The record · Transcript
Council Session — 2025-09-09
Transcript from the session's official auto-captions (18,000 words), shown in readable case and split into speaker turns. Speakers are not yet identified (colors just separate consecutive turns). Auto-captions can contain errors — check the recording for anything that matters.
Session summaryEditor-reviewed
The Portland City Council Arts and Economy Committee met on September 9, 2025. The body took roll call, with attendance and a statement of conduct recorded, and no votes were indicated in this session. The meeting introduced Prosper Portland's newly arrived Executive Director, who discussed core organizational values, small business support, tax increment financing districts, storefront vandalism and critical repair programs, legacy business initiatives, downtown business stability, and waterfront and riverfront economic development, drawing comparisons to prior professional experience in Birmingham, Alabama. The committee then received a two-year presentation from Sport Oregon covering sports tourism events, hotel room night figures, the Sport Oregon Foundation's grantmaking, youth and girls' sports initiatives, and major facility challenges involving the Moda Center, Providence Park, and the Portland Expo Center/Delta Park complex. Discussion addressed the recent loss of NASCAR and Formula E events, cited public safety and infrastructure concerns, and touched on efforts toward hosting future events including the 2030 NCAA Women's Final Four and 2026 USA Fencing Summer Nationals. Public testimony followed from two community members addressing city governance priorities and arts and culture equity funding. The meeting adjourned after testimony concluded.
AI-drafted from the session's auto-captions, reviewed by an editor — describes the discussion only; recorded votes live in the vote ledger. Captions contain errors.
0 Everyone. The cause of the going on.
1 There we go. Good morning, everyone. I call the meeting of the arts and economy committee to order. It is Tuesday, September 9th, 930 and keelan. Will you please call the roll? Good to see you.
2 Good morning. Clerk here. Green. Dunphy.
3 Smith here.
4 Ryan, here.
5 And, craig, I see that you're here this morning. Will you please read the statement of conduct?
6 Good morning. Welcome to this meeting of the arts and economy committee. To testify before this committee in person or virtually. You must sign up in advance on the committee agenda at wwe Portland. Agenda and economy committee. Or by calling 311. Information on engaging with the committee can be found at this link. Registration for virtual testimony closes one hour prior to the meeting. In person. Testifiers must sign up before the agenda item is heard. If public testimony will be taken on an item, individuals may testify for three minutes unless the chair states otherwise, your microphone will be muted when your time is over, the chair preserves order. Disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up or interrupting others testimony or committee deliberations will not be allowed. If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given. Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting. Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass. Additionally, the committee may take a short recess and reconvene virtually. Your testimony should address the matter being considered when testifying. State your name for the record. If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent. Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the clerk calls your name. Thank you.
7 Thank you so much, craig. And today's meeting we're going to hear. I will have the opportunity to meet the new prosper Portland executive director director cornell wesley, which I'm very excited about. And we'll also have a presentation on the sport Oregon annual reports for the past two years. And we're also going to hear some open testimony on arts and economy. So at this moment, I am going to introduce the new executive director. I have a script. I'm trying to find it, but if not, I will wing it because I do that most of the time anyway. Okay, this isn't cooperating. Cornell, come on up. Cornell wesley is new to Portland. As many people know, you've definitely hit the ground running in my meeting with you. It was actually really exciting to hear more of your story. I also was actually quite taken with the fact that your bride is a graduate of benson tech high school, correct? Yes, sir. It actually that that did a lot for me because, you know, Portland is special and it really helps that you have family roots that also brought you to this wonderful town which is now yours as well. So I love what you've done down in your is montgomery your hometown, birmingham. Birmingham. Sorry. Don't ever let me do that again. It's all right.
8 It's only 88 mile difference. It's all right. Not close.
9 So the fact is you've been doing great work there. And the fact that you chose to come to Portland, to your bride's hometown, to bring your talent and your focus and your vision for a city that's desperately needing that type of vision and leadership for economic prosperity. So welcome to the dais. We look forward to a partnership with you that is just beginning and the floor is yours. And I hope that you just enjoy your time with us this morning.
10 Well, I'm truly thankful and honored to to share some time with this committee. Uniquely, I've had the opportunity to meet all three of you councilor, Smith, Ryan and Clark. Thank you for being such a well, providing such a strong welcome, and know that I look forward to a stronger partnership with you as we go through this opportunity of just really trying to make Portland a better place for all portlanders. As mentioned, you know, I've been coming to Portland for about 16, maybe 17 years as a visitor. And to that point, my wife is from from Portland. That transfer her credibility has carried me well in this first month. I didn't realize how big of a deal that is, so I'm gonna start leading with that. My wife is, in fact from Portland and everybody. I probably should just get that on a t shirt. That way I can, you know, just any, any questions comes up. But we operate from five core values really. And that's going to be around customer service efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability. So any opportunity I get to to share time with you at the dais, anytime that there would be a project before, you know, it's going to be coming from that spirit, that we're going to be transparent about the projects, we're going to be efficient in our dealings. We're going to be customer centered, centered, and we're going to make sure we're effective in our work. So I look forward to partnering with you. I look forward to continuing to make Portland a better place. I am one of the tools in the toolbox, which means there are many other tools to leverage. I look forward to getting to know all the bureau leaders who are also tools in the toolbox, right? And also implementing the vision that's set forth by our chief executive as well as this council. So I'm happy to answer any questions at the appropriate time. And I look forward to coming back before the dais to present some award winning projects or award winning restaurants, or any other thing that can truly transform our community.
11 Thank you so much, cornell. Thank you. Conversations just starting and hands are going up. So, councilor Clark, why don't you kick us off?
12 Thank you, mr. Chair. Welcome. Great to see you. I really enjoyed your welcome party and having a chance to chat with you and your wife. And I want to reiterate a comment that I made to you. That's what's really important to me is your efforts with small business and the small business associations, not just in the tif districts, but really all over the city. And I know already that the outreach that prosper has provided to some of the small business associations has just been wonderfully received and really terrific. But I hope this is a fair question. I just wanted to ask you initially, if you're comfortable, what you see as maybe our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity.
13 Well, you know, I think the challenges are opportunities. As I've mentioned in our time together previously at the welcome, when we talk about vacancy and commercial and commercial space, while that is a challenge, it is also an opportunity, right? $30 a square foot is a is a valuable proposition for those who are outside of Portland. And so it's important that we, as we're thinking clearly, truly outside of the box, that we market these opportunities in our community, not just regionally, but nationally and to some degree globally. So with every challenge, there is an opportunity.
14 Thank you.
15 Okay. Thank you, councilor Clark, councilor Smith.
16 Thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you, cornell, for for coming here. It is great to see you. I know that I've I've been in your presence in the last couple of weeks, and I understand why we hired you. Now, I really do. You've joined us from birmingham, alabama, where you previously worked in the economic development area. But you grew up there, too? Yes, ma'am. And we have highlighted a bit of your resume with different jobs across the country and local and federal experience. And coming to Portland certainly demonstrates to me that your interest in our city and commitment that you've taken this on, with, with, with everything that you have, including your your wife is from here. So I think I'll get you that t shirt.
17 Thank you.
18 So for me, the biggest things that I see that I want to work on and, and so that you and your staff know are the tif districts. I'm representing district one, which is the furthest east district in the city of Portland, and I and I call that our new front door. And I believe that when you help district one, you help the entire city. And so I will be calling upon you to to make sure of the ideas and the and the plans that you have from a 30,000 foot level, that district one is included, that we want to be a partner with you. We want to make sure that if there are any, any holes that are missing, that we try to help fill those gaps and make sure that we are part of the solution.
19 Yes, ma'am.
20 Well, what I'll say to that is, whatever the project is that specific to tiffs, it will not be done at the community's expense. It will be done with the community's input. And so it's important that as we are redeveloping and reimagining our assets, that it does not take away the historical integrity of those communities and that they remain who they are, but they become the best version of themselves. And so as a practitioner in this space, my my goal is to guide the conversation to where the most impact can be held. Leveraging this tool of tif. Right? It is just a tool. It is, it is, it is doesn't have emotions and doesn't have feelings. And the intent behind it specifically from prosperous perspective, is to transform neighborhoods with them in mind. And so that's a commitment. I stand before you today and ensure that the work of prosper will be community centered work, and the impact will be to their benefit and not to their detriment.
21 Thank you.
22 Okay. Thank you, councilor Smith. And I always like to remind people that d1 is where the vast majority of our students live in the city. And we all know as our students rise, so does the city. I'm going to focus mine on storefronts and working waterfronts. It was mentioned earlier by councilor Clark the excitement about having a small business office. And when we aren't here on the dais, I try to get out on the streets and just surprise people and show up at storefronts and they're all suffering. It doesn't matter where you go, what part of town. We have so many storefront owners, managers that aren't making a dime. They're generous enough and they're passionate enough, most, most importantly, to continue to focus on what what makes them tick in life, which is to be creative, to be innovative and have their own store. It's a real expression. Portland's always been a city that has a lot of vibrant, independent storefronts throughout the city, and so the building of your small business office, with your arrival and with this very big challenge, as you said, in the big opportunity. So I know that this committee and me, our office in particular, is going to be focusing on this with prosper Portland. And I think it would be this is more of a comment than that, I think prosper Portland, under your arrival and the brand of prosper Portland would really benefit from showing the nimbleness to really show up for these needs. It's going to be complex. It's a meeting of public safety. And and this in this opportunity, we have to figure out how we can get our public safety system to be more responsive to these urgent needs. I can't tell you how many storefront owners tell me that they're one broken window away from going bankrupt, and they just won't be able to pull it off anymore. So we were able to at least pass what what's kind of sad? We keep passing this every year, which is adding more money into the fund to provide relief for such damage and vandalism to stores. But we want to go further. We want to really figure out how to build a better system and response system for our storefronts. And so tell me your vision on how your small business office will be responsive and some of your experiences, maybe in the past, that you've dealt with around this and what we bring in your leadership to Portland as you build this small business office with Mitch and his team?
23 Well, naturally, I think you touched on the right thing, that it requires collaboration, it requires prosper, it requires police and fire, requires our community organizations, but prospers. Role is to continue to stimulate and help craft an ecosystem where they can expand and thrive. And we do that a couple of different ways. But one to your specific point is around our critical repair program, which addresses some of those storefront issues, some of the vandalism that takes place or the breaking of a window. We have resources that we want to continue to pour into it. But as you've heard me say, it also requires a two generational approach. We've got to take care of who we have. We've got to create an ecosystem where they can thrive and expand, because statistically, the bulk of your economic impact can can be found when those companies are able to expand. And so our foundation is small business, but in that expansion, it's even if it's hiring an additional one person, we want to be able to create an environment where that is a possibility, but we also want to protect their assets. Right. And then the third thing is ensuring that we bring people back to these places. And our role in that can be in curating and crafting the appropriate events that that drives traffic to these particular corridors. So more hot dogs and hamburgers can be purchased. So we play a significant role, and we're going to double down our efforts. And and finally, I dare even say that we want to look at our legacy businesses as well. Our legacy businesses are those that are 25 years and older. They are the backbone of this community, but there's currently no resource available to them. We're going to create one. We're going to look at ways that we can help them remain in business and connect to the next generation of small business owners, so that they can learn why they've been in business for 25 years, what are some of their best practices? So we want to create these collisions of impact while we're pouring resources into the community as well.
24 Thank you. I sure like the language critical repair and legacy businesses now with with waterfronts. It's it's very important to remember where river city and we provide a lot of livable working wages that are connected to our waterfront industries. And we're a city that really loves its river. And it's a real testament to our ecosystem and to our environment. A healthy Willamette river means a much healthier environment. So there's a lot of tension when these two groups come together. And we live in a political environment where we often want to pick one extreme side, and I'm trying to land this in a way that allows you to just understand that I think this is under the radar, but it's a big deal because we have so many, again, especially in district two where I represent, we hug both the Willamette and the columbia. So the majority of our industry is in district two, our working waterfront. So I know that you come from river cities and you have some experience with this, and everyone wants to be able to walk along the river and, you know, have their latte. We get that. But we also want people to be able to go to their jobs on the waterfront and be able to provide a home for their families. So what are some examples you have of where you've been able to bring these two tensions together to keep moving forward?
25 Well, uniquely, you have a natural water source, right? In oklahoma city. The current water source used to be mold, but now it's it used to be mold. They used to cut the grass. It was not a water source, but they made it. Now it's a man made water source. It's a riverwalk. It has commerce up and down. Part of my southern vernacular.
26 Oh, no, it was great.
27 Probably get to stretching some yards here and there. But truly, being able to reimagine the use, I view it as probably one of the most underutilized economic development tools we have in the city, because we we haven't even scratched the surface for what it can become. So what I commit to you is I look forward to working hand in glove with you, to reimagine and to leverage that water source, that natural waterway that we can monetize and create a better Portland with.
28 Sounds good, and I know that you'll be meeting with all sides on those issues. Are these new hands up? Are these legacy hands? Oh, look at this. Okay, I'm going to give it to the two of them. I'm going to go back to order this time. Go ahead, councilor Smith.
29 Thank you. Thank you I appreciate it. A couple of weeks ago, I read an article in the Willamette week, and I was so troubled by it. It was in regards to the gateway neighborhood in my district in terms of what's going on business wise and what's not going on. As we know, there were plenty of of businesses over COVID that that just did not survive. And in my experience, after I read that article, if I was new like you coming to this city, I would have been like, oh, stay away from gateway. Oh, portland's not paying attention, but I put my office in gateway because I thought it was a thriving area. And it is. We do have businesses that have left us because of lack of capital and other things. But the way it was described to me, it did not do it justice. And I think that going forward, we need to figure out opportunities in ways in which to build our economy out from gateway. Because gateway, we have lost fred meyers, for sure. That is going to be a big economic downturn for us, but I think we have opportunity where opportunity is leaving. So if you could speak to some of the ideas that maybe staff have told you about the future of gateway and the things that you all want to put in place, I think that would be helpful for people to know about, because if we if we leave our sights on the the memory of what was said in that article, it would not be a good one.
30 That's a fair assessment. I look forward to working with our media partners to tell the appropriate story. I will say on record that it does not serve any portlander. When we are characterized a particular way that is not truly painting the entire picture. Now, specific to your question around the things that are done, there is a plan in place, and I think I even placed our 2040 plan gateway plan in my comments to the Willamette week. That is the guiding principle that is a community centered plan. Our job is to implement. Right. And so what we're going to continue to do is think creatively around how we solve for the vacancy of a fred meyer work, hand in glove with that property owner, to the degree that we own real estate in that area, which we do, we're going to reimagine the different uses for those, but we're going to have to work with your office, and we're going to have to work closer with the community, because ultimately, it's not about what processes, it's about what the community wants to be when they grow up. And we have to leverage our resources to do that. Now, again, there is a vision that's been cast. There is a plan that is in place, and we're going to play our role in it, but we're going to need our other bureau leaders to come alongside us to truly have an impact in that community. We have to be honest, it is challenged, but there is opportunity. And to say that work hasn't been done would be disingenuous.
31 And this is not about gateway, but I had a business owner who just purchased the new, well, the old movie theater. That's that's vacant, the regal movie theater. And I think you know what that is, donnie. And they want to partner with us to, to identify a way that they can partner with us to make sure that that area, that it stays vibrant. And I will be making some, some calls to try to set up that meeting so that we can have a conversation about what the possible could be. I think that is an eight acre site. And yeah, it's the theater is not in, in, in current use right now, but we can actually figure out some ways in which to, to make that theater something that can be special in district one.
32 Well, we stand ready to partner.
33 Thank you.
34 Thank you, councilor Smith. Councilor Clark.
35 Thank you. And thank you, councilor Smith, for those remarks, because I want to riff off that a little bit. I'm from district one, which includes the downtown. So back to the issue of legacy and how we stabilize, how we retain and how we grow those legacy businesses. You you weren't here when we had a much beloved restaurant downtown. A former neighbor of mine, greg higgins, put out a message that he was really hurting, that that business was really hurting, and the community came together to make reservations and to come back to higgins. And it was a great success. And I'm concerned that I see that happening with powell's. And powell's is a much beloved institution. In fact, it's a tourist attraction in this town, and I'm really concerned about how we both stabilize and help them with their business plan in some way, shape or form, because we cannot lose powell's. And it's just symbolic of other legacy businesses in the downtown area as well. I don't know if it's too early for you to address that, but if you want to say more about the downtown and legacy businesses down here.
36 Well, what I'll say is something general. And in that comment, what I mean is it's important that there's two characters in this. There's the role of the city government, and there's the role of the small business owner, or the enterprise. It's extremely imperative that they are communicating before it is a dire need. You can't put a city government who's charged with keeping safe streets and clean streets and making sure your trash is picked up on time, have their back against the wall to respond to something that has been occurring for several years. So I encourage all small business owners to anyone who's watching and can hear this recording to be proactive in your communication so that the city can plan accordingly to how it can appropriately respond and help you retain your business in our community. If you wait till the fourth quarter with no time left on the clock, then it's a little bit. It's far more difficult, and I don't know if anyone in here has done business with a city government. It doesn't move at the pace of private enterprise, so it's important that the earlier we know, the better we can respond.
37 Thank you for that.
38 Thank you. Thank you colleagues. We're going to move on to the next agenda item soon. I want to keep our time boundaries. However, you said you did a little sports word earlier, so you probably were involved in some business deals where you were trying to help your former city land sports ball teams. Yes. Can you give me a story about what that was like?
39 Uniquely, I was a part of a team that landed two global events, the world police and fire games, which was about 3000 athletes from all around the world, as well as the world games, which was about 10,000 athletes from all around the world. And that came that became a possibility because the city understood its economic identity. It understood that it was a financial services hub, but it also was a sports and entertainment hub. And so their investments mirrored who they knew they wanted to be. Meaning there was investments made in our arena that yielded tremendous benefits. That goes from a tier two city to a tier one. What does that mean? That means you go from being able to have an entertainer, say, beyonce and a taylor swift now, as opposed to some of your more b character artists, because you have the infrastructure that can handle that sort of event. You invest in a ballpark. Now you have a uab, university of alabama, birmingham who's based there, but you also incubated what is now known as the ufl, the united football league that was birthed in birmingham. These were investments in our assets that crafted and actually sent the message to the globe, to the world that birmingham is not only open for business, but it has the infrastructure to handle your investment when it comes. And so that's why you get a world police and fire games. That's why you get a world games. That's why you get a magic city classic, which is the largest hbcu classic in the country that has about 60,000 people inside of a stadium. All of these sorts of things don't come without the investment in your infrastructure. And so I look forward to working hand in glove with this administration to guide them around the the appropriate and proper investments and can speak to real life examples of what they can yield.
40 Well, mr. Cornell, wesley, you just hit that out of the park. Let's give him a round of applause for being here this morning. Thank you. Okay. Moving on. Some of you know that I'm a big sports guy. My spouse would say, I wish that wasn't so all the time. I love going to games of all kinds and parks and arenas. And one reason I love it is because it brings people together. And we live in a climate where that's not easy to do. But there's something about little league games going to Friday night lights, going to driving down I-5, sometimes to hang out and do a tailgate. It's just it's amazing. And then we have that magic here in Portland with our sports ball teams. Of course, the beloved blazers, timbers, thorns and soon the fire. All of this infrastructure that mr. Wesley just spoke of is is a big deal. Building this ecosystem is complicated. And we've been so fortunate to have a leader in our in our hometown that has been getting up daily to do the good fight. And I have a lot of respect for this person that's coming up to the dais. Jim etzel, come on up, because they have been serving at some of the roughest times to sell Portland to promoters around the globe to give us a shot. And so with a lot of respect, a lot of admiration, I welcome to the dais, jim etzel from sport Oregon. And you're going to present two years of reports. So we're going to be in the rearview mirror just a little bit. But let's keep open some time so we can have some dialog about where we are today and where we're going. Sound good?
41 Yes.
42 All right. Welcome, jim.
43 Commissioner Ryan, commissioner Smith councilor. I gotta change my vernacular now. Councilor Clark, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. Also, councilors Dunphy and Green, if you're tuned in via your travels, thank you for this opportunity. I'd like to introduce two colleagues of mine, jen dewar, our director of sports tourism, and brandi kehl, our business manager, who's going to help us with our presentation. So you talked about two years, I think, for efficiency sake, because I think there's going to be a robust conversation around what we talk about. We had because of the rotation of council, we got taken off the docket at the end of last year for our 2324 fiscal report, which we submitted, as well as our now 2425, which I think is more relevant. It'll keep us kind of honed in on on what's right in front of us. What just happened 23 could be a bit of a distraction if we bobbed back and forth, but we're open to any questions you may have previous years as well. Next slide. So. Just to reset let's go to our slide that talks about it. There we go. All right I think you all know we've met individually with you over the years about who's sport Oregon is. But just a quick refresh. We're a nonprofit sports commission for the city and the state, and we're funded by individual and corporate members that make an annual investment in our mission. The past few years have been transformational for us, and we have a deep belief in what this city and what the state can do and what we need to be. And so we get up every day to to drive on that mission. Next slide. We're two nonprofits. We're a 500 1c6, which is what we were founded to be. We have there's over 270 peer commissions around the country. Every top 50 market has a sports commission. Again, we're driven by these key stakeholders. Our mission around the c6 is to drive economic benefits for our community, as well as driving significant quality of life and social impacts as well. The range of companies as you see here. You know, it's it's a who's who of corporate Oregon. We're also very tied into our business associations. We consider ourselves a business association. Portland metro chamber, greater Portland inc, Oregon business and industry, and the Oregon business council, all of which have ex-officio seats on our board. On the other side of the equation is our c3 foundation. And this is really critical because it allows us to do our work in our community. If we don't have a healthy community from especially from a youth participation standpoint, then the other work we do isn't sustainable. So what we we actually see a much bigger opportunity around our foundation. We'll touch on some of those impacts a little later in the report, and we're very much leaning our resources and efforts around that, as are all our member investors. Inside of that. We have two of the foundation. We have two initiatives. One is in its fourth year that she flies. It's all about empowering young girls and young women, addressing the inequities that have existed around sports and participation. For them, getting getting girls in the game, keeping them in the game, getting more women to coach which would keep more girls in the game, and also lifetime health and wellness and the outcomes that delivers. And then this spring, we're excited to launch our newest initiative, play Oregon, which is really about all kids throughout our city and state and developing healthy lifestyles. And again, breaking down those barriers to physical activity. Next slide. Here's just a quick snapshot of of the the logos of all the companies. Our logo soup if you will, of everybody that that has stepped into us and believes in this mission and walks alongside us each day. Next slide again touching on our mission, but really kind of drilling into three key pillars. We believe sports are economic, they're social and they're emotional. You know, the economic impacts that what we do every day drive in our community are not insignificant. As an industry in the united states alone, the sports tourism participatory segment, not the spectator spectator segment, alone drives about $135 billion in annual spending. It results in 700 to 750,000 indirect, indirect jobs and over 28 billion in tax revenues. You know, from a social standpoint, we've all been in those in our facilities, whether it's in a park, watching our kids play or in our stadiums watching our teams play. And we just understand how it brings us all together and and that spirit it gives us as we walk out the doors, just feeling better about our city, ourselves and our neighbors and an emotional deal. Just we know what how sports affects our moods. I just take Sunday morning after Saturday college football games, so it's very emotional. Next slide. So we've really focused in 2425 on three major areas. One was to host and deliver major sports tourism events in Portland to make lasting impacts through our sport Oregon foundation. And three is and this is a really critical conversation that we're we've been in. But it's it's getting critical more critical by the day. And that's how do we create a vision and a healthy outcome around our facilities, both from for our franchises, but our families as well where we live and play. Next slide. Okay. Hosting, you know, major events. This is where I want to bring it to jen, because she lives and breathes this every minute of the day, along with her teammate jackie behind us. But I'll step back. 6 or 7 years ago, our we weren't competitive. We weren't winning our fair share of the opportunity pie against our peers around the country. And we knew that needed to change. And that part of that change was making a complete leap into a full time, dedicated sports tourism team. And first, that was led by matt reid, who's now our chief strategy and operations officer, seated behind me. But then he passed the baton three years ago to jen, who's done a tremendous job. So jen.
44 Thank you. Jen.
45 Hello council members. My name is jen dewar. And like jim mentioned, I lead the sports tourism tourism efforts for the city of Portland. I do not do that alone though. It takes a village. We have amazing partners at travel Portland sitting behind me. We work closely with prosper Portland, Portland, parks and rec, and then our facility and hospitality partners. We work together to win events for Portland and showcase our great city through the lens of sports. This past year and change, we've had the privilege of hosting and winning several premier events that showcase Portland not just on a national stage, but an international stage. So I'm going to briefly touch on a select few events that we just think shows really the breadth of our work and the impact that we have made. Next slide. First, we have championship level basketball. Portland hosted the ncaa division one women's basketball regionals at moda center in spring of 2024. From that event, we sent two teams to the final four in cleveland. We went above and beyond for the athletes and fans, providing professional team hosts, investing in fan activation, and showing the ncaa that Portland is a city that takes women's sports serious. That effort paid off not just in the 2 million direct impact, but in setting the stage for our hosting of the women's final 4 in 2030. The ncaa left Portland with confidence in our ability to execute their largest event, and we're engaged with the ncaa. Ncaa on planning for 2030 a lot right now. Next slide. During the regionals in 2024, we planned a last minute fan festival at the rose quarter campus with activations, photo opportunities and a lively atmosphere for fans before they entered into the games, we made strategic investments into this event to enhance the experience for fans and athletes alike. Next slide. Second, we hosted our industry itself. The sports etta symposium. This is the largest gathering of sports tourism leaders in the country. We hosted over 175 rights holders that came to Portland. A rights holder in our world are they are the direct sports planner and their who are choosing destinations around the country. We also of that the attendees. We had over 301st time attendees to the city of Portland. That exposure of hosting that event already paid off. We secured the 2026 usa fencing summer nationals. This is the largest fencing event in the entire world. It will. It has an estimated economic impact of over $10 million and is bringing in 6000 athletes and over 11,000 hotel rooms. Next slide. Third Portland international raceway with indycar and nascar firmly in place, we help secure year two of formula e, the only north American stop on the international electric racing tour. It drew 20 million in investment and showcase Portland as a hub for innovation and sustainability. Next slide. Oops. And finally, a signature event for our summer events calendar, the rockstar energy open in August of 2024. We more than 25,000 people attended the inaugural event on our amazing, beautiful waterfront. We drove in over 1000 room nights from this, and with an estimated economic impact of over $1 million, it was a weekend that usually is a little more quiet, and we were able to bring these people down back down into downtown. National media picked this event up in spades, and 11 million viewers streamed this event worldwide. Next slide. So we just completed year two of this event a few weeks ago, and the numbers that are coming in are already very impressive and surpassing 2024. This is an event that truly activated downtown, and the free aspect takes it to a whole nother level. The skateboarding itself is incredible. It's olympic level. We had over 40 olympic men and women competing in 20, 25 and over 33 olympians two weeks after paris olympics, competing in waterfront park. We are in conversations right now with the rockstar energy open group to keep this event in Portland for a long term. Next slide. But these major events that I just explained, those aren't the only events we're hosting. We just wanted to give you a snapshot of some of the highlights. There are dozens of ongoing events, from gymnastics to table tennis to taekwondo to softball to roller derby. You name the sport, we're talking with them or we're hosting them. The depth and diversity of Portland sports calendar is stronger than it's ever been, and each event when represents collaboration from from across our venues, our neighborhoods, our organizations and our partners. And just to close up my section, I wanted to share that the our involvement in sporting events in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal year, along with our friends at travel Portland, contributed to the booking of over 62,000 hotel room nights, which we are tremendously proud of. Thank you.
46 Thanks, jen. She touched on that partnership with travel Portland, but the amount of collaboration it takes to win is huge. You know, whether it's prosper's events office, it's our city bureaus. It takes a village to make these things happen. And so we really value those relationships, and we look forward to cultivating them even further for more success in the future. Next slide. We talked about our foundation and the impacts there. You know, for us to to achieve our goals around our key six and have these sports tourism wins and economic wins, we just feel it's really important that our foundation plays a role in making our community and the and the and the great work that small and medium sized nonprofits and nonprofits are doing, and not just the broader city, but could be in micro communities or neighborhoods. Those help us when they prosper. It helps us tell our story and to win. So there's a significant amount of time and energy spent. And last year in 24, 25, we for the first time committed to having a full time foundation director. So kristen spear has taken that role and very excited about the success that's already been achieved there. But also where we're going down the road. Next slide. You know, grants giving. You know I've talked about that vision and what our values are earlier in the presentation. So you know here they are again here. You see that in the presentation. Next slide. How do we make impacts through our foundation. There's a lot of great nonprofits that are referenced that do great programmatic work. If we were to be programmatic we would be competing against those where we see the need in the community is so many great nonprofits really struggle to generate funds to do their great work, and so we love to use the power of our room. Those 125 plus investors, annual investors, bring them together and raise our paddles and raise money that we can then distribute into the community. We have a very rigorous grant program. We work really closely with the Oregon community foundation to refine that. And excited to say that, you know, the past two years, we've seen quantum leaps, both in the support in the room, but also the impacts we're making in community. We're fortunate enough three years ago to get some seed funding from some major corporations to get behind us, and then we have weaned ourselves off of that seed funding and are self-generating everything in the last two years. This past year, we made, I believe, 12 grants totaling $125,000 to nonprofits, most of which are here in Portland. But some are also throughout the state. So very proud of the work. We see immense growth and opportunity here, and you'll see us hopefully doubling down on those numbers over the coming years. Next slide. Again, just touching about those those community organizations that that see these grants. I think it's also interesting to note the amount of need out there. We I think we gave 12 grants. We had actually over 70 applications totaling requests over $1.1 million. So that's what drives us is that that bigger need. Next slide. This is such a critical moment that we're in. You know we have a collection of city owned facilities that are franchises you know compete in. We have an incredible inventory of parks throughout our community. But most of them are in dire need of investment. This is where our kids and our families play. These are focal points in our in our neighborhoods. A healthy park is often related to how healthy neighborhood. So we are doing everything we can to bring the conversations, convene those conversations, step into the work that you're doing, working alongside our franchise partners. Not just franchises in sports, but also the arts. Very critical to note that the our largest arts venues are our sports venues, and the arts community is very attuned to that. So areas that we feel that that need kind of our commitment to step into so we can collectively find success. Next slide. You know, how do we do that. There's a number of ways. One is franchise development. We work very hard around the wnba efforts over the last three years. It was so exciting to see that those efforts, collective efforts from a lot of different parties come together. With the raja sports being chosen to as a bidder to win a wnba franchise. Obviously, there's been for going on nine years now. Well, more than nine years. A conversations about major league baseball, the potential there. So we've been at the table around those throughout that entire journey, and we will continue to be. Next slide. Existing franchise network touched on this a few minutes ago. But at the top of this you see providence park, a jewel for our community. But it is 100 years old. A quarter of the stadium is less than a decade old. The other three quarters is 100 years old, and we need to have long term vision around what we need to do to keep that facility relevant and competitive, so that the franchises that play inside it can be competitive. And so it can also be an outstanding resource for our community, as demonstrated by the the concerts major acts. And it's kind of a new genre of concerts that are too big for the moda center at that usually skipped us prior, but it's something that we, you know, the timbers have done an outstanding job of stepping into that moment and delivering some big moments for our city. I think the last two years, the three biggest compression nights for occupancy in downtown Portland for our hotels were around those concerts. And below you see the moda center, and there can't be a more relevant and important conversation in our city right now. In the moment we're in, we have a new owner that has identified themselves. They're still working on their term sheet, but they've acknowledged the existence of the ownership group led by tom dundon. This is a moment that the blazers have been working on for 3 to 5 years, about what's next for the moda center. I don't have to repeat where that arena sits as far as age and compared to its peer group, this is so critical, not just for us keeping the blazers and how we step into a public private partnership around not just the moda center, but the entire rose quarter district and albina and the convention center area. But the blazers are critical to the success of every other single sports franchise we have in this city. So looking forward to where we go together to lead ourselves to a success and reestablishing ourselves with this new owner. Next one. This is a conversation that we actually started five years ago with metro about what if around the expo center, a very underutilized asset in our community, but couldn't be centered in a more appropriate zone for for sports than where it's at on I-5 in north Portland with Portland international raceway right next door, heron lakes golf courses right behind it, and the delta park area, with its playing field complexes. And so we started talking about the conversation starts with this premise. The pacific northwest is completely lacking in indoor court and outdoor field spaces that are what we call massified. So when we say that if it's soccer fields, think 11 soccer fields or more in one place, diamond fields, you know, nine or more in one place, courts having a threshold minimum of eight basketball or 16 volleyball. But really the number is more 16 basketball and 32 volleyball. We have two assets on the expo footprint halls dna, that offer 180,000fts of free span space with 34 foot clearance, completely underutilized, probably less than 15 weeks a year. And how do we reimagine this whole facility to truly to respect what's the history that's happened there in a way that's more meaningful for those communities that were affected than currently is? And so working with the metro council, we have we've had three different votes over the last two years, all 17 zero between the commission and the metro council. Very exciting. There was a request for proposal or not proposal? Request for. Concept and sports won the day with a 17 zero vote. So we're currently going to activate. Jen and matt have been working really hard with metro. There's money in this year's budget that started this past July. There's going to be a short term investment in hall's dna with with a flooring system and standards for basketball and volleyball, so we can start booking that facility hopefully by late spring or early summer of 26, to start turning it into an economic engine that is going to drive compression in our hotel market, but also it's going to give local families a place to play, and instead of our families always going somewhere else, whether it's in the pacific northwest or the western us, to to compete in tournaments, we can keep them home a few more weekends and also bring those folks from other states to spend their dollars in our area. So we look at this north Portland just as a potential of really being a 3 or 4 legged stool of economic and community benefit. Every segment of that pier will touch on that a little bit later in the conversation, I'm sure, as well as expo and delta needs needs a vision and we're trying to lead that vision. Next slide. This is just another overview. We'll skip this of what what the new complex vision is. It would add two sheets of ice. Ice actually ice facilities for hockey and figure skating and other ice sports. Currently the we're the most underserved state in America for ice service and its surfaces, and it's the most the most in-demand venue opportunities there is currently at valley ice and in sherwood. Those ice facilities rent out seven days a week from 5 a.m. To 1 a.m. They're only closed 5 or 6 hours a day, so it's 24 over seven traffic going through those. And so we're excited by that opportunity. But the other key thing is it brings another sports hall in the place which will allow us to possibly do indoor track, which is in the dna here. But also it's important to to keep the exhibit opportunities out there. So the home and garden shows, the boat shows, rv shows, etc. Because those are important to Portland and our economy as well. Next slide. Statewide, just a couple sentences on that. We are sport Oregon. So we're in conversations and have been huge advocates and conveners and supporters. However we're needed. Whether it's around the conversation to get what is going to open up this spring with the hillsboro hops new facility so we can keep professional baseball in our region, and also down the southern tip of the state in medford with what the phenomenal work they've done around these massive complexes, led by their city and invested by the city at what's called rogue x, which is a large indoor sports and aquatics complex, as well as lithia fields down there. Next slide. So bottom line, you know, we believe in Portland. We bring it every day. Our team I'm so proud to work with our team. I couldn't imagine a better team. We're inspired by the investment and belief that our board shows in us. We have a huge board, 140 members, 125 investors. We also bring our community voices into our board, with our community board seats, and also our ex officio seats. So we're excited by what's ahead. We're also have to acknowledge the challenges that we have. We've worked very hard these last 7 or 8 years to win. We've won in some moments that you wouldn't be expected to win, whether that was with winning the women's final 4 in 2021 and kind of the crisis our community was in. That was a flag to plant on top of the mountain and point to. It showed that we had the ability to win in big arenas. To win an event like that, which will be portland's super bowl. There's no bigger event that we're capable of hosting right now than that women's final four, and it needs to be a catalyst for whatever's next. It's either going to be a catalyst or it's going to be. I don't want to be too blunt, but it could be the end. If we don't deliver on that event. There is no wnba all star game. There is no nba all star games in our future. So and that also applies to how we, you know, go about our plans for the moda center and rose quarter. Those venues, if we were bidding today as they are now, if we were to bid for in this cycle for another women's final four, we would not be awarded basis the arena and where that arena will be in that moment in time in the mid 2030s. So very critical, critical time for us. We've also had wins like nascar and indycar, nascar. We just found out we're losing. Even though the event delivered huge crowds. And that's something that we need to address because that is something we can control. But it's going to take the help of city leadership to do that. So with that, we didn't win without you, and we're going to keep winning with you, and we're going to try to bring back and claw back what we've seen, go by doing the hard work together. Thank you.
47 Thank you, thank you, jim etzel. All my colleagues have their hands up when you were I want to just ask you I had a why going on in my head while you were saying we lost the nascar's what you said recently.
48 Yes. So nascar was here on on labor day weekend. It was its fourth running. We won that event in 2022 and we hosted it that year in 22, 23, 24 and 25. The week of the event, we were notified by nascar that they were not put in Portland on the calendar for next year, even though the event has been a box office smash hit. There's two buckets of reasons. Bucket number one is they made a commitment to Portland, and Portland made a commitment at the time that that intersection or interchange at I-5 and victory boulevard would look better each and every year from its current condition and the condition it's been in for the last seven years, and we didn't deliver on that. And so they aren't going to bring their fans in their front door when their front door looks like that. Once the fans are inside the venue, the venue works for them. But it's the whole brand that it's our brand, but it's also their brand in them choosing. That's one thing. When we win, all these events know that there's a more than one, two or 3 or 4 handfuls of cities that want what we have. Indycar would be the same. There's 15 markets that would love to have our indycar race. There's 15 or 20 markets that would love to have our nascar race. So the first bucket was just what that interchange looks like on the interstate. We don't need to get into the details. We all know what that looks like. The other one is inside the facility itself. The current promoter that has won the licensing agreements with us for indycar and nascar is a group called Green savoree racing. They're based out of indianapolis, indiana. They host significant nascar and indycar events around north America, including in tampa, saint pete, toronto in mid-ohio racetrack in ohio, and in in Portland. They have made their privately held companies who know much, but they had to do a lot to win these races back to Portland. First of all, our track had been uncertified on at the international certification levels. So they went in and did the safety improvements out of their pocket to pier because they saw the opportunity there. So all all of the safety fencing was rebuilt by them. A lot of safety walls and crash walls redone with them, a lot of paving projects. They repaired all of the bleachers, replaced all of the wooden. Those seating systems out there and done that. What's missing yet is a medical center and a media center that can host. It's qualified to host, and we've lived in an environment where the tent worked. When we built a medical tent for them to bring in their life saving equipment into. But the standards continue to elevate with all sports, and that's not good enough anymore. So I know there's been a conversation going that we've helped facilitate, but it's been active about a private public partnership around pier would need to be long term. And I think that that we could Green would be interested in making those investments because they realize the city isn't in a position right now to make those investments in that facility, but they would need a long term operating agreement there, which would be healthy, because I think their business model would generate positive net revenue for the city versus what pier currently does, which is break even at best. And a healthy facility would be healthy for economy. It'd be healthy for the community. So and then we lost formula e. Yes, florida came in and wrote a check, but we were also struggling with those issues when they came in here. The the understanding was things would be better in that part of town. And they didn't get better. And it was when you're talking about a property that performs in cities like mexico city, sao paulo, tokyo, singapore, jakarta, monaco, berlin, london, paris, rome and Portland, Oregon, we're going to be held to a standard of that. So that's another one that someday we think we can reel back. But we've got some work to do.
49 Jim. Thank you. And you said we all know what that looks like. I serve in district two. I know what that looks like. I've been also serving on this council for five years beginning tomorrow. And but I think what you said that it's not always clear what you mean when you say. And you know what that looks like.
50 Yeah. So being blunt, it's we it's it's a major. It is the premier. I hate saying it that way but drug market and sex trade market area in Portland. And it is also a place I like to think of delta park as an extension of our schools. It's a school. It's a classroom. We have kids playing there and families filling that park five, six, seven days a week and they're dropped off. And what those families have to drive through to, to enter the park and then witness activity all around that park. You can go out to that park, go out there on a Friday night, and it's packed with our soccer leagues and and diamond sports leagues, baseball and softball playing. And it is a family centered facility. It's where kids learn to compete. It's learning how to do teamwork and conflict resolution and all those things. But they are surrounded by an environment that you shouldn't have to have them see. You know, it's reality, right? But we just have to do a better job. And I always go with the front porch mentality. Probably I beat it to death, but we just have to take pride in areas that are hosting our whether it's our community, our neighbors or we're hosting a broader regional audience that's coming to, you know, an event there or a national audience. And what we do is every day we reinforce the stigma that we've been living with this reality. You know, of how people this resident sentiment and national sentiment. And so to me, it's something that with some focus and it's going to take some grit that we can change. But change starts at home.
51 Thank you. Thank you jim, I appreciate that my colleagues have their hands up. And first it's councilor Clark.
52 I'll just switch off. I thought I saw councilor Smith first, but.
53 I'm just going by the order in my screen.
54 Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you so much, jim. Jen. Brandi, thank you for being here. Your presentation is really kind of mind blowing. I have never had this presentation before. I'm new to council. I know we've met before and talked about some of these issues. I'm just wondering if you ever sleep. I you've got so many balls in the air, if you will. I appreciate the presentation because you've given me a better understanding of your organizational structure, which is valuable. But most valuable is just a discussion of the assets. And, you know, I'm a former athlete. I lettered in everything. In high school. I was an umpire. I was a referee. I did everything, and I'm on the waitlist for the fire, of course, but just had to throw that in my letter. But your your conversation about assets really hits home for me because as my colleagues know, I think I'm I'm kind of becoming the infrastructure queen around here. And I've been talking a lot about getting back to basics. But what you're challenging me or us is really to look forward at our assets and to redevelop them to, I mean, everything from the front porch to the size of things. Where I've been kind of focused on taking care of what we have. You're really talking about facility development and really taking that up and on, which to me is a big lift as I'm just thinking maybe small ball, if you will, about taking care of the things that we have, like our streets and all these issues are interconnected. You brought up public safety, the condition of our roads, the condition of our parks. I just I feel like there's so much to do. And you use the term massified. I hadn't heard that before. That's kind of mind blowing. All these things are interconnected, and I guess I. I want your help in knowing how to prioritize. And because I feel like we're over here spending a lot of plates or keeping a lot of plates spinning, but you're this is exponential, what you're talking about and how how do we go about as a city prioritizing these things?
55 Well, first, great observations. Look at us as a true partner. We are we are supported by the community, the community that you guys are elected by. And, you know, we have our goals. I mean, there are nothing but good for this community. From your standpoint on infrastructure, like we all understand the amount of deferred maintenance or repair that entire infrastructure of our city needs, whether it's parks, it's roads, whatever, you know. But what we're lacking is a community is a vision. That is a collective vision about where we need to go and what we need to be. We circumstantially have everything's an immediate, you know, fire. And then then the next thing we have to run to and the current one is, you know, alarm bells around the blazers. And that reality, if we do not either do a master renovation. And when I say we it's not just the owner, it's us. Whether it's the city and the state or the state or the city or combination thereof, we have to step into with that owner to keep that franchise here. You know, we you, you guys, you know, cornell talked about it in in the previous presentation about oklahoma city. You know they that that there there is a textbook example of how communities stepped in and created a vision and then started working towards living into that vision. And today, I mean, there's books been written about oklahoma city over the last decade to two since the bombing. It is extraordinary. They they they basically stole the sonics from seattle. And but they have created a dynamic sports and arts complex, if you will, centered in the central city and the the economic and social impacts that it's had are are astounding in a place called oklahoma city, you know, so there's plenty of examples around us. We look at the timbers. We've talked about that. Providence park is 100 years old. There has to be a vision. We'll be in a moment, similar to the moment we've been living in for the last since 2018, with the estate of paul allen. This will be a little bit different, but that lease agreement comes up in ten years with our timbers. And. And who's to say that our current ownership is going to own it forever? They may have an exit plan sometime in the future. I'm not saying it's immediate or implying that it's or it could be something that stays in their family forever. But we can never assume these things. And we look at our arts facilities, you know, they are critical to this, our community as sports and vice versa, that we all have the same vibrancy and vitality outcomes. And we could argue that our central city is going to be built. This comeback is going to be built around leaning into our arts and our sports and our food and beverage scene, and entertainment in general. This needs to be portland's living room again, but we have to have a different approach than what we've had.
56 Well.
57 May I follow up, mr. Chairman, I appreciate what you're saying, jim, and that we are lacking vision or at least a coordinated vision. We've got lots of things that we want to do. And I thought that what cornell said about an economic identity really jives with what you're saying as well. And I feel like I personally have maybe all of us need your help in creating what that vision is. And what I hear you saying is that the blazers are number one, followed by the timbers just trying to craft that, but a larger message and then a strategy. We're going to need to devise a strategy as to how we become a partner, a public private partner or whatever it is. That's that's a lot of work that we need to do together with you. But I would look at you to help us craft what that vision is. I think you've got the the bones of it kind of riffing off of what cornell said about what is our economic identity here.
58 Yeah, we, you know, for our all our arts franchises. And that's what we got to look at as we need the symphony and the ballet and the opera and the Portland art museum to thrive for all the other arts organizations to thrive. The same thing goes on the sports side. We also have those primary tenants that have to be thriving to make those facilities work. You know, I heard a speculative comment like, well, if the blazers left that, you know, at least we have. We won the fire and we have the wnba. Guess what? They're going to have a tough time staying in this marketplace for very long if the blazers were to leave. So there's a net loss. Same thing you know with the timbers I mean it's yeah the thorns are really critical to the heartbeat of this community and what this sports does for us. And women's sports is on an updraft. It's you know you know, ten years ago, people I'd say 3 to 5 years ago, they didn't envision it happening and rising as rapidly as it is, but it's not sustainable by itself. And we got to look at these facilities also, as you know, the moda center is not all about the blazers. There's 285 event nights there, 41 of them, plus 2 or 3 exhibition games are blazers related. Okay, that facility is not sustainable without an anchor tenant like the blazers. So it's not about, you know, funding a billionaire. It's really about funding what we want our community to have as things that make Portland attractive, to live and thrive and grow families in, and businesses.
59 Well, I want to be on the a team with you. I, I hope we can continue this conversation and help us develop a roadmap for how we get there, how we make those investments, how we develop public private partnerships, all of that. I really appreciate your presentation today. It's very, very critical to our city and our state as well. So thank you again.
60 Thank you.
61 Thank you, councilor Clark. Councilor Smith.
62 Thank you.
63 Thank you. Wow. Where do I start? I had so many questions that I had lined up. But you you started jim with. The nascar and and my staff, my policy advisor, joel cochran. He he wanted me to ask you about nascar, but you beat me to it. You you jumped into it and you jumped into a somewhat of a a lion's den of of things. Nascar. For me, when I think about what you said, it was here for 2021, 22, 23, 24 and 2522.
64 Through 25.
65 22 to 25. And we lost it. But you were not clear. And I want to make sure that I add a finer point to this because like councilor Clark, I am a big sports fan and former athlete, and I love athletics. And I think it's important. I think those franchises, as you were talking about the parks and keeping those strong and healthy, those are the things that that keep our communities healthy, healthy and keep us thriving from a sports level. But I want to go to a finer point of what you said, and I want to make sure that I'm hearing you correctly. So are you implying or suggesting that we lost the nascar contract because of the esthetics and because of you didn't say it, but public safety issues around unsanctioned camping in those kinds of things, was that what you were implying?
66 Yes.
67 Okay.
68 So that that very directly that is one of the two primary buckets.
69 Okay. That's what I wanted to hear from you because you used some very fancy words.
70 And I.
71 Want to make sure that, that I made it make sense. As a former business owner and ceo of dream big communications, I like to dream big. I like to to make things look nice. But it also I like to make money. And if you're not making money, you're not making sense. Right. And so if they were making money, it doesn't make sense to me why they would leave safety.
72 So when there's repeated overnight break ins, despite security into the haulers that transport these cars and equipment stolen out of them, there's actually other vandalism that's happening during race week. Right?
73 Okay.
74 So and it's a public safety I mean, people don't feel safe coming into the facility once they're in the facility. Different story. And that's.
75 What I wanted you to tell me. I wanted you to expand more on on the definition of what was the cause and effect of us losing, in your sense. I don't know that they actually put it in those words. Or did they say to you, this is the issue here.
76 That's the issue. Okay. You know, we're we're putting basically it's an environment where where you see portland's worst side at play the entire time. And then equal to it. It's important to note some infrastructure inside the facility, specifically a critical medical facility. And we're not talking about we're talking about a hardened building. They bring in the triage equipment to put into that with their doctors, but they can't do it in a tent anymore. It's just the standards that they have. It's just they can't be little league when they need to be big league and that it's critical, it's life saving. And then and then the other piece is the media center. And you can say, well, the media need to be pampered. These events also provide hours of international coverage, national and international coverage of Portland, Oregon. And we all know the beauty shots that come in and that is live from Portland, Oregon, with mount hood in the background. All these things that people go, wow, I need to go there. That's that's a lot. We have the investment. That's how most of these leagues are funded, is through media deals. And so there's an expectation of a standard. And right now for the last 45 years, the standard for us has been four containers stacked on each other with t11 siding attached and a roof and some windows installed in the carve outs. And it is. It's janky at best, and it might have barely worked 40 years ago. It doesn't work today. And the existing the promoter has gone in there and completely redone the inside with sheetrock and carpet, new windows, everything. It's still a container stack posting.
77 So you're saying we need a better Green room for the media. We need a true Green.
78 We need a true media center.
79 Okay, that that helps. I want to I'm I want to join forces with councilor Clark and help you because I think it's so important that this organization is able to not just survive and barely make it. I want you all to be able to thrive. I want people when they think about the state of Oregon in Portland, they that they think about sports and not just the trailblazers. And I think we have the bones to make this infrastructure not just be good but great. Right. So I do want your ideas. I do need you at the table. I know there are other big ticket things that we're trying to get baseball here. We're trying to do all these other things. But I also think we can, you know, walk and chew bubblegum at the same time. We can, you know, try to attract those new folks here. And we can also build the infrastructure for what already is here so that we can maintain that, to be able to have a thriving economy here. And that's so important. And I think that that's part of our job as councilors. So I want to go just a little skin deep here for a second. Kristen. You.
80 Jen.
81 Jen I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
82 Jen kristen.
83 If I no no no no no, we got to go with jen. If I talk to you more than once, I'll remember you. You had some great things that you talked about that that was going on that you you brought here. And if I had to guess, listening to jim, I was going to ask you if you had. What if you had a magic wand and you wanted to bring any a sports event here? What would that be?
84 Great question. I'm a big boxing fan, so I've always had a big major boxing event. Of course, like jim touched on nba and wnba all star. That's what. That's the pie in the sky personally. Basically any sporting event. I grew up as an athlete myself too, so I thrive in sports. It is my passion in. I would have told you two years ago when you asked me, I wouldn't have answered. A professional skateboarding event would be the highlight of my career to date. It is the highlight of my career to date. It has not only just changed our city that I care about and live in downtown and work in downtown, but I've got to take my four year old son the last two years and make those memories. So that event right now is has been the biggest one for me. But pie in the sky would would be all stars.
85 Yeah, I thought that's what it was, but I, I know if I would have asked you, jim, you would have said wnba.
86 I would, I would say winning the wnba franchise is huge. And everybody came together. The women's final four.
87 Yeah, that's what I'm.
88 Talking about. That that one is. And that's where we're going to be working alongside you. Because and I got to come up with a new phrase. But I don't think most people understand the size of the bus, the dog court we have. And every year this event elevates and we are going to start in 2026 to build our local organizing committee, consisting of the top female leaders in our community. To drive this home. We've raised 3 million of the 6 million we need to host this event and put it on right. It will take every single hotel room in the city. It will have over $30 million of economic impact, and it will make or break our future as far as how we deliver this event. And we're going to we're going to commit that. It's going to make our future. And so excited for that when we want it. I was jumping up and down, then I realized, wow, I'm going to be 67 by the time that thing rolls into town, 2030. And I know councilor Smith, I did not tell her that we first met 30 years ago, trying to bring a professional boxing event to memorial coliseum.
89 That is right. And I was going to say my dad is a he is in the boxing hall of fame for the state of Oregon, and he was in the pan am games. He has you know, he's passed passed on. But I think he was a part of that whole not street boxing crew, a three year national champion. And so I think that's where our family gets gets our athletic gene from. And we did and I we we tried it and it didn't work. But I feel you today my granddaughter competed in the 2025 national junior olympics track and field in savannah this past summer. And let me tell you, it was hotter than fish grease, right? And she she won the gold in the pentathlon and she won third in the long jump and the high jump. So she is now a four time all American because in 2023 when it was in Oregon, she got fifth in the long jump as a first time athlete. And so I so appreciate you all putting some emphasis. And please guys in the room, please don't take this personally, but you all take up all the space when we talk about sports. And to see you all identifying women's sports and activities in bringing that to to Oregon, I think it's lovely. I think it's great. And I have one request for you. I want you all to bring the usatf back to Portland, back to Oregon, bring it to eugene, because the year before that it was in texas, and the year before that it was somewhere in, I don't know where florida, but it was hotter than fish grease. And let me tell you, I want folks to come in July to Oregon and so I can go watch my granddaughter compete without having to have a air conditioning with me. But seriously, it's it is. It is amazing and outstanding when I can hear you all talk about women athletes in sports, because we need to have our sports highlighted, we need to have our young women in this state to see, you know, see themselves in, in these sports and these women and what they can do and how they can thrive. Now that we have wnba, I'm just, you know, I'm happy. I'm happy as a clam. But I also think that we need to invest in those outside things that you were talking about that we have we have the ability to do. Because, you know, for me, if I'm a councilor in district two and that's my old district, my old county commission district where I used to live, I would say I'd call Dan Ryan up and say, you know what? We got this event coming up, and I know you all have Portland solutions, which is a department that that cleans up neighborhoods and makes sure things are clean from June 20th through June 30th. Can you make sure that the trash and everything is everything is cleaned up so that when we have our visitors come, that it is looking pristine as it can look? And before that, a year before that, talk about some of those structural infrastructure, things that need to be done. You talked about victory. Was it victory Lane?
90 Yeah.
91 And needed to be fixed up. Those kinds of things can can be done. You know, we can we can attempt to do those kinds of things a year in advance and really hold our feet to the fire about the importance of making things look good, that front porch that you're talking about, we need to have it look great. And all those things about the Green room as we talked about them. Those are not just simple requests. Those are those are creature comforts that people like to have when they're on the road 85% of the year. They want to go to a place that they can feel comfortable in and that, you know, they they've just come from a place that had all these extras and then they come to Portland. So I don't think you're being unreasonable with your request. But like cornell said earlier, don't call me at the you know, when when the fire is here, call me before when you kind of see some things a little smoky so we can take care of it and put the fire out before time. So I think some of these things we can take care of well, in advance of some of these events, so that you don't have to, you know, celebrate 22 to 25 and you're making money and it makes sense, but yet you lose a contract because of some things that we can handle outside, externally. And I think that that's those are the kind of calls that you need to make and that we need to plan for ahead of time that I think Olivia is talking about. Let us let us have this conversation.
92 I think those are great comments. But I will say in in defense travel Portland and sport Oregon every year present what's coming. And then we follow up and the city has stepped in to clean up. But it's not a sustainable solution. Literally the next day or the day after, it's all back. And so we have to we have to step back and design a system that can, for lack of a better term, hold the fort through these moments, but hopefully that it's, you know, it's something that's more permanent from a solution standpoint. And unfortunately, it's like it happens the way and prospers events group and the different bureaus prior to the new structure would come in and we'd have these big zoom calls and everybody would meet the moment. And then a moment later it was back to where it was. We don't have a sustainable.
93 Yeah, I don't care if we.
94 We got to figure that out to win. Yeah.
95 We can put those big cinder blocks up there so people can't park in there. They can't camp. I mean, and have people I look, I don't know. There are a lot of things we can do, but all of this stuff takes money. And so we have to have a source of funding to be able to keep up the level of sustainability that you would need to be able to continue to pitch Portland as a prime place for a sporting event. But I think we have all the facilities necessary. We have built in audiences. We are a sports town, and so it's just a shame that we would not be able to keep up the infrastructure to make sure that you can pitch the way you need to and say, no, this is what's going on in Portland now. So I think it needs to be a new day and whatever I can do, I want to put me, put me in. I'm going to volunteer. Olivia too, because she said it first.
96 Put me in coach.
97 Yeah, put me in the game, coach and let us see where we can be helpful and useful. And using our voice to be able to to help you out. Because the presentation was great. I appreciated all the all the things that you have done and really big things. I mean, people don't understand. I mean, getting that that final four stuff and getting those folks here that that's not an easy big thing to do. So I appreciate you and just put us in the game. Get us on your calendar in the next couple weeks so we can figure out how to do this.
98 Can I point out one last thing to this topic that's really important and I'll be quick starting next week and all the way through to whenever, our final moment is that we have an agreement in place to what the future of the moda center and rose quarter looks like. We need to pay special attention to the rose quarter district, because this new owner is coming in with all his investor groups time and time again, and when they come off those freeway exit ramps and they're around, you know, we have serious public safety problems around the rose quarter, especially at the interchanges at the broadway bridge head on the east side and throughout. And we don't put our best foot forward in that area. And we need to because we're being looked at in a different way. And it's very critical that we demonstrate that we care about that district and we keep it clean and safe through this moment that we're in. So that from day one, that it's very clear to this new ownership group that this city is committed to that area, as is and whatever it's going to be, because I think they're watching.
99 I hear.
100 You, yeah. Thank you.
101 Thank you.
102 Thank you. Jim. My turn. First of all, thank you, colleagues, I don't feel so alone. After this dialog. I served on the last council councilors that was in lockstep with everything you're saying. Everything. And I'm hoping that we can get the majority of this council to listen to this session and join us in this common sense approach to how to build Portland going forward. And you got to the heart of many issues in this dialog today. And I want to thank you for your candor. Pivoting. I know nothing about fencing, and you got so excited about fencing. And can you tell me what the economic impact of fencing is? I'm just thrilled. I mean, I knew smart people in college that did it, but I had no idea it had such a big following. Tell me more.
103 It has a very big following, and what I have learned through the bidding process is Portland. We are a fencing community. Really didn't know that. I'm learning something every single day. Fencing is an olympic sport. It also comes with an audience, family and athletes, a very affluent audience. We have been the ceo of usa fencing has our. We already are setting up calls to really for him to better explain to us the economic impact that hosting summer nationals is going to be make on Portland. This isn't a group that's just coming for just the competition and that's it. They are coming. They are so excited about Portland as they have announced it. They want to see the pacific ocean. They want to go to wine country. They want to go to mount hood. So Jamie and I, my colleague here, we do all the bids together. And jacqueline, our services manager, we put together itineraries that are like a placation. We call them. When you come to Portland, we have something to offer that most destinations around the nation don't have. And that is what we, especially as a born and raised Oregonian and very proud to showcase. But yeah, so fencing olympic event biggest event will be hosting in the world.
104 11,000 rooms every square inch.
105 11,000 hotel room night, 6000 athletes. The exciting part. Also, as we talk to the ngb team usa is like we're rolling into la 28. That. And so as we continue to get closer and closer to la 28 hosting in our market, the national governing bodies is just crucial for us to keep winning bids. They're choosing Portland because maybe it's on the west coast, like the olympics, and there's just a lot of synergy. I was at a conference two weeks ago with the ceo of artistic swimming. We hosted their junior olympics at mount hood last summer, and he talked about la 28, and we're making a bid for their junior olympics in 2028. And he looks at us hosting in that olympic year on the west coast as a benefit. So there you go.
106 Thank you jen I want to let the people know who are testifying that I'll make sure that we have time for you before the meeting ends. So but we this went over for good reason. So just give me a few more minutes here. I want to ask a question about where did I go. We had a lot of dialog about the big venues, but I think what I learned in my 18 months as a parks commissioner is how much work we need to do in terms of our infrastructure on the grassroots family level. And as you know, we're losing families, sadly, to counties surrounding us. And one of the reasons I hear that we're losing families is because of our infrastructure for sports ball fields and how they're not on the same level as many of our sports ball fields and surrounding suburbs and across the state. I also learned from you on what a big money generator that it is to host big little league tournaments and such, and I was thrilled that we did host one little league out at the field, out by the airport. But my point is, what do you want the city council to focus on in terms of how we work with parks going forward so that we can improve our infrastructure for sports ball fields, for families.
107 I think an opportunity assessment, what what are we missing? And and we've talked about shiny and new and we've talked about what we already have. I'd like to focus on what we already have. It's just reimagining the ball fields in our existing parks, modernizing them to where they're safe to play on. They're playable for virtually 12 months a year versus 3 to 4 months a year, and they become hubs in our neighborhood where people go and play. And then when we look at the opportunity, we can also get strategic. Whether it's reimagining westmoreland parks, fields and where there's currently five diamonds but reconfigured, there could be seven or x number of rectangle fields, etc. Most every field in these parks, they weren't in good condition when I was a kid, playing on them in the 60s and 70s, you know, and so and it's the same backstops and, and you know, it's just there's a way to build fields. Now it starts 3 or 4ft deep and works its way up. And it's not always an artificial turf. It's natural grass as well. We just have to kind of make these assets be producers for us 12 months a year instead of three months a year. And then also just how they're configured in a way to maximize opportunity for how sports are played today, not just from a community standpoint, but from a sports tourism standpoint on what we're able to attract our community. And our biggest motivation just isn't always economics. We always love the economic impact and the hotel room nights. It's about keeping Oregon families at home instead of having to go to pdx and fly somewhere and spend their hard earned money to have their kids play. And then also, we know that not every socioeconomic level has that ability to play in these pay for play sports, but if we have the facilities here, we can also create with our nonprofit partners great opportunities for our underserved communities to play in a way that those pay for play kids do with our own. If you want to call it own programing, that where we control our destiny and we control the outcomes for our families.
108 And then to build on that gym. But it's connected. We've been talking about the delta park area, you in your slideshow you showed what's the vision is for expo center. As someone who was raised in my high school years, I live with my single mom in a mobile home court on hayden island, and that was in the late 70s, and at that time it was a really beautiful place, like when people came into Oregon, I think they saw what they would maybe want to pull over and experience jensen beach, hayden island at that time. I think it's really sad today when you see the contrast in our border at the columbia river, when you compare it to the border on the Washington side, and for some reason this summer, it's really hit me hard when I'm driving along I-5, going north to visit family and such. And so have you been in dialog with clearly, I have responsibility. We have a person up here who's infrastructure queen and also transportation focused. What is the dialog been like with the state because you're a sport Oregon. And just having that border challenge, if you will. What has conversations been like with state leaders at ODOT and such?
109 The biggest perception you mentioned it drive over the interstate bridge, go two exits up, and we've all seen it a million times. The welcome to Washington. It's so beautiful floral landscape that gets replanted 3 or 4 times a year. Take the next exit, reverse back, come over to the state line over the bridge again. And the first thing you see is a welcome to Oregon sign with five evergreens behind it for the last decade or the evergreen state. But they're brown. So, you know, again, it's ODOT conversations, whether it's around the rose quarter, whether it's around, you know, delta park expo center. You know, I've heard, you know, curtis robin laughlin shared that he was willing to landscape and maintain the interchange at 205 and airport way, just like the entire airport way entrance. And what a great statement both for, you know, people coming to the airport and also just arriving and going in our city. Odot that's a hard no. It's a odot's a hard no with what we want to do, what we could do around it, around victory boulevard and that I five interchange and we're denver avenue and interstate avenue come in there. So it's like there's things that like solutions that are pretty obvious sometimes that whether it's the pr team, the delta park team, the promoters, the event producers, like we'll take care of the place if we were given the opportunity. Vanessa sturgeon and the tmt development out there, same thing. So it's just we get in our own way sometimes because of just not stepping back. I would relate it to that. We've lost so many events in the core of our city that are, you know, whether they're fundraisers, you know, five k's and ten k's and rock n roll, half marathons and walks. Like for the for the susan komen, we have the biggest susan komen walk in the country, 30,000 people. What would we do for 30,000 people on downtown Portland on a Saturday or Sunday? But we have policies that don't work anymore, like the uniformed police officer, every lighted intersection when other cities had those same deals, but they pivoted to a uniformed police officer at every major intersection, and then you could bring in professional traffic control flaggers at the other lighted intersections. That then made it possible for public safety to say, yes, we can take and continue to do this. It allows the promoter to be part of the solution, etc. But we have to change our mindset that we can't live with the way we've done things we need to evolve and that goes across the board, whether it's with state agencies or even with our city.
110 Let's make sure that we partner together on that. And have you had this conversation with I used to serve on a city council with the mayor, and now they're upstairs. They're not here. And so I really sincerely ask this question. Have you had this dialog with the mayor?
111 We had a pre-election with all the candidates, and we've had some moments very specific to certain things. We've kind of given it a little space. It's time to sit down. And now that council is more established and the mayor and the we also with the city administrator changing over, that's you know, we just got to I think and you know donnie's been great. And the other city administrators around, they're very aware of what we need to do kind of holistically and where we need to start making some changes.
112 Okay. We have three more minutes. I'll give my colleagues these new hands. Yes. Okay. You get one minute each and I'll cut you off.
113 Thank you. Just really quickly.
114 I know.
115 When we met before, we talked about the sports and arts coalition. And you were coming up with a strategic plan this fall. Is that something we're going to be seeing?
116 Yeah, our first meeting is going to be in either next week or the week after. We're reconvening around that and start to formulate with that shared vision is great.
117 And then are you on the are you at the economic summit in December? Are you making a presentation there on.
118 The. That's the Portland metro chamber's economic summit? Yes. No we're not. That's a speaker that talks about everything andrew hoan and Portland metro chamber will talk about sports and arts and how critical they are.
119 Okay.
120 League of cities.
121 Are you presenting at league of cities? You're the rep on that, right?
122 You're right, I don't know. I don't think so.
123 Are you presenting at the league of cities conference.
124 The Oregon league of cities?
125 We have not.
126 Been asked.
127 They're having their big conference here in October. I don't think so.
128 This is one where it's really bipartisan. We can come together and work with sport Oregon across counties and across jurisdictions. I really hope that Portland will remain a major league city. I think we have a big heart's desire to be that, but we have to get real about what it's going to take to sustain that and to be that in the future. I don't know if the majority in the political world care about that. I think today you delivered a lot of arguments on why that's important for our city. For our state. We have big opportunities. I know down in eugene, because of the big ten and because so many tourists are arriving to take in the magic of autzen stadium and what and all the beauty of our state. So that's one of that didn't come up today, but I'm sure that's probably one of the bright spots in the sports ecosystem is our ascension into the big ten at one of our universities. And so we just have to all come together across all whatever divisions there are, to hopefully focus on what is ripe fruit for us to move forward in our economy. I thank you so much for your time this morning. I've known you for a while. You were more blunt and candid. You're a very kind gentleman and you're a great statesperson. You represent us so well across the globe and this morning I appreciate you putting your heart on your sleeve and really having some candid dialog with me and my two colleagues, and you've won us over. And we will continue to multiply and be great partners with you. Thank you for being here this morning.
129 We will be great partners as well.
130 Thank you, thank you.
131 So we're moving on to testimony. I want to thank those who are in attendance. There's a couple of you that have been patient. I hope you've enjoyed this meeting. And craig, will you please call up our next item? Oh, sorry. Keelan.
132 Item three. Arts and economy. Community feedback. First up, we have brian orndorf.
133 Good morning, councilors brian orndorf live and work in district four, as well as volunteer extensively with homeless and mental health. I actually got to walk the northrop shelter this morning at 630. They've already ramped up to 30 folks staying overnight there, and it's clean and it's safe. Then proceeded to a 730 event at city teams, where we had 70 small business leaders show up for volunteer opportunities to do outreach. We actually did some outreach this morning. Any event here today? Today marks 250 days since the new city council was sworn into office. In that time, we've seen passionate speeches, symbolic resolutions, and even $100 million $100,000 international junket to vienna. What what we haven't seen is meaningful progress on three of the most urgent issues facing portlanders safety, mental health and addiction, and economic development. The city council, particularly the democratic socialists of America members, have shown a troubling pattern of focusing on international and national issues that fall far outside of the scope of city governance. It's time to get back to the basics. Let's be clear Portland city council is not congress, the state department, or the united nations. They have no authority over the israeli-palestinian conflict. Federal immigration policy. The pentagon budget. Despite councilor Avalos or murillo's September 4th call to reallocate $3.5 billion to gaza, the council's time and energy are finite. Portland's residents deserve leaders who focus on pressing challenges in their own backyard. The three biggest issues again facing Portland today sit at the base of maslow's hierarchy of needs safety, stability and economic opportunity. A recent report on the fbi crime data listed Portland as the second worst city for total crimes in America, with a total crime rating of 6246 per 100,000 people. Portland's crime numbers were over 195% higher than the national average. Public safety must be a foundation of livable city residents, and workers, and visitors will all deserve to be safe on our streets and in our neighborhoods. Yet selective enforcement of laws, particularly during nights at the ice facility, riots that affect the welfare and sleep of hundreds of neighbors without meaningful police response, undermines trust in institutions, and fosters resentment. Everyone deserves equal protection under the law. If laws are not enforced uniformly, the rule of law becomes optional. Portland is in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. Drug overdoses are at record highs. Mental illness is untreated. Homeless encampments continue to strain public spaces. We need meaningful investments in a continuum of care detox beds, transitional housing and wraparound services. Economic development. Here's a fact often left out of housing debate, Portland today has over two has over 25,000 vacant apartments at a 7.5% vacancy in our universe of 350,000 apartments. What we have is not housing supply crisis. We have a job crisis. Portland needs to focus on attracting employers, growing small businesses, and creating well-paying jobs so that people can afford to live in and thrive in Portland. Quality of life starts with a paycheck. We should build housing to meet demand that won't succeed without economic opportunity to sustain it. Thank you.
134 Thank you brian.
135 Next up we have blake shell.
136 Hi, I'm blake shell, the executive and artistic director of Oregon contemporary and a co-chair of pace Portland arts and culture for equity. Now, with over 400 members, including folks who work at the big five and nonprofits that are not yet seeing any city funding. When the city reduced equity funding last year, many of us spoke out. 45 of the 80 organizations the city supports most deeply committed to die lost funding, while the largest five venues were prioritized. That is a false dichotomy that hurts interconnected communities. Portland arts and culture funding challenges are rooted in scarcity. We rank 17th in the nation for artistic vibrancy. As noted by smu data arts, but 172nd for total government support. Our arts and culture thrive despite not because of public funding. Pace was created from a shared belief that advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion in the arts is not optional. It is core to what we do. Many leaders here in Portland have advanced dei long before 2020, and we will continue well past 2025. Our vision for portland's arts and its economy is clear. An equitable plan that directs real and needed support to small and mid-sized organizations, many offering free or low cost programing citywide. And to the artists who make Portland what it is. We need explicit equity and access measures in the arts access fund, protected from political whims and a rejection of a top down model that rewards size over impact. And as costs rise while the art tax stays flat, we need more funding. Overall. This year especially, I've been reflecting on the deep ties between the arts and democracy. Many in the city have two. We are living in a time when fundamental human rights are still not secured for all, and more rights are stripped away week after week. The arts are under attack by the national administration precisely because they are important and impactful. They allow us to imagine and shape new realities. They give us agency and empowerment to make change. They build communities where we connect, create and work together. That's power, and that's why we fight for equity in the arts. We are asking for a bold vision to change the scarcity of funding that is hurting diverse, inclusive and accessible arts throughout this amazing city. Help us to help you to keep it as vibrant as it still is. Thank you for your time.
137 Thank you so much.
138 That completes testimony.
139 Okay.
140 Thank you. Colleagues, thank you for your time this morning. I know we had a couple of our colleagues that couldn't join us today because we're on a trip, so it was really good to continue to have this meeting. I thought it was important that we heard from sport Oregon and also welcomed cornell to his new role here in the city. The meeting is now adjourned. Thanks for being here. Bye bye.