Multnomah Stadium

Portland, OR

Team: Portland Beavers, Portland Mavericks, Portland Rockies	Opening Day: October 9, 1926
First Beavers Game: 1956	Cost: $502,000
Architect: A.E. Doyle	Surface: grass (1926-69), Tartan Turf (1969-2000), NeXturf (2001-)
AKA: Civic Stadium, PGE Park	Dimensions: LF 302 CF 396 RF 336
Capacity: 19,566

Memorable Moments:

1965, 1993 Pacific Coast League West Pennant.
1983 Pacific Coast League Champions.
1973 Northwest League West Pennant.
1975, 1976 Northwest League North Pennant.
1977 Northwest League Independent Pennant.
1997 Northwest League Champions.

This site, due to its natural shape as a amphitheater, started hosting athletic events in 1893. The University or Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College (later Oregon State University) both needed larger facilities for football games, so in 1926 Multnomah Stadium was built. This park was financed by the sale of seat licenses. In 1933, the first steady source of income into the park came with the inception of dog racing until 1956, when the Beavers finally moved here. In 1966, the Multnomah Athletic Club sold the park to the City of Portland for $2.1 million. In 1969, this park got the distinction of being the first outdoor facility with artificial turf. Yuck. In 2001, this park received a $38.1 million renovation and was renamed PGE Park. The Beavers still play here today.

The Beavers, of the Pacific Coast League, moved here in 1956. They stayed until the 1973 season when they moved to Spokane, WA. The Northwest League Portland Mavericks were created to fill the void. They played through the 1977 season, when they were bought out and folded by the Pacific Coast League to move a new Beavers franchise here. These Beavers moved to Salt Lake City following the 1993 season. Once again seeing an opportunity to move into a larger city, the Northwest League relocated the Bend, OR Rockies to Portland. Following the 2000 season, and a major renovation to the ballpark, the Rockies moved to Pasco, WA. In 2001, the Pacific Coast League Albuquerque franchise moved into town to become, once again, the Beavers.