The Portland Timbers are expanding their current training grounds after making a $25 million land purchase. As part of the project to grow the Adidas Timbers Performance Center, the Timbers have an option to construct an additional indoor practice surface, augmenting the pair it already leases.
Indoor facilities have grown in importance as MLS considers aligning its schedule with the biggest global soccer leagues. MLS currently plays a spring-to-fall schedule that minimizes cold weather games. Elsewhere, a late summer to late spring schedule is the norm—though several European leagues require multi-week winter breaks to avoid the worst temperatures.
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While some MLS owners—particularly those of clubs in chilly northern states—have been resistant to an overhaul, there seems to be momentum for the calendar change. The Timbers want to be ready.
“I think there are some bridges that need to be crossed before it happens,” Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said in a phone interview. “Some things need to happen. But I’m a believer that it makes sense.”
Portland’s facilities initiative involves the $25 million purchase of a 13-acre plot adjacent to its training fields from the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. The expanded property will become the Portland Timbers Performance Center by 2026, with the new acreage to include a second grass pitch, expanded office space, and a viewing deck for fans from the team’s offices.
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To date, the Timbers have leased but not owned the Tualatin Hills district land that includes their current indoor training facility, which has been expanded twice since 2015 to its current 27,000 square feet and includes a grass field and synthetic turf.
The Timbers’ additional indoor practice surface would provide competitive advantages during the winter.
“It’s not without its challenges,” Paulson said, “but we’ve got a big enough footprint right now where we can mitigate some of the weather issues in a way where you may be talking about really two to three home games less in the summer, and more in November, December or February.”
Since 2015, the Timbers have invested $40 million to triple the size of their training center to around 90,000 feet.
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Paulson said training facilities are a “big part of the player recruitment process.” He pointed to Seattle, Miami and Cincinnati as clubs that have excelled in that area.
“You can argue whether MLS is over-investing in infrastructure, but I think it’s going to ultimately be the strength of the league that the infrastructure is so good, and it’s become a bit of an arms race,” he said.
Speaking of recruitment, Paulson believes a realigned schedule would also provide a boost, allowing MLS clubs could be more competitive in the global summer transfer window.
He added that a schedule change would end the conflict between MLS playoffs and FIFA’s late fall international break.
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“I know that that from a media standpoint, it’s attractive having the playoffs again not be interrupted by a FIFA break,” he said. “It’s not just going against the NFL; it’s a real killer for us taking a week off for FIFA breaks, and you really lose the attention of some of the national audience when that happens.”
Portland is tied for 11th (along with D.C. United) in Sportico’s MLS franchise valuations at $720 million, $1 million short of the average team value. The club is in the middle of the pack in terms of revenue (ranked 14th in 2024 versus eighth two years before). It generated $70 million in revenue last year, up $5 million since 2022.
Expansion of the Timbers’ training grounds follows another Portland pro sports infrastructure announcement. The NWSL’s Thorns and the incoming WNBA franchise said earlier this year that they are building a $150 million training facility, the first of its kind combining teams from the two women’s pro leagues.
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