Thanks to a couple Portland readers for sending this link my way from OregonLive.com. It seems like damage control in Portland has gone into full gear after Wednesday's comments from Merritt Paulson who said there would be no MLS in Portland without a new baseball stadium.

Well now it appears the Paulson is once again a "100% committed" to Portland's MLS efforts.

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Courtesy of OregonLive through WVHooligan comes an update on the Portland MLS efforts: Timbers owner Merritt Paulson is talking tough about a potential stadium deal with the city of Beaverton for his...

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I guess Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson is just playing some hardball with the city of Portland now. According to Oregonlive.com, Paulson told Beaverton officials that the future of Major League Soccer in Portland hinges entirely on whether he can find a new home for his minor league baseball team.

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It took 8 games for Miami FC to finally win one as they came from behind and scored an important victory over the Austin Aztex at FIU Stadium on Saturday. The fans led by the Miami Ultras came out on a wet night and were rewarded with a stellar performance by Midfielder Brian Shriver who was awarded man of the match. Click to continue reading...

I've been a little busy today so the links will be fairly light tonight. I guess that's what you can expect when it is the week of your wedding and you have loads of things to do other than write on a blog. But I will have more on that in a couple days.

Tonight I want to really get into a couple things here.

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According to this report from Willamette Week it real is a done deal now...

Here is an excerpt:

The $31 million revamp of PGE Park, which will allow Major League Soccer to begin play there in 2011 and force the Portland Beavers to find a new baseball home, was approved Thursday by the City Council.

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I feel like we've been around this over and over again but it looks like soccer will most certainly be coming to the Rose City in 2011. The Oregonian reported yesterday that Portland mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard reached a tentative $31 million deal with Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson to renovate PGE Park.

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It appears that the Timbers Army's drawn-out nightmare may be over. Merritt Paulson, at the same time the most beloved and despised man in the Rose City, has negotiated a tentative agreement with...

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Timbers Army has new reason to cheer. The long sometimes frustrating and difficult road to PGE Park renovations to accommodate MLS has finally come to an end. With a great outcome.
Courtesy of the The Oregonian:
Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard emerged from their final negotiating session just before 2 p. Click to continue reading...

It seems like this is a report we've posted time and time again here. Hopefully this will be the last.

Portland city council has approved a plan to allow both MLS and minor league baseball in the city. PGE Park will get renovated as planned and the baseball team will get their new stadium.

The Portland City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution to support starting negotiations with Merritt Paulson over a financing plan to renovate PGE Park to accommodate a Major League Soccer team.

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Courtesy of the Portland Business Journal:

The Portland City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution to support starting negotiations with Merritt Paulson over a financing plan to renovate PGE Park to accommodate a Major League Soccer team.

The move effectively decouples the $37 million PGE Park project from a proposed new $48 million baseball park for Paulson's minor-league Portland Beavers.

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This comes to us courtesy of the Portland Business Journal:

City Commissioner Randy Leonard threatened Friday to withdraw his support for bringing Major League Soccer to Portland unless Merritt Paulson recants a decision to withdraw plans for a baseball stadium in Lents.
Earlier Friday, Paulson said a $48 million plan to put his Portland Beavers AAA baseball club in the Southeast Portland neighborhood lacked community support.

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Ain't no drama like PDX stadium drama. Hot on the heels of Merritt Paulson's withdrawl of one baseball relocation proposal one of the Portland City Councilmen who voted for the ordinance to bring Major League Soccer to Portland has now said that he's going to vote against it if it means losing the city's baseball team. Click to continue reading...

Could the dream of having three Pacific Northwest MLS teams be in danger of not happening? According to this Bloomberg story on the Portland MLS expansion bid, the stadium projects necessary for Portland's bid to work are in jeopardy unless a $15 million spending gap is addressed.

Yes, you may recall that the vote taken a month ago by the city council, which helped clear the way for Portland's MLS expansion, included an amendment that left a potential $15 million void in the funding for the two stadium projects associated with the Portland MLS bid.

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Could the dream of having three Pacific Northwest MLS teams be in danger of not happening? According to this Bloomberg story on the Portland MLS expansion bid, the stadium projects necessary for Portland's bid to work are in jeopardy unless a $15 million spending gap is addressed.

Yes, you may recall that the vote taken a month ago by the city council, which helped clear the way for Portland's MLS expansion, included an amendment that left a potential $15 million void in the funding for the two stadium projects associated with the Portland MLS bid.

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A quick chat with MLS Commish Don Garber, longer chat with Merritt Paulson. Music by The Long Winters and by Neutral Milk Hotel. Click to continue reading...

Two of the men leading MLS expansion charges get the ink from their local papers today. Québécois dairy tycoon andMontréal Impact owner Joey Saputo has an enjoyable Q&A in the Montréal Gazette, while Portland Timbers impresario Merritt Paulson reveals loads of revenue and attendance related dirt on the Rose City club. Click to continue reading...

Resurrected. Thoughts after Portland's 4-0 drubbing of Miami FC Blues. Ideas about MLS to Portland. Interviews with Gavin Wilkinson, Tom Poltl, Chris Brown, Merritt Paulson and a bunch of 10 year old girls. Music by XTC and The Police. Click to continue reading...

Resurrected. Thoughts after Portland's 4-0 drubbing of Miami FC Blues. Ideas about MLS to Portland. Interviews with Gavin Wilkinson, Tom Poltl, Chris Brown, Merritt Paulson and a bunch of 10 year old girls. Music by XTC and The Police. Click to continue reading...

Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson held a press conference this morning formally announcing his MLS intentions and I for one am solidly behind him. Not that my opinion carries any weight in the real world but there you go. Also, I enjoy pandering to the Timbers Army constituency (hey, Seattle loves Ives so I'm not too concerned about upsetting Jet City). Click to continue reading...

Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson is making an aggressive push for the city's inclusion in the next round of Major League Soccer expansion. On Wednesday, he launched a public campaign to build support for the idea, which he said could bring "tremendous positive national spotlight to the city of Portland. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer to the city of Portland is starting to get a heavier push by Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson. The expansion bid into the major league is set to go in full swing here as the MLS expansion deadline is coming to a close in the next month. The city is behind it and [...] Click to continue reading...

There has been a lot of news about MLS expansion floating around and I havent' written much on it because I've been sort of saving some of my thoughts for my PE column. I'm planning on writing next Tuesday's piece on expansion and kind of break down where things stand and what cities should get an expansion team. Click to continue reading...

Not long after the MLS commish said bids for new franchises have to be in by October, Portland Timbers owner and president Merritt Paulson said he's going for it.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Major League Soccer in Portland would both add a tremendous amount to the league and have a phenomenally positive impact on our community and state," Paulson said.

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I would like to remain anonymous on the following if you choose to publish it.
This comes to us via email from an source wishing anonymity.

I was able to glean the following while sitting at a table behind to Merritt Paulson and some ‘other guy' at the Starbucks across from PGE Park earlier this week.

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Courtesy of an MLSR reader who keeps us abreast of all things Portland.

So, I want to preface this website with the feeling that this is probably NOT true, but here is a website that some supporters ran across regarding portland's mls bid. I LOVE the slideshow, and it has some great pics of PGE and of the history in PDX.

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Two expansion stories this week have come to the fore. As one city's hopes for MLS expansion in the immediate future, fade, another city's grows into sharper focus.
First the good news. Portland. We've been big proponents of Portland joining the league, especially since Seattle will start playing next year. Click to continue reading...

Thoughts after PTFC's 1-0 vistory over Puerto Rico Islanders. Interviews with Gavin Wilkinson, Merritt Paulson, Tom Poltl and Chris Brown. Music by FC All-Stars and Tartan Specials. Special guest host Branacle Brian. Rated PG-13. Click to continue reading...

MLS Commissioner Don Garber and league president Mark Abbott will be in Portland today to revisit PGE Park. They will see PGE in "soccer mode" for the game tonight between the US Women and Mexico. Garber first looked at PGE Park in March but at the time, it was not setup for a soccer experience. There [...] Click to continue reading...

Quick words from Byron Alvarez, Josh Wicks, Justin Thompson, Merritt Paulson and Gavin Wilkinson. Music by They Might Be Giants. Click to continue reading...

Post match comments from Lawrence Olum, Josh Wicks and Gavin Wilkinson. Also a few minutes with Merritt Paulson, Timbers President and owner. Music by Elvis Costello. Click to continue reading...