Portland, Oregon, United States, is home to two major league sports team (the Trail Blazers of the NBA, and the Timbers of MLS). Despite being home to two top-division teams, the city hosts a wide variety of sports and sporting events.
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| Club | Sport | League | League championships | Home venue | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Trail Blazers | Basketball | National Basketball Association | 1 (1976-77) | Rose Garden | 1970 |
| Portland Timbers | Soccer | Major League Soccer | 0 | Jeld-Wen Field | 1975 |
| Portland Winterhawks | Ice hockey | Western Hockey League | 2 (1982–83, 1997–98) | Rose Garden | 1976 |
Portland's first professional sports team was the Portland Rosebuds. Not only were the Rosebuds the first professional sports team in Oregon, they were the first professional hockey team in the U.S. They joined the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in 1914. They were the first U.S. team to play for the Stanley Cup (in 1916, against the Montreal Canadiens). The initial team folded soon afterwards in 1918, but the Regina Capitals moved into the city and took the same name in 1925. However, this team folded after just a single season. After this, many of the team's players were traded to Chicago and became the core of the new Blackhawks franchise.[1] The Rosebuds played at the Portland Hippodrome.
The Portland Winter Hawks, a major-junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League, have been a team since 1976-1977, when the Blazers won the NBA Finals. The Winter Hawks are one of the most popular junior ice hockey teams and have many loyal fans in Portland. They have also produced many NHL stars.
Portland has only one major league team, the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. Several of the team's former players are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, including Dražen Petrović, Bill Walton, Lenny Wilkens, and Clyde "The Glide" Drexler. The Blazers won their only NBA Championship in 1977. They lost in the NBA finals in 1990 (to the Detroit Pistons) and 1992 (to the Chicago Bulls).
One minor league basketball team, the Portland Chinooks in the International Basketball League, has recently been established. The Oregon Riptide, an American Basketball Association team announced in summer 2006, has not materialized.
The city was also home to a WNBA team, the Portland Fire. The team never made the playoffs and folded in 2002.
The Portland Beavers are a Triple-A baseball team from the Pacific Coast League affiliated with the San Diego Padres. The current franchise was founded in 2001, though the name dates to an early Portland baseball team established in 1903. In 1973, after the Beavers moved to Spokane, Washington, the Portland Mavericks came to town in the form of an independent Single-A team within the Northwest League. From 1973 to 1977 they played in what was then known as Civic Stadium. The Mavericks were owned by ex-minor league player and television actor Bing Russell. When Russell sold the team back to the Beavers in 1978 it was for 116,000 dollars, at the time a record amount for a minor league franchise. The Beavers currently play in PGE Park. The original Beavers stadium was Vaughn Street Park located in northwest Portland. The Beavers have won the Pacific Coast League Pennant the following years: 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1932, 1936, 1945 and 1983.
There has been recent interest in attracting a Major League Baseball franchise to Portland. In 2004, the city made an unsuccessful bid for the Montreal Expos, and in 2006 the city was contacted by the Florida Marlins.
The local Alpenrose Dairy is host to the annual Little League softball World Series and has a velodrome on site.
The Portland Timbers of the Major League Soccer started play at Jeld-Wen Field in 2011. The franchise is a continuation of the Portland Timbers, who played in the United Soccer League First Division, who themselves were a carried the name of a previous Timbers team, before they dissolved in 2010 made the playoffs four out of six times but they never won a championship.[2]
Portland is home to two Division 1 programs: The University of Portland Pilots and the Portland State Vikings. Portland State offers football, basketball, women's volleyball, golf, soccer, wrestling, track and field, tennis, softball, and cross country. The Vikings sponsor football in the FCS (Formerly Div-1 AA)level and play their games at PGE Park. Portland State is a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Portland Pilots are members of the non-football West Coast Conference and sponsor baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, and track and field.
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