to PGE Park take place.

Since the awarding of an expansion team to Portland, the stadium deal has been bogged down in politics. There was a great deal of resistance in Portland to providing city funding to Paulson and, as such, there has been some worry that the MLS expansion rights could be pulled.

Today's deal would see the renovations go ahead at a lower overall cost. Importantly, there would be no tax hikes needed to fund the renovation. Some sport related fees would be involved.

It's expected that council will vote on the proposal in two weeks. If there isn't a cost associated with the renovations it's likely that it will pass, as the main contention -- that taxpayers not be on the hook for too much of the costs -- would be dealt with.

We will have more on this as more information becomes available.