The AT&T MLS All-Star game is more than just a soccer match. The event included concerts throughout the city featuring bands like the Cold War Kids. (Photo by Meg Williams)
Soccer fever continued Aug. 6 with the AT&T MLS All-Star Game in Portland, Ore. Home of the Timbers, Providence Park played host to a sold-out crowd of 21,733, and the surrounding area saw an influx of visitors for various activations held throughout the week.
The MLS All-Stars beat Bayern Munich 2-1, and the city of Portland celebrated its own victory with bringing such a large-scale event to a burgeoning fan base. Although the Timbers have a history dating back to the ’70s, the popularity of the sport has grown rapidly over the past few years with the introduction of the team into MLS, resulting in a streak of 63 soldout games (and counting).
Youth soccer players had the opportunity to meet their favorite MLS players, and Timber Joey, as part of the festivities. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer)
“Portland [is] excited to see soccer rising on the national level as well, because we’ve had such a vested interest and fan base in it for so long anyway,” said Megan Conway, vice president of communications and public relations for Travel Portland. “We’re thrilled to have all this happening here. It was such a fun week in the city. … It felt like we were in the midst of something exciting.”
The festivities kicked off Aug. 1 with youth soccer matches at Providence Park and a soccer-focused film being shown in Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown. The square was the setting for numerous events throughout the week, including a free viewing party for fans who couldn’t be at the actual game on Wednesday, and a live recording of popular satellite radio show “Men in Blazers.”
Providence Park hosted a sold-out crowd of 21,733 for the AT&T MLS All-Star game. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer)
In true Portland fashion, there were also bicycle-centric and live music events throughout the week. Tuesday’s events included open training sessions for both teams, attended by about 3,000 people, and a free concert in the evening in Pioneer Courthouse Square featuring the Cold War Kids, which was attended by about 3,000, according to Cory Dolich, vice president of business operations and marketing for the Portland Timbers. The professional women’s soccer team, the Portland Thorns, set an NWSL attendance record on the Sunday leading up to the game with 19,123 people.
On hand to provide food and beverage service at the game was Centerplate, which presented fans with a Portland-inspired menu that included the “Porklandia” Panini (Olympic Provisions' Sweetheart Ham, Zenner’s pepper bacon, Carlton Farms' pork loin, Tillamook Swiss, and Stumpling’s Thai honey mustard on a Bavarian-style bun), $9, and the grilled kraut and cheese (chopped Zenner’s German sausage with Tillamook Swiss and Caraway kraut on rye bread), $6.50. Other highlights were the pastie pies, $7.75-$8, a U.K.-inspired dish with local ingredients; Tillamook mac ‘n’ cheese dog, $6.50; Korean beef bahn mi, $8.50; bacon bleu cheese tots, $6; and the Timber brat, $7.50.
Local food truck Big Ass Sandwiches was also in attendance serving sandwiches from the venue’s local food alliance stand. Centerplate’s general manager at Providence Park, Ben Forsythe, explained that all the locally-driven items were a hit. “We really wanted to represent the city of Portland as we are so proud of our culinary scene,” he said. “We added a bit of German flair to a few menus but really focused on locally-sourced, high-quality food.”
The 'Porklandia' Panini featured several local ingredients. (Photo by Centerplate)
Centerplate also managed beer sales at the weeklong Team Adidas event in Pioneer Square, and the Flaming Lips concert at Waterfront Park. “It was a challenging week, but I definitely feel Centerplate made it better to be there for all of our guests, whether at the stadium or somewhere else,” Forsythe said. “It was important to us that the whole week reflected the type of hospitality we offer at Centerplate, so it was a challenge that was gladly accepted.”
In addition to its sold-out crowd, the game was broadcast to an estimated 150 countries on ESPN2. The team also saw that people from 44 different states and more than 10 different countries purchased tickets through the Portland Timbers. “That’s just people buying tickets from us, so you can imagine that there were people from Germany that came over, too,” said Chris Metz, vice president of communications for the Timbers.
The game’s impact extended beyond publicity, however, earning an estimated $4 million to $5 million from just the hotels that serviced the MLS executives, teams and others involved with the event. The team didn’t commission an overall economic impact, but Dolich and Metz said they’ve read and seen figures estimating it was about $25 million.
Interviewed for this story: Megan Conway, (503) 275-9795; Cory Dolich and Chris Metz, (503) 553-5433; Ben Forsythe, (503) 553-5559