A baseball team owner could use that lottery money to build a stadium in Portland if the league approves and his team can't make money where it is. Triple-A baseball must prove it can succeed here. The managers of PGE Park would also like to own a big league team some day. Until then, Gardiner and partner Marshal Glickman are bringing a team from Albuquerque to become the new Triple-A Beavers. The season opener is set for April 30.
Critics doubt that Portland has deep enough pockets to become a big league city.
We do need a largely publicly financed ballpark to make it work in a small market. That's something the mayor and city council have resisted. They may also resist a ballpark site at school district headquarters. No lottery bonds could be issued until an owner commits to locating here and the rest of the money is raised to build the stadium. Copyright 2001 by Channel 6000 .