City Council approves artificial turf
Feb. 13-14, 1969
The Portland City Council approves "mod sod" — aka Tartan Turf — to replace grass on the Multnomah Stadium field for baseball and football. Mayor Francis J. Ivancie crows that Portland will be the first city in the world to have artificial turf in an outdoor stadium for the two sports. The project will cost $417,500. Portland State College uses the facility, Oregon State is expected to play at least one football game a year in Portland now for the next 10 years, Oregon is said to be considering a football return to the stadium, and the Portland Interscholastic League has beefed up its schedule of football games downtown to 20 or more per season.
• The Portland Buckaroos are atop the Western Hockey League standings, just ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.
• The Portland Tennis Club will bring Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, Althea Gibson, Rosemary Casals and Ann Hardon Jones to Memorial Coliseum for an exhibition.
• The headliner at Portland Sports Arena will be a Northwest tag-team title match pitting Kurt and Karl Von Steiger against Luther Lindsay and Shag Thomas.
