I don't see how anyone can responsibly make a decision to support this costly and impactful project without more information. According to the PSU initial plans they will be putting in a 500 vehicle underground parking structure. So far there has been no traffic or infrastructure study to see if the neighborhood streets can handle the traffic. How can they come up with a reasonable budget without that information? With the budget shortfall the city is dealing with and the Moda Center still being negotiated why is it necessary to vote on this project now? It would seem prudent to postpone any vote until more information can be gathered.
Seconding Kris’ conclusion here. Siting a 3000 seat Broadway house next to the planned 1200 seat facility plus the existing Lincoln Hall theatre with the impossibility of having adequate parking resources is beyond comprehension. I say this as a former Advisory Board member of what was then the Portland Certer for the Performing Arts including the Keller and South Park Blocks theatres.
The PSU “proposal” is no way near any realistic plans and yet they ask the city tax payers to “trust us” and BTW, can we have a $44M down payment for our as yet defined “plans”? Pretty Please!
For a city that bases its progress in carbon foot prints, the Keller proposal out performs the PSU proposal by tons of carbon.
This administration is making irreversible, costly, and damaging decisions at a pace that seems almost impossible at this point. The sooner we start removing them, the better.
This gets at a frustration I’ve had with Portland leadership for years: we often seem to plan around the Portland we have rather than the Portland we could become. Building the PSU performing arts center and renovating Keller does not necessarily have to be a zero-sum game. A new venue can create demand, attract new productions and audiences, and expand the overall market rather than simply divide the existing one.
There is obviously financial risk, and taxpayers deserve realistic numbers before committing. But eliminating risk also eliminates opportunity. The question should be whether Portland can give the two venues distinct roles and grow the market enough to support both—not simply assume today’s demand is the maximum Portland will ever have.
I sometimes think of it as slow death by “Keep Portland Weird.” There’s nothing wrong with preserving what makes Portland distinctive, but preservation can become an excuse for resisting growth and ambition.
As I recall, the Examiner ran a long series of articles by Kurt Misar back in early '26, that did a full breakdown of the economics of entertainment venues in the city--and, short version, found that too many venues were chasing too few bucks...and audiences.
Woulda been nice to add some URLs back to that series. Here's one...
I don't see how anyone can responsibly make a decision to support this costly and impactful project without more information. According to the PSU initial plans they will be putting in a 500 vehicle underground parking structure. So far there has been no traffic or infrastructure study to see if the neighborhood streets can handle the traffic. How can they come up with a reasonable budget without that information? With the budget shortfall the city is dealing with and the Moda Center still being negotiated why is it necessary to vote on this project now? It would seem prudent to postpone any vote until more information can be gathered.
Seconding Kris’ conclusion here. Siting a 3000 seat Broadway house next to the planned 1200 seat facility plus the existing Lincoln Hall theatre with the impossibility of having adequate parking resources is beyond comprehension. I say this as a former Advisory Board member of what was then the Portland Certer for the Performing Arts including the Keller and South Park Blocks theatres.
The PSU “proposal” is no way near any realistic plans and yet they ask the city tax payers to “trust us” and BTW, can we have a $44M down payment for our as yet defined “plans”? Pretty Please!
For a city that bases its progress in carbon foot prints, the Keller proposal out performs the PSU proposal by tons of carbon.
This administration is making irreversible, costly, and damaging decisions at a pace that seems almost impossible at this point. The sooner we start removing them, the better.
Grr. All of the above.
This gets at a frustration I’ve had with Portland leadership for years: we often seem to plan around the Portland we have rather than the Portland we could become. Building the PSU performing arts center and renovating Keller does not necessarily have to be a zero-sum game. A new venue can create demand, attract new productions and audiences, and expand the overall market rather than simply divide the existing one.
There is obviously financial risk, and taxpayers deserve realistic numbers before committing. But eliminating risk also eliminates opportunity. The question should be whether Portland can give the two venues distinct roles and grow the market enough to support both—not simply assume today’s demand is the maximum Portland will ever have.
I sometimes think of it as slow death by “Keep Portland Weird.” There’s nothing wrong with preserving what makes Portland distinctive, but preservation can become an excuse for resisting growth and ambition.
As I recall, the Examiner ran a long series of articles by Kurt Misar back in early '26, that did a full breakdown of the economics of entertainment venues in the city--and, short version, found that too many venues were chasing too few bucks...and audiences.
Woulda been nice to add some URLs back to that series. Here's one...
https://nwexaminer.com/p/if-you-build-it-they-still-wont-come-fb4?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3306954&post_id=192040395&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=i9o7&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo4NTIzNDMsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE5MjA0MDM5NSwiaWF0IjoxNzc0NDQ4MzIwLCJleHAiOjE3NzcwNDAzMjAsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zMzA2OTU0Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.1TfKSLTmzc-6uWx5_RrG41X5BApc9gmIdmsXnGrAWCI&triedRedirect=true
Dangerous Dreamers in action.
Portland is a different (weaker) city than it was pre-covid.
Let's get real.
The City's budget is stressed but optimism persists.
One third of the City's RE is veritably empty.
Time to focus on Safety and Growth Initiatives.
VOTE OUT EVERY MEMBER IN FAVOR.
Their passion for recognition is dangerous and the consequences will never fall on them.