Contact: Shawn Uhlman, PDC, 503-823-7994
November 21, 2012
Mayor Sam Adams announced today that the City of Portland and its partners have agreed on a multifaceted plan to manage and develop Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Partners include City of Portland – Office of Management and Finance (OMF); Bureau of Transportation (PBOT); Bureau of Planning & Sustainability (BPS); Portland Development Commission; Portland Arena Management and the Portland Winterhawks.
The announcement took place on the main concourse of the Coliseum at 11:00 a.m., against the backdrop of the Willamette River and with sounds of Portland Winterhawks’ team practice punctuating the speakers’ remarks.
Scott Andrews, PDC Chairman; Chris Oxley, Senior Vice President/ General Manager, Rose Quarter Operations; and Ron Carr of the Veterans Focus Group joined the mayor for the announcement.
Mayor Sam Adams said, “The VMC has served as a regional community asset for 51 years, providing a venue for community celebrations and entertainment, and currently hosts more than 400,000 visitors per year. I’m pleased that today we can announce the public-private partnerships that move us definitively toward the revitalization of this iconic asset.”
City Council will hear two ordinances on Thursday, November 29, at 3:30 p.m., focusing on the following agreements among private and public partners which:
- Assure the renovation and substantial improvement of the VMC, with PAM acting as project manager
- Provide that the Portland Winterhawks will be the anchor tenant and an active partner in the VMC for at least 10 years, and perhaps as long as 20
- Guarantee PAM’s operation and programming of the VMC for 10 more years, and perhaps longer
- Identify when and how the money for the project will flow
- Recognize the Rose Quarter as a critical redevelopment area for the city, and transfer to PDC the lead role in redeveloping publicly-owned properties around the VMC
Andrews said, “It hasn’t been easy. Four partners worked for sixteen months to complete these agreements for the renovation. Thank you to the Winterhawks for your investment, PAM for your commitment to the building’s operations for ten more years and for taking on the developer role at no cost, and OMF for stepping up to invest in this city-owned spectator facility that stands as our tribute to all veterans.”
Carr paid tribute to the veterans for whom the Coliseum is named, and announced that the veterans group has committed to a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of a new design for the Veterans Memorial Gardens adjacent to the building.
Plan Documents:
Ordinance 1
RedevelopmentAgreement
Project Funding Agreement
Revenue Sharing Agreement
Second Amendment to the PAM-OMF Operating Agreement
PDC-OMF Conditional Operating Agreement
Assignment of Architect
Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
