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Providence Park expansion continues as Timbers home games start

It'll make for a capacity crowd of 25,000.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Exciting things are coming soon for fans of the Timbers and Thorns.

Construction is well underway on 4,000 new seats, new concession stands and a club section all on Providence Park's eastside, along Southwest 18th Avenue.

Because of construction, the first five games of the 2018 season were scheduled on the road. When fans show up for the first home games on April 14 against Minnesota for the Timbers and Sunday, April 15 against Orlando for the Thorns, they may not notice much difference until later in the year.

Crews from Turner Construction are working on completing the concrete pilings that'll hold up the three new levels of seating. The work is on schedule so far and will be finished next spring, according to Turner.

The Portland City Council approved the expansion last year, and all of the $55 million this will cost is coming from the Timbers private financing.

The project will be done in phases so it won't affect your fan experience much. Construction will happen between games, with crews stopping for fan safety during matches. The big push begins in May.

"That's when we'll actually be completing the super structure from the first horizontal deck all the way up 75 feet and then taking off the existing canopy when the season is over, building a new canopy, putting in new seating trays and putting in three club levels," said Brian Sabom of Turner Construction.

Expect when it's done, 4,000 more people will get to see great soccer. It'll make for a capacity crowd of 25,000.

According to President of Business Mike Golub, that puts Providence Park slightly above the median for soccer stadium size nationwide.

"We have a waiting list of 14,000 fans and we sell out every game we play. This is something we've needed for some time, and we've studied this and came up with a design and found what we think unlocks the puzzle. These 4,000 new seats will give a lot more fans an opportunity to see Timbers and Thorns soccer who otherwise wouldn't," Golub said.

We asked about ticket prices when this is all done. The Timbers say season ticket holders will get first dibs on the option to switch their seats over to the brand new levels. But they wouldn't say if prices would go up, only that they'll figure that out when it gets here.

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