Portland Timbers - Major League Soccer - JELD-WEN Field

Full Name: Portland Timbers

City: Portland, OR

Founded: 2011 (1975)

Stadium: JELD-WEN Field (20,000)

Colors: Green, Gold, White

Rivals: Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps

Description:

The fourth version of the Portland Timbers takes the field as one of 2 MLS expansion sides for 2011. Along with Pacific Northwest neighbors Vancouver Whitecaps will be looking to mimic the extraordinary success of arch-rivals Seattle Sounders, whose 30,000+ average crowds have set a very high bar. But one thing the Portland Timbers do have is a lengthy history in "Soccer City, USA" to draw upon.

The Timbers name dates back to 1975, when the Portland Timbers entered the NASL. The club was strongly embraced by the city and even reached the league title game in their first season. Financial problems grounded the first generation Timbers in 1982. A second version competed at a semi-professional level from 1985-1990 while a third version launched in 2001. Many might consider the MLS Portland Timbers to be a continuation of this third version, since there is so much continuity.

The Timbers and their ardent fan base, led by the Timbers Army, will continue to play at the same stadium they've inhabited since the NASL days. Previously under the Civic Stadium and PGE Park names, it will now take on the JELD-WEN Field name.

JELD-WEN Field:

After years of informal sports use at the location a formal stadium was built in 1926 by the  Multnomah Athletic Club and was called Multnomah Stadium. The club used the facility for 40 years before selling it to the city of Portland. At that time it was renamed to Civic Stadium. It was used by several different minor league baseball teams as well as each incarnation of the Timbers. In 2001 the stadium was given a facelift and renamed to PGE Park for title sponsor Portland Gas & Electric.

The stadium is named for title sponsor JELD-WIN, a windows and doors manufacturer based in the state of Oregon. This is at least the 4th name for the stadium, the previous ones being PGE Park (for previous sponsor Portland Gas & Electric), Civic Stadium, and Multnomah Stadium. It's primarily been used for baseball, American football and soccer over the years. For the 2011 season it will be shared by the Portland Timbers and the Portland St Vikings, a collegiate American football team.

Previous Names: Multnomah Stadium (1926-66), Civic Stadium (1966-2001), PGE Park (2001-11).

History:

The original Portland Timbers entered the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1975. The Timbers name was chosen through a name-the-team contest which drew over 3000 entries. The name Timbers was actually the 2nd choice. The top choice, the Pioneers, was already the nickname of a local college team (Lewis & Clark College) so the 2nd choice Timbers was used instead. The 1st season was quite a success, with large, passionate fans showing up to watch their team have a surprising successful run on the field. The Timbers reached the league championship match (the Soccer Bowl) in their debut season, ultimately falling to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The strength of that fan base led to Portland receiving the "Soccer City, USA" nickname. Sadly that popularity could not translate to continued success on the field or eventually in the bank account and the first era of the Timbers came to a close in 1982.

Three years later a new club was created to represent the Portland area. FC Portland entered the Western Alliance Challenge Series in 1985 along with three other West Coast teams. The following year the series was expanded into a formal league called the Western Soccer Alliance (WSA). In 1989 both the team and league changed names, the WSA becoming the WSL (Western Soccer League) and FC Portland coming under new ownership and adopting the name Portland Timbers. The WSL then merged with the East Coast based American Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). These moves resulted in financial commitments far beyond the capability of many teams, Portland included, and the Timbers were one of numerous casualties and ceased operations after the 1990 season.

After a long 11-year wait the 3rd version of the Portland Timbers sprang to life. After Portland's departure the APSL had managed to survive for several years before merging with the United States Interregional Soccer Leagues in 1997. In 2001 a new version of the Portland Timbers entered the top-tier of that merged league (called the A-League  and later renamed to the United Soccer Leagues First Division). This version of the Timbers did reasonably well at the gate, averaging between 5-10,000 fans per game though were somewhat less successful on the field, with only two regular season titles to show for their efforts.

In 2009 the Timbers were chosen to become an MLS expansion side, set to join the league in 2011. The Timbers would be joining at the same time as their Northwest rivals Vancouver Whitecaps and following in the footsteps of the Seattle Sounders, who had made the move in 2009. The MLS version of the Timbers is technically a brand-new team (Portland Timbers 4.0) although they share the same ownership, stadium, fan base, and many players with the previous version of the Timbers.

Fans:

The largest and oldest Portland Timbers supporters group is the Timbers Army, formed in 2002 by the merger of several smaller Timbers supporters groups.

The long-time mascot of the team was Timber Jim, dating back to the first incarnation of the team in the late 1970s. He had a whole routine, most notably bringing along a chainsaw and sawing off a slab of log when the Timbers scored a goal. In 2004 Timber Joe's daughter Hannah was killed in a car accident. As a tribute the Timbers Army began signing "You are my Sunshine" before each match, a tradition that continues today. He has since been replaced by Timber Joey.

Rivals:

The traditional rivals of the Portland Timbers are northwest neighbors Seattle Sounders and (to a lesser extent) Vancouver Whitecaps. The winner of the season series amongst the 3 clubs wins the Cascadia Cup. Cascadia is another name for the Pacific Northwest.

Logos:

Links:

• portlandtimbers.com - official website